1Now the LORD said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will shew thee: 2and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: 3and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

4So Abram went, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. 9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

10And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land. 11And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: 12and it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 13Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.

14And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. 15And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she-asses, and camels. 17And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. 18And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so that I took her to be my wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him: and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.

historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society

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Genesis 12

The Call of Abram

1The Lord said to Abram:

Go out from your land,

your relatives,

and your father’s house

to the land that I will show you. # Gn 15:7; Ac 7:3; Heb 11:8

2I will make you into a great nation, # Gn 17:4-6; 18:18; 46:3; Dt 26:5

I will bless you, # Gn 22:17

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing. # Or great. Be a blessing! # Zch 8:13

3I will bless those who bless you,

I will curse those who treat you with contempt, # Gn 27:29; Nm 24:9

and all the peoples # Lit clans on earth

will be blessed # Or will find blessing through you. # Or will bless themselves by you # Gn 18:18; 26:4; 28:14; Ac 3:25; Gl 3:8

4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. # Gn 11:27,31 5He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people he had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, # Gn 35:4; Dt 11:30; Heb 11:9 at the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” # Gn 13:15; Ex 33:1; Ps 105:9-12; Ac 7:5; Gl 3:16 So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to Yahweh there, and he called on the name of Yahweh. # Gn 4:26; 21:33 9Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.

Abram in Egypt

10There was a famine in the land, # Gn 26:1; 43:1 so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine in the land was severe. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live. # Gn 20:1-18; 26:6-11 13Please say you’re my sister so it will go well for me because of you, and my life will be spared on your account.” 14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s household. 16He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

17But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai. # Gn 20:18; 1Ch 16:21; Ps 105:14 18So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go! ” 20Then Pharaoh gave his men orders about him, and they sent him away with his wife and all he had.

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Genesis 12

Genesis 12