1Forsooth the Lord said to Abram, Go thou out of thy land, and of thy kindred, and of the house of thy father, and come thou into the land which I shall show to thee;

2and I shall make thee into a great folk, and I shall bless thee, and I shall magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed;

3I shall bless them that bless thee, and I shall curse them that curse thee; and all kindreds of [the] earth shall be blessed in thee.

4And so Abram went out, as the Lord commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was five and seventy years when he went out of Haran.

5And he took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, the son of his brother, and all the substance which they had in possession, and the men which they had begotten in Haran; and they went out that they should go into the land of Canaan. And when they came into it,

6Abram passed through the land till to the place of Shechem, and till to the noble valley. Forsooth Canaanite was then in the land.

7Soothly the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I shall give this land to thy seed. And Abram built there an altar to the Lord, that appeared to him.

8And from thence he passed forth to the hill [or the mount of] Bethel, that was against the east, and setted there his tabernacle, having Bethel from the west, and Hai from the east. And he builded also there an altar to the Lord, and inwardly called his name.

9And Abram went going, and going forth over to the south.

10Soothly hunger was made in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt, to be a pilgrim there, for hunger had the mastery in the land.

11And when he was nigh to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai, his wife, I know that thou art a fair woman,

12and that when Egyptians shall see thee, they shall say, It is his wife, and they shall slay me, and keep thee.

13Therefore, I beseech thee, say that thou art my sister, that it be well to me for thee, and that my life live for the love of thee.

14And so when Abram had entered into Egypt, Egyptians saw the woman, that she was full fair;

15and the princes told to Pharaoh, and praised her with him; and the woman was taken up into the house of Pharaoh.

16Forsooth they used well Abram for her; and sheep, and oxen, and asses, and servants, and servantesses, and she-asses, and camels were given to him.

17Forsooth the Lord beat Pharaoh and his house with most vengeances for Sarai, the wife of Abram.

18And Pharaoh called Abram, and said to him, What is it that thou hast done to me? why showedest thou not to me that she was thy wife?

19for what cause saidest thou, that she was thy sister, that I should take her into wife to me? Now therefore lo! thy wife; take thou her, and go.

20And Pharaoh commanded to men on Abram, and they led forth him, and his wife, and all things that he had.

Learn More

Genesis 12

Abram’s family moves to Canaan

1The LORD said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing.

3I will bless those who bless you,

those who curse you I will curse;

all the families of the earth

will be blessed because of you.”#12.3 Or will bless themselves because of you; or will find a blessing because of you

4Abram left just as the LORD told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. 5Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all of their possessions, and those who became members of their household in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, 6Abram traveled through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. The Canaanites lived in the land at that time. 7The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I give this land to your descendants,” so Abram built an altar there to the LORD who appeared to him. 8From there he traveled toward the mountains east of Bethel, and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and worshipped in the LORD’s name. 9Then Abram set out toward the arid southern plain, making and breaking camp as he went.

Abram and Sarai visit Egypt

10When a famine struck the land, Abram went down toward Egypt to live as an immigrant since the famine was so severe in the land. 11Just before he arrived in Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know you are a good-looking woman. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife,’ and they will kill me but let you live. 13So tell them you are my sister so that they will treat me well for your sake, and I will survive because of you.”

14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how beautiful his wife was. 15When Pharaoh’s princes saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s household. 16Things went well for Abram because of her: he acquired flocks, cattle, male donkeys, men servants, women servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17Then the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What’s this you’ve done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I made her my wife? Now, here’s your wife. Take her and go!” 20Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they expelled him with his wife and everything he had.

Learn More

Choose your language

Genesis 12

Genesis 12