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.

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Genesis 12

The Call of Abram

1Now #Acts 7:3; Heb. 11:8the Lord said#12:1 Or had said to Abram, “Go from your country#12:1 Or land and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2#ch. 17:6; 18:18; [Gal. 3:14]And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3#ch. 27:29; Num. 24:9 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and #ch. 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Jer. 4:2; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:16; Cited Gal. 3:8in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”#12:3 Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves

4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from #ch. 11:31Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram #[Heb. 11:9] passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to #ch. 13:18 the oak#12:6 Or terebinth of #Deut. 11:30; Judg. 7:1 Moreh. At that time #ch. 13:7the Canaanites were in the land. 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, #ch. 13:15; 17:8; Ex. 33:1; Ps. 105:9-12; [Num. 32:11]; Gal. 3:16“To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8From there he moved to the hill country on the east of #ch. 28:19Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10Now #ch. 26:1; 43:1there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they #See ch. 20:1-18; 26:6-11will kill me, but they will let you live. 13Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17But the Lord #1 Chr. 16:21; Ps. 105:14afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

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Genesis 12

Genesis 12