1And Jehovah had said to Abram, Go out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, to the land that I will shew thee. 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4And Abram departed as Jehovah had said to him. And Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the souls that they had obtained in Haran, and they went out to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

6And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him. 8And he removed thence towards the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel toward the west, and Ai toward the east; and there he built an altar to Jehovah, and called on the name of Jehovah. 9And Abram moved onward, going on still toward the south.

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

14And it came to pass when Abram came into Egypt, that 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 treated Abram well on her account; and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and bondmen, and bondwomen, and she-asses, and camels. 17And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. 18And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19Why didst thou say, She is my sister, so that I took her as my wife. And now, behold, there is thy wife: take her, and go away. 20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

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Genesis 12

The Call of Abram

1The Lord said to Abram:

Go 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.#Zch 8:13

3I will bless those who bless you,

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

and all the peoples on earth

will be blessed#12:3 Or will find blessing through you.#12:3 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 seventy-five 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 they 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.) 7The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring#12:7 Lit seed#Gn 13:15; Ex 33:1; Ps 105:9–12; Ac 7:5; Gl 3:16 I will give this land.” 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 the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord.#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 stay 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