1And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name: and thou shalt be blessed.

3I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and IN THEE shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed.

4So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran.

5And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it,

6Abram passed through the country into the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale. Now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land.

7And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east. He built there also an altar to the Lord, and called upon his name.

9And Abram went forward, going and proceeding on to the south.

10And there came a famine in the country. And Abram went down into Egypt, to sojourn there; for the famine was very grievous in the land.

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

12And that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say: She is his wife. And they will kill me, and keep thee.

13Say, therefore, I pray thee, that thou art my sister: that I may be well used for thee, and that my soul may live for thy sake.

14And when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman that she was very beautiful.

15And the princes told Pharao, and praised her before him: and the woman was taken into the house of Pharao.

16And they used Abram well for her sake. And he had sheep and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.

17But the Lord scourged Pharao and his house with most grievous stripes for Sarai, Abram's wife.

18And Pharao called Abram, and said to him: What is this that thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell ME that she was thy wife?

19For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I might take her to my wife? Now, therefore, there is thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

20And Pharao gave HIS men orders concerning Abram: and they led him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

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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.

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Genesis 12

Genesis 12