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

The Lord’s First Promise to Abram

1The Lord said to Abram,

“Leave your land,

your relatives,

and your father’s home.

Go to the land that I will show you.

2I will make you a great nation,

I will bless you.

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

3I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you, I will curse.

Through you every family on earth will be blessed.”

The LORD’s Second Promise to Abram

4So Abram left, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. 5Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

6They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent—with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to the Lord there and worshiped the Lord. 9Abram kept moving toward the Negev.

Abram Deceives Pharaoh

10There was a famine in the land. Abram went to Egypt to stay awhile because the famine was severe. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know that you’re a beautiful woman. 12When the Egyptians see you, they’ll say, ‘This is his wife!’ Then they’ll kill me but let you live. 13Please say that you’re my sister. Then everything will be alright for me, and because of you I will live.”

14When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful his wife was. 15When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they raved about her to Pharaoh, so Sarai was taken to Pharaoh’s palace. 16Everything went well for Abram because of her, and he was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

17However, the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18Then Pharaoh called for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister’ and allow me to take her for my wife? Here’s your wife! Take her and go!” 20Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram. They sent Abram away with his wife and everything that he had.

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Genesis 12

Genesis 12