1And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go out from your land and from your relatives, and from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you. 2And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing. 3And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you.”

Abram’s Journey

4And Abram went out as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old#Literally “the son of five years and seventy years” when he went out from Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his nephew,#Literally “the son of his brother” and all their possessions that they had gathered, and all the persons that they had acquired in Haran, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan. And they went to the land of Canaan. 6And Abram traveled through the land up to the place of Shechem, to the Oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time. 7And Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” And he built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. 8And he moved on from there to the hill country, east of Bethel. And he pitched his tent at Bethel on the west, and at Ai on the east. And he built an altar there to Yahweh. And he called on the name of Yahweh. 9And Abram kept moving on,#Literally “And Abram moved on, going and moving on” toward the Negev. 10And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down to Egypt to dwell as an alien there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11And it happened that as he drew near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “Look now, I know that you are a woman beautiful of appearance, 12and it shall happen that, if the Egyptians see you, then they will say, ‘This is his wife,’ then they will kill me but let you live. 13Please say you are my sister so that it will go well for me on your account. Then I will live#Literally “And my soul will live” on account of you.” 14And it happened that as Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15And the officials of Pharaoh saw her, and they praised her beauty to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to the house of Pharaoh. 16And he dealt well with Abram on account of her, and he had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17Then#Or “And” Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues on account of the matter of Sarai the wife of Abram. 18Then Pharaoh called for 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 to myself as a wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go.” 20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and then sent him and his wife and all that was with him away.

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Genesis 12

God Chooses Abram

1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.

2“I will make you into a great nation.

And I will bless you.

I will make your name great.

You will be a blessing to others.

3I will bless those who bless you.

I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you.

All nations on earth

will be blessed because of you.”

4So Abram went, just as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran. 5He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all the people and possessions they had acquired in Harran. They started out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there.

6Abram traveled through the land. He went as far as the large tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were living in the land. 7The Lord appeared to Abram at Shechem. He said, “I will give this land to your family who comes after you.” So Abram built an altar there to honor the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8From there, Abram went on toward the hills east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord.

9Then Abram left and continued south toward the Negev Desert.

Abram Goes to Egypt

10At that time there was not enough food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while. 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he spoke to his wife Sarai. He said, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12The people of Egypt will see you and say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me. But they will let you live. 13Tell them you are my sister. Then I’ll be treated well and my life will be spared because of you.”

14Abram arrived in Egypt. The Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they told Pharaoh how beautiful she was. So she was taken into his palace. 16Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her. So Abram gained more sheep and cattle and male and female donkeys. He also gained more male and female servants and some camels.

17But the Lord sent terrible sicknesses on Pharaoh and everyone in his palace. The Lord did it because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18So Pharaoh sent for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say she was your sister? That’s why I took her to be my wife. Now then, here’s your wife. Take her and go!” 20Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men about Abram. They sent him on his way. So he left with his wife and everything he had.

Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®

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Genesis 12

Genesis 12