< Genesis 12 >

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, Go out from your country and from your family and from your father's house, into the land to which I will be your guide:
Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Go from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father's household, to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing:
I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 To them who are good to you will I give blessing, and on him who does you wrong will I put my curse: and you will become a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.
I will bless those who bless you, but whoever dishonors you I will curse. Through you will all the families of the earth be blessed.”
4 So Abram went as the Lord had said to him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went away from Haran.
So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him to do, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
5 And Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, and all their goods and the servants which they had got in Haran, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan.
Abram took Sarai, his wife, Lot, his brother's son, all their possessions that they had accumulated, and the people that they had acquired in Haran. They left to go into the land of Canaan, and came to the land of Canaan.
6 And Abram went through the land till he came to Shechem, to the holy tree of Moreh. At that time, the Canaanites were still living in the land.
Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites lived in the land.
7 And the Lord came to Abram, and said, I will give all this land to your seed; then Abram made an altar there to the Lord who had let himself be seen by him.
Yahweh appeared to Abram, and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So there Abram built an altar to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
8 And moving on from there to the mountain on the east of Beth-el, he put up his tent, having Beth-el on the west and Ai on the east: and there he made an altar and gave worship to the name of the Lord.
From there he moved to the hill country to the east of Bethel, where he pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name of Yahweh.
9 And he went on, journeying still to the South.
Then Abram continued journeying, going toward the Negev.
10 And because there was little food to be had in that land, he went down into Egypt.
There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down into Egypt to stay, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 Now when he came near to Egypt, he said to Sarai, his wife, Truly, you are a fair woman and beautiful to the eye;
When he was about to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See here, I know that you are a beautiful woman.
12 And I am certain that when the men of Egypt see you, they will say, This is his wife: and they will put me to death and keep you.
When the Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive.
13 Say, then, that you are my sister, and so it will be well with me because of you, and my life will be kept safe on your account.
Say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me because of you, and so that my life will be spared because of you.”
14 And so it was that when Abram came into Egypt, the men of Egypt, looking on the woman, saw that she was fair.
It came about that when Abram entered into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful.
15 And Pharaoh's great men, having seen her, said words in praise of her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh's house.
The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's household.
16 And because of her, he was good to Abram, and he had sheep and oxen and asses, and men-servants and women-servants, and camels.
Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 And the Lord sent great troubles on Pharaoh's house because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
Then Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
18 Then Pharaoh sent for Abram, and said, What have you done to me? why did you not say that she was your wife?
Pharaoh summoned Abram, and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 Why did you say that she was your sister? so that I took her for my wife: now, take your wife and go on your way.
Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, here is your wife. Take her, and go your way.”
20 And Pharaoh gave orders to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and all he had.
Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men concerning him, and they sent him away, along with his wife and all that he had.

< Genesis 12 >