Genesis 12
1 The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, your family home, and travel to the country I'm going to show you.
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 I will make you the ancestor of a great nation and I will bless you. I will make sure you have a great reputation and that you are a blessing to others.
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 I will bless those who bless you; I will curse those who curse you. Everyone on earth will be blessed through you.”
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 left following the Lord's instructions, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 when he left 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 With him went his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, together with all the possessions they had collected and the people that had joined them in Harran. They left for the land of Canaan. When they arrived there,
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 Abram traveled on through the country as far as a place called Shechem, stopping at the oak tree of Moreh. At that time the country was occupied by Canaanites.
Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites lived in the land.
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I'm going to give this land to your descendants.” So Abram built an altar to the Lord there because that was where the Lord appeared to 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 Then he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and set up camp there. Bethel was to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar to the Lord there and worshiped him.
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 After that he went on his way, heading towards the Negev.
Then Abram continued journeying, going toward the Negev.
10 But the land had been hit by famine. So Abram continued on to Egypt, planning to live there because the famine was so bad.
There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down into Egypt to stay, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 As he approached Egypt and was about to cross the border, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.
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 When the Egyptians see you, they'll say, ‘She's his wife,’ and they'll kill me but not 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 Tell them you're my sister so I'll be treated well because of you, and my life will be spared for your sake.”
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 When Abram arrived in Egypt, the people there saw how beautiful Sarai was.
It came about that when Abram entered into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful.
15 Pharaoh's officials also noticed and spoke positively about her to Pharaoh. So Sarai was taken to his palace to become one of his wives.
The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's household.
16 Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her, giving him sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, 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 But the Lord caused Pharaoh and the people in his palace to suffer from terrible diseases because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
Then Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
18 So Pharaoh ordered Abram brought to him and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me 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, ‘She's my sister,’ and let me take her to become one of my wives? So here's your wife! Take her and leave!”
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 Pharaoh ordered his guards to expel him and his wife from the country, along with everyone with them and all their possessions.
Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men concerning him, and they sent him away, along with his wife and all that he had.
