Genesis 12
1 Now the LORD said unto Abram: 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee.
The Lord told Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, your family home, and travel to the country I'm going to show you.
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing.
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.
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'
I will bless those who bless you; I will curse those who curse you. Everyone on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
So Abram left following the Lord's instructions, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 when he left Haran.
5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
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,
6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the terebinth of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
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.
7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said: 'Unto thy seed will I give this land'; and he builded there an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
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.
8 And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east; and he builded there an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
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.
9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.
After that he went on his way, heading towards the Negev.
10 And there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land.
But the land had been hit by famine. So Abram continued on to Egypt, planning to live there because the famine was so bad.
11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife: 'Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon.
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.
12 And it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say: This is his wife; and they will kill me, but thee they will keep alive.
When the Egyptians see you, they'll say, ‘She's his wife,’ and they'll kill me but not you!
13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.'
Tell them you're my sister so I'll be treated well because of you, and my life will be spared for your sake.”
14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
When Abram arrived in Egypt, the people there saw how beautiful Sarai was.
15 And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
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.
16 And he dealt well with Abram for her sake; and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.
Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her, giving him sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
But the Lord caused Pharaoh and the people in his palace to suffer from terrible diseases because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said: 'What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
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?
19 Why saidst thou: She is my sister? so that I took her to be my wife; now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.'
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!”
20 And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him; and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.
Pharaoh ordered his guards to expel him and his wife from the country, along with everyone with them and all their possessions.
