Genesis 12
1 And the Lord said to Abram, Go forth out of your land and out of your kindred, and out of the house of your father, and come into the land which I will show you.
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 you a great nation, and I will bless you and magnify your name, and you shall be blessed.
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 those that bless you, and curse those that curse you, and in you shall all the tribes 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 And Abram went as the Lord spoke to him, and Lot departed with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old, when he went out of Charrhan.
So Abram left following the Lord's instructions, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 when he left Haran.
5 And Abram took Sara his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions, as many as they had got, and every soul which they had got in Charrhan, and they went forth to go into the land of Chanaan.
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 traversed the land lengthwise as far as the place Sychem, to the high oak, and the Chananites then inhabited 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 to Abram, and said to him, I will give this land to your seed. And Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to 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 departed thence to the mountain eastward of Baethel, and there he pitched his tent in Baethel near the sea, and Aggai toward the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and called on 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 departed and went and encamped in the wilderness.
After that he went on his way, heading towards the Negev.
10 And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, because the famine prevailed 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 Abram drew near to enter into Egypt, Abram said to Sara his wife, I know that you are a fair woman.
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 It shall come to pass then that when the Egyptians shall see you, they shall say, This is his wife, and they shall kill me, but they shall save you alive.
When the Egyptians see you, they'll say, ‘She's his wife,’ and they'll kill me but not you!
13 Say, therefore, I am his sister, that it may be well with me on account of you, and my soul shall live because of you.
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 when Abram entered into Egypt—the Egyptians having seen his wife that she was very beautiful—
When Abram arrived in Egypt, the people there saw how beautiful Sarai was.
15 that the princes of Pharao saw her, and praised her to Pharao and brought her into the house of Pharao.
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 they treated Abram well on her account, and he had sheep, and calves, and asses, and menservants, and women-servants, and mules, 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 God afflicted Pharao with great and severe afflictions, and his house, because of Sara, 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 Pharao having called Abram, said, What is this you have done to me, that you did not tell me that she was your 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 Therefore did you say, She is my sister? and I took her for a wife to myself; and now, behold, your wife is before you, take her and go quickly away.
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 Pharao gave charge to men concerning Abram, to join in sending him forward, 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.
