Genesis 12
1 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.
Then Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave this country where you are now living. Leave your father’s clan and his family. Go to a land that I will show you.
2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will cause your descendants to become a large nation. I will bless you and cause you to become (famous/highly esteemed). What I do for you will be a blessing to others.
3 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.”
I will bless those who (bless/ask God to do good things for) you, and I will (curse/ask God to punish) those who do evil things to you. And because of what you do, groups of people all over the earth will receive blessings (OR, people will wish that God will bless others as much as he has blessed you).”
4 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.
So Abram left Haran [town], as Yahweh told him to do. Abram was 75 years old when he left there along with his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot.
5 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.
Abram also took along all the possessions and slaves that they had accumulated/acquired in Haran [town], and they left there and went to Canaan land.
6 Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites lived in the land.
In Canaan they traveled as far as Shechem [town] and camped by a huge tree called the tree of Moreh. The Canaan people-group were still living in that land.
7 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.
Then Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I will give this land to your descendants.” Then Abram built a stone altar to offer a sacrifice to Yahweh because Yahweh had appeared to him.
8 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.
From Shechem, Abram and his family traveled to the hills that were east of Bethel [town]. Bethel [town] was to the west of where they set up their tent, and Ai [town] was further to the east. There he built another stone altar and offered a sacrifice and worshiped Yahweh there.
9 Then Abram continued journeying, going toward the Negev.
Then they left there and started traveling south to the Negev [Desert].
10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down into Egypt to stay, for the famine was severe in the land.
There was (a famine/very little food to eat) in Canaan, so they went south to live in Egypt for a while.
11 When he was about to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See here, I know that you are a beautiful woman.
Just as they were about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “Listen, I know that you are a very beautiful woman.
12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive.
When the people in Egypt see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife!’ and they will kill me in order to get you, but they will not kill you.
13 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.”
So I ask you to tell them that you are my sister, so that because of you telling them that, they will (spare my life/not kill me).”
14 It came about that when Abram entered into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful.
And as soon as they arrived in Egypt, the people in Egypt saw that his wife was indeed very beautiful.
15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's household.
When the king’s officials saw her, they told the king how beautiful she was. And they took her to the king’s palace.
16 Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
The king treated Abram kindly because of Sarai, and he gave Abram many sheep and cattle and donkeys and male and female slaves and camels.
17 Then Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
But because the king had taken Sarai, Abram’s wife, Yahweh caused the king and the others in his household to be inflicted with terrible diseases.
18 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?
When the king realized why that was happening, he summoned Abram and said to him, “Why did you do this to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 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.”
Why did you lie, saying she is your sister, with the result that I took her to be my wife? You should not have done that! So now take your wife, leave here and go!”
20 Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men concerning him, and they sent him away, along with his wife and all that he had.
Then the king told his officials/servants to take Abram and his wife and all his possessions out of Egypt.
