Genesis 12

God's Call to Abram

1 # Acts 7.2–3; Heb 11.8 The LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you. 2I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.

3 # Gal 3.8 I will bless those who bless you,

But I will curse those who curse you.

And through you I will bless all the nations.”#12.3 And through… nations; or All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed you.

4When Abram was 75 years old, he started out from Haran, as the LORD had told him to do; and Lot went with him. 5Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the wealth and all the slaves they had acquired in Haran, and they started out for the land of Canaan.

When they arrived in Canaan, 6Abram travelled through the land until he came to the sacred tree of Moreh, the holy place at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were still living in the land.) 7#Acts 7.5; Gal 3.16The LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “This is the country that I am going to give to your descendants.” Then Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8After that, he moved on south to the hill country east of the city of Bethel and set up his camp between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There also he built an altar and worshipped the LORD. 9Then he moved on from place to place, going towards the southern part of Canaan.

Abram in Egypt

10But there was a famine in Canaan, and it was so bad that Abram went farther south to Egypt, to live there for a while. 11When he was about to cross the border into Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “You are a beautiful woman. 12When the Egyptians see you, they will assume that you are my wife, and so they will kill me and let you live. 13#Gen 20.2; 26.7Tell them that you are my sister; then because of you they will let me live and treat me well.” 14When he crossed the border into Egypt, the Egyptians did see that his wife was beautiful. 15Some of the court officials saw her and told the king how beautiful she was; so she was taken to his palace. 16Because of her the king treated Abram well and gave him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels.

17But because the king had taken Sarai, the LORD sent terrible diseases on him and on the people of his palace. 18Then the king sent for Abram and asked him, “What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife? 19Why did you say that she was your sister, and let me take her as my wife? Here is your wife; take her and get out!” 20The king gave orders to his men, so they took Abram and put him out of the country, together with his wife and everything he owned.

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Berĕshith (Genesis) 12

1And יהוה said to Aḇram, “Go yourself out of your land, from your relatives and from your father’s house, to a land which I show you.

2“And I shall make you a great nation, and bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing!

3“And I shall bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses you. And in you all the clans of the earth shall be blessed.”

4So Aḇram left, as יהוה had commanded him, and Lot went with him. And Aḇram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Ḥaran.

5And Aḇram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the beings whom they had acquired in Ḥaran, and they set out for the land of Kena‛an. And they came to the land of Kena‛an.

6And Aḇram passed through the land to the place of Sheḵem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. At that time the Kena‛anites were in the land.

7And יהוה appeared to Aḇram and said, “To your seed I give this land.” And he built there a slaughter-place to יהוה, who had appeared to him.

8And from there he moved to the mountain east of Bĕyth Ěl, and he pitched his tent, with Bĕyth Ěl on the west and Ai on the east. And he built there a slaughter-place to יהוה, and called on the Name of יהוה.

9And Aḇram set out, continuing toward the South.

10And a scarcity of food came to be in the land, and Aḇram went down to Mitsrayim to dwell there, for the scarcity of food was severe in the land.

11And it came to be, when he was close to entering Mitsrayim, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at.

12“And it shall be, when the Mitsrites see you, that they shall say, ‘This is his wife.’ And they shall kill me, but let you live.

13“Please say you are my sister, so that it shall be well with me for your sake, and my life be spared because of you.”

14And it came to be, when Aḇram came into Mitsrayim, that the Mitsrites saw the woman, that she was very beautiful.

15And Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her before Pharaoh, and the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.

16And he treated Aḇram well for her sake, and he had sheep, and cattle, and male donkeys, and male and female servants, and female donkeys, and camels.

17But יהוה plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Aḇram’s wife.

18And Pharaoh called Aḇram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not inform me that she was your wife?

19“Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? And so I was going to take her for my wife. Look, here is your wife, take her and go.”

20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

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