Genesis 12
12
1And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name: and thou shalt be blessed.
3I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and IN THEE shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed.
4So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he went forth from Haran.
5And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all the substance which they had gathered, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it,
6Abram passed through the country into the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale. Now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land.
7And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east. He built there also an altar to the Lord, and called upon his name.
9And Abram went forward, going and proceeding on to the south.
10And there came a famine in the country. And Abram went down into Egypt, to sojourn there; for the famine was very grievous in the land.
11And when he was near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: I know that thou art a beautiful woman:
12And that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say: She is his wife. And they will kill me, and keep thee.
13Say, therefore, I pray thee, that thou art my sister: that I may be well used for thee, and that my soul may live for thy sake.
14And when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman that she was very beautiful.
15And the princes told Pharao, and praised her before him: and the woman was taken into the house of Pharao.
16And they used Abram well for her sake. And he had sheep and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels.
17But the Lord scourged Pharao and his house with most grievous stripes for Sarai, Abram's wife.
18And Pharao called Abram, and said to him: What is this that thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell ME that she was thy wife?
19For what cause didst thou say, she was thy sister, that I might take her to my wife? Now, therefore, there is thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
20And Pharao gave HIS men orders concerning Abram: and they led him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 12
12
The Call of Abram
1Now #Acts 7:3; Heb. 11:8the Lord said#12:1 Or had said to Abram, “Go from your country#12:1 Or land and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2#ch. 17:6; 18:18; [Gal. 3:14]And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3#ch. 27:29; Num. 24:9 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and #ch. 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Jer. 4:2; Acts 3:25; Gal. 3:16; Cited Gal. 3:8in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”#12:3 Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves
4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from #ch. 11:31Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram #[Heb. 11:9] passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to #ch. 13:18 the oak#12:6 Or terebinth of #Deut. 11:30; Judg. 7:1 Moreh. At that time #ch. 13:7the Canaanites were in the land. 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, #ch. 13:15; 17:8; Ex. 33:1; Ps. 105:9-12; [Num. 32:11]; Gal. 3:16“To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8From there he moved to the hill country on the east of #ch. 28:19Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
Abram and Sarai in Egypt
10Now #ch. 26:1; 43:1there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they #See ch. 20:1-18; 26:6-11will kill me, but they will let you live. 13Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17But the Lord #1 Chr. 16:21; Ps. 105:14afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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