Genesis 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.

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Genesis 12

God Chooses Abram

1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.

2“I will make you into a great nation.

And I will bless you.

I will make your name great.

You will be a blessing to others.

3I will bless those who bless you.

I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you.

All nations on earth

will be blessed because of you.”

4So Abram went, just as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran. 5He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all the people and possessions they had acquired in Harran. They started out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there.

6Abram traveled through the land. He went as far as the large tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were living in the land. 7The Lord appeared to Abram at Shechem. He said, “I will give this land to your family who comes after you.” So Abram built an altar there to honor the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8From there, Abram went on toward the hills east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord.

9Then Abram left and continued south toward the Negev Desert.

Abram Goes to Egypt

10At that time there was not enough food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while. 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he spoke to his wife Sarai. He said, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12The people of Egypt will see you and say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me. But they will let you live. 13Tell them you are my sister. Then I’ll be treated well and my life will be spared because of you.”

14Abram arrived in Egypt. The Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they told Pharaoh how beautiful she was. So she was taken into his palace. 16Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her. So Abram gained more sheep and cattle and male and female donkeys. He also gained more male and female servants and some camels.

17But the Lord sent terrible sicknesses on Pharaoh and everyone in his palace. The Lord did it because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18So Pharaoh sent for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19Why did you say she was your sister? That’s why I took her to be my wife. Now then, here’s your wife. Take her and go!” 20Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men about Abram. They sent him on his way. So he left with his wife and everything he had.

Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®

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