Genesis 12

Abram Journeys to Egypt

1Now 1the Lord said to Abram, “2Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;2And 3I will make you a great nation, And 4I will bless you, And make your name great; And so 56you shall be a blessing;3And 7I will bless those who bless you, And the one who 8curses you I will 9curse. 10And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

4So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and 11Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their 12possessions which they had accumulated, and 13the 14persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they 15set out for the land of Canaan; 16thus they came to the land of Canaan. 6Abram passed through the land as far as the site of 17Shechem, to the 18oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. 7The Lord 19appeared to Abram and said, “20To your 21descendants I will give this land.” So he built 22an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with 23Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and 24called upon the name of the Lord. 9Abram journeyed on, continuing toward 25the 26Negev.

10Now there was 27a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was 28severe in the land. 11It came about when he 29came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a 3031beautiful woman; 1232and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13Please say that you are 33my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that 3435I may live on account of you.” 14It came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians 36saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and 37the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16Therefore 38he treated Abram well for her sake; and 3940gave him sheep and oxen and donkeys and male and female servants and female donkeys and camels.

17But the Lord 41struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “42What 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, 43here is your wife, take her and go.” 20Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they 44escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.