Genesis 12

Abram Journeys to Egypt

1Now 1the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you;2And 2I will make you into a great nation, And 3I will bless you, And make your name great; And you shall 4be a blessing;3And 5I will bless those who bless you, And the one who 6curses you I will 7curse. 8And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

4So Abram went away as the Lord had spoken to him; and 9Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all their 10possessions which they had accumulated, and 11the 12people which they had acquired in Haran, and they 13set out for the land of Canaan; 14so they came to the land of Canaan. 6Abram passed through the land as far as the site of 15Shechem, to the 16oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time. 7And the Lord 17appeared to Abram and said, “18To your 19descendants I will give this land.” So he built 20an 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 21Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and 22called upon the name of the Lord. 9Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward 23the 24Negev.

10Now there was 25a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was 26severe in the land. 11It came about, when he 27was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, “See now, I know that you are a 2829beautiful woman; 1230and 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 31my sister so that it may go well for me because of you, and that 3233I may live on account of you.” 14Now it came about, when Abram entered Egypt, that the Egyptians 34saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and 35the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16Therefore 36he treated Abram well for her sake; and 3738he gave him sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17But the Lord 39struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “40What is this that 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 myself as a wife? Now then, 41here is your wife, take her and go!” 20And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they 42escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.