Genesis 12 | King James Version

King James Version

1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father' house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother' son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. 9 And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. 10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. 11 And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. 14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. 15 The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh' house. 16 And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. 17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram' wife. 18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her , and go thy way. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.

New International Reader’s Version

God chooses Abram

1 The 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. 3 I 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.’ 4 So Abram went, just as the LORD had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran. 5 He 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. 6 Abram travelled 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. 7 The 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 honour the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there, Abram went on towards 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. 9 Then Abram left and continued south towards the Negev Desert.

Abram goes to Egypt

10 At that time there was not enough food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he spoke to his wife Sarai. He said, ‘I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 The people of Egypt will see you and say, “This is his wife.” Then they will kill me. But they will let you live. 13 Tell them you are my sister. Then I’ll be treated well and my life will be spared because of you.’ 14 Abram arrived in Egypt. The Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they told Pharaoh how beautiful she was. So she was taken into his palace. 16 Pharaoh 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. 17 But the LORD sent terrible diseases on Pharaoh and everyone in his palace. The LORD did it because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh sent for Abram. ‘What have you done to me?’ he said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why 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!’ 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men about Abram. They sent him on his way. So he left with his wife and everything he had.