The Lord chooses and calls Abram
1The Lord said to Abram: ‘You must leave your land. Go away from it and from your family and the house of your father. I will show you where you must go.’ Then the Lord said:
2‘I will bless you
and you will have many, many descendants.
They will become a big nation.
You will be important,
and everyone will know your name.
I will use you to bless
all the people on earth.
3If someone blesses you,
I will also bless that person.
And if someone curses you,
I will also curse that person.
I will bless all the people on earth
because I love you.’
4-5Abram went away from the town of Haran, as the Lord told him to. He was 75 years old. Abram took his wife, Sarai, and Lot, the son of his brother, with him. Abram also took all the things that belonged to him and the slaves that he had in Haran. They all went with him to the land of Canaan.’
When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram walked from one side of the land to the other side. At that time the Canaanite people lived in the land. Abram went to the town of Shechem, to the big tree of Moreh. 7The Lord appeared to Abram and the Lord said to him: ‘I will give this land to your children and your descendants.’
Then Abram made an altar for the Lord because the Lord had appeared to him.
8Abram went away from Shechem to the mountain east of the town of Bethel. He put up his tent between the towns of Bethel and Ai. Abram built an altar there to worship the Lord. 9Later, Abram took his tents and he went away to the south of Canaan.
Abram goes to the land of Egypt
10There was a famine in the land of Canaan and Abram went to the land of Egypt to stay there, because there was very little food in his own land. 11When they came near Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai: ‘I know you are a beautiful woman. 12When the Egyptian people see you, they will kill me and take you because I am your husband, but they will not kill you. 13You must tell them that you are my sister, and then they will not kill me. They will think I am your brother and they will be good to me. If you do this, you will help me and save my life.’
14When Abram and Sarai came into the land of Egypt, the people of Egypt saw how beautiful Sarai was. 15The people who worked for Pharaoh told him about Sarai and they took her and said she must stay in the palace of the Pharaoh. 16Pharaoh was good to Abram because he thought that Sarai was his sister. He gave Abram sheep, cattle, donkeys, slaves and camels.
17But the Lord made Pharaoh and his family very sick because he had taken Sarai and Sarai was Abram's wife. 18Then Pharaoh called Abram and he asked Abram: ‘Why have you done this bad thing to me? Why didn't you tell me that Sarai is your wife?’
19Why did you lie to me and say she is your sister? Because you lied to me, I took her as my wife and God has made us sick. Now you must take Sarai and go away. She is your wife.’
20Pharaoh told his servants to take Abram and his wife and all the things that belonged to him out of the land of Egypt.
