Genesis 12–13

God Chooses Abram

12The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country and your people. Leave your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.

²“I will make you into a great nation.

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 calls down a curse on you.

All nations on earth

will be blessed because of you.”

⁴So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

⁵He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all of the things they had gotten in Haran. They also took the workers they had gotten there.

They set 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 people of Canaan were living in the land.

⁷The Lord appeared to Abram at Shechem. He said, “I will give this land to your children 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 worshiped the Lord. ⁹Then Abram left and continued toward the Negev Desert.

Abram Goes to Egypt

¹⁰At that time there wasn’t 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. They will say, ‘This is his wife.’ And they will kill me. But they will let you live. ¹³Say you are my sister. Then I’ll be treated well because of you. My life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴Abram arrived in Egypt. The people of Egypt saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. ¹⁵When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they bragged to Pharaoh about her. Sarai was taken into his palace.

¹⁶Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her. So Abram gained more sheep and cattle. He also got more male and female donkeys. And he gained more male and female servants and some camels.

¹⁷But the Lord sent terrible sicknesses on Pharaoh and everyone in his palace. He 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’s my 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 about Abram to his men. They sent him on his way. He left with his wife and everything he had.

Abram and Lot Separate

13Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev Desert. He took his wife and everything he had. Lot went with him. ²Abram had become very rich. He had a lot of livestock and silver and gold.

³From the Negev Desert, he went from place to place until he came to Bethel. He came to a place between Bethel and Ai. That’s where his tent had been earlier. ⁴He had also built an altar there. He worshiped the Lord there.

⁵Lot was moving around with Abram. Lot also had flocks and herds and tents.

⁶But the land didn’t have enough food for both of them. They had large herds and many servants. So they weren’t able to stay together. ⁷The people who took care of Abram’s herds and those who took care of Lot’s herds began to argue.

The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.

⁸So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not argue with each other. The people who take care of your herds and those who take care of mine shouldn’t argue with one another. After all, we’re part of the same family.

⁹“Isn’t the whole land in front of you? Let’s separate. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right. If you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

¹⁰Lot looked up. He saw that the whole Jordan River valley had plenty of water. It was like the garden of the Lord. It was like the land of Egypt near Zoar. That was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

¹¹So Lot chose the whole Jordan River valley for himself. Then he started out toward the east.

The two men separated. ¹²Abram lived in the land of Canaan. Lot lived among the cities of the Jordan River valley. He set up his tents near Sodom.

¹³The men of Sodom were evil. They were sinning greatly against the Lord.

¹⁴The Lord spoke to Abram after Lot had left him. He said, “Look up from where you are. Look north and south. Look east and west. ¹⁵I will give you all of the land that you see. I will give it to you and your children after you forever.

¹⁶“I will make your children like the dust of the earth. Can dust be counted? If it can, then your children can be counted. ¹⁷Go. Walk through the land. See how long and wide it is. I am giving it to you.”

¹⁸So Abram moved his tents. He went to live near the large trees of Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar to honor the Lord.