Genesis · Young's Literal Translation
Genesis 12 Young's Literal Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 And Jehovah saith unto Abram, 'Go for thyself, from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from the house of thy father, unto the land which I shew thee.
1 Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
2 And I make thee become a great nation, and bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing.
2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
3 And I bless those blessing thee, and him who is disesteeming thee I curse, and blessed in thee have been all families of the ground.'
3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
4 And Abram goeth on, as Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and Lot goeth with him, and Abram [is] a son of five and seventy years in his going out from Charan.
4 So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
5 And Abram taketh Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they have gained, and the persons that they have obtained in Charan; and they go out to go towards the land of Canaan; and they come in to the land of Canaan.
5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan.
6 And Abram passeth over into the land, unto the place Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh; and the Canaanite [is] then in the land.
6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.
7 And Jehovah appeareth unto Abram, and saith, 'To thy seed I give this land;' and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, who hath appeared unto him.
7 Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him.
8 And he removeth from thence towards a mountain at the east of Beth-El, and stretcheth out the tent (Beth-El at the west, and Hai at the east), and he buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah.
8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name.
9 And Abram journeyeth, going on and journeying towards the south.
9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South.
10 And there is a famine in the land, and Abram goeth down towards Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine [is] grievous in the land;
10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land.
11 and it cometh to pass as he hath drawn near to enter Egypt, that he saith unto Sarai his wife, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have known that thou [art] a woman of beautiful appearance;
11 When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at.
12 and it hath come to pass that the Egyptians see thee, and they have said, 'This [is] his wife,' and they have slain me, and thee they keep alive:
12 It will happen that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me, but they will save you alive.
13 say, I pray thee, thou [art] my sister, so that it is well with me because of thee, and my soul hath lived for thy sake.'
13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
14 And it cometh to pass, at the entering of Abram into Egypt, that the Egyptians see the woman that she [is] exceeding fair;
14 When Abram had come into Egypt, some Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 and princes of Pharaoh see her, and praise her unto Pharaoh, and the woman is taken [to] Pharaoh's house;
15 The princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
16 and to Abram he hath done good because of her, and he hath sheep and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and handmaids, and she-asses, and camels.
16 He dealt well with Abram for her sake. He had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
17 And Jehovah plagueth Pharaoh and his house — great plagues — for the matter of Sarai, Abram's wife.
17 Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
18 And Pharaoh calleth for Abram, and saith, 'What [is] this thou hast done to me? why hast thou not declared to me that she [is] thy wife?
18 Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?
19 Why hast thou said, She [is] my sister, and I take her to myself for a wife? and now, lo, thy wife, take and go.'
19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now therefore, see your wife, take her, and go your way.”
20 And Pharaoh chargeth men concerning him, and they send him away, and his wife, an all that he hath.
20 Pharaoh commanded men concerning him, and they escorted him away with his wife and all that he had.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abraham
Called by God, he left home in faith to become the father of a chosen people.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 12–25
Lot
Abraham's nephew who chose the plain of Jordan and settled near Sodom.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11–14; 19
Places
Shechem
Shechem lay between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. Abram built an altar here, Joshua gathered Israel for covenant renewal, and Jacob's well stands nearby.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 12:6; Joshua 24:1; John 4:5
Cross references (19)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Hebrews 11:8; Nehemiah 9:7; Acts 7:2–6; Isaiah 51:2; Joshua 24:2–3
- 2 2 Samuel 7:9; Galatians 3:14; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 17:4–6; Genesis 28:3–4
- 3 Galatians 3:8; Genesis 22:18; Genesis 27:29; Acts 3:25–26; Numbers 24:9
- 4 Hebrews 11:8; Genesis 11:31; Genesis 11:27
- 5 Genesis 14:14; Genesis 11:31; Acts 7:4; Hebrews 11:8–9; Genesis 10:19
- 6 Hebrews 11:9; Deuteronomy 11:30; Genesis 13:7; Genesis 35:4; Genesis 15:18–21
- 7 Genesis 17:8; Genesis 17:1; Genesis 13:15; Genesis 18:1; Galatians 3:16
- 8 Nehemiah 11:31; Genesis 4:26; Genesis 21:33; Genesis 13:4; 1 Corinthians 1:2
- 9 Genesis 13:3; Genesis 13:1; Genesis 24:62; Hebrews 11:13–14; Psalm 105:13
- 10 Genesis 43:1; Genesis 26:1–3; 2 Samuel 21:1; Genesis 47:13; Jeremiah 14:1
- 11 Genesis 26:7; Proverbs 21:30; Genesis 12:14; Genesis 29:17; Song of Songs 1:14
- 12 Genesis 20:11; Genesis 26:7; Matthew 10:28; 1 John 1:8–10; Proverbs 29:25
- 13 Genesis 26:7; Genesis 20:12–13; Genesis 20:2; Genesis 20:5; Ezekiel 18:4
- 14 Genesis 6:2; Matthew 5:28; Genesis 3:6; Genesis 39:7
- 15 Genesis 20:2; Genesis 41:1; 1 Kings 3:1; Hosea 7:4–5; Genesis 40:2
- 16 Genesis 20:14; Genesis 13:2; Genesis 24:35; Job 42:12; Genesis 32:5
- 17 1 Chronicles 16:21; Genesis 20:18; Psalm 105:14–15; 1 Chronicles 21:22; Hebrews 13:4
- 18 Genesis 20:9–10; Genesis 26:9–11; 1 Samuel 14:43; Proverbs 21:1; Genesis 44:15
- 20 Proverbs 21:1; Psalm 105:14–15; 1 Samuel 29:6–11; Exodus 18:27
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." And again, on his departing from Lot, God said to him.
When, after the record of the death of Terah, the father of Abraham, we next read, "And the Lord said to Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house," etc., it is not to be supposed, because this follows in the order of the narrative, that it also followed in the chronological …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Now Abraham was seventy-five years old when he departed out of Haran." How can this be true if he departed from Haran after his father's death?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
… of Terah in Haran were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran," the Scripture, going back to what had been passed over in order to complete what had been begun about Terah, says, "And the Lord said to Abram, Get thee out of thy country," etc.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)