Abram Challenges His Family’s Idols

1 And in the sixth week, in the seventh year of it, [1904] Abram said to Terah his father, saying, 'Father!'⁠a 2 And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'What help or benefit do we receive from those idols which you worship, And before which you bow yourself? 3 For there is no spirit in them, For they are lifeless forms that cannot speak, and a deception of the heart. Do not worship them:⁠b 4 Worship the God of heaven, Who causes the rain and the dew to descend on the earth And does everything upon the earth, And has created everything by His word, And all life is from before His face. 5 Why do you worship things that have no spirit in them? For they are the work of (men's) hands, And you carry them on your shoulders,⁠c And you have no help from them, But they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, And a deception of the heart to those who worship them: Do not worship them.' 6 And his father said to him, I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me serve before them?⁠d 7 And if I tell them the truth, they will kill me; for they cling to their idols to worship them and honor them.⁠e 8 Keep silent, my son, so that they do not kill you.' And he spoke these words to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he kept silent. 9 And in the fortieth jubilee, in the second week, in the seventh year of it, [1925] Abram married a woman named Sarai, the daughter of his father, and she became his wife. 10 And Haran, his brother, married in the third year of the third week, [1928] and she bore him a son in the seventh year of this week, [1932] and he named him Lot. 11 And Nahor, his brother, married.

The Burning of the Idol Temple

12 And in the sixtieth year of the life of Abram, that is, in the fourth week, in the fourth year of it, [1936] Abram got up at night, and burned the house of the idols, and he burned all that was in the house and no man knew it. 13 And they got up in the night and tried to save their gods from the fire. 14 And Haran hurried to save them, but the fire flamed over him, and he was burned in the fire,⁠f and he died in Ur of the Chaldeans before Terah his father, and they buried him in Ur of the Chaldeans. 15 And Terah went out from Ur of the Chaldeans, he and his sons, to go into the land of Lebanon and into the land of Canaan, and he lived in the land of Haran, and Abram lived with Terah his father in Haran two weeks of years.

Abram Studies the Stars and Prays

16 And in the sixth week, in the fifth year of it, [1951] Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh month to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what the year's rainfall would be like,⁠g and he was alone as he sat and observed. 17 And a word came into his heart and he said:⁠h All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of the Lord.⁠i Why do I search (them) out? 18 If He desires, He causes it to rain, morning and evening; And if He desires, He withholds it, And all things are in his hand.' 19 And he prayed that night and said, 'My God, God Most High, You alone are my God, And You and Your rule I have chosen. And You have created all things, And all things that are the work of your hands. 20 Rescue me from the hands of evil spirits who rule over the thoughts of men's hearts, And do not let them lead me astray from You, my God.⁠j And establish me and my descendants forever That we do not go astray from now on and forevermore.'

The Call to Canaan

21 And he said, 'Shall I return to Ur of the Chaldeans who want me to return to them, or am I to remain here in this place? Make the path that is right before You succeed for Your servant so that he may fulfill (it) and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, my God.' 22 And he finished speaking and praying, and the word of the Lord was sent to him through me, saying: 'Get up from your country, and from your relatives and from the house of your father to a land which I will show you,⁠k and I shall make you a great and numerous nation. 23 And I will bless you And I will make your name great, And you shall be blessed in the earth, And in you all families of the earth shall be blessed, And I will bless them that bless you, And curse them that curse you. 24 And I will be a God to you and your son, and to your grandson, and to all your descendants: do not fear, from now on and to all generations of the earth I am your God.'

Abram Learns Hebrew

25 And the Lord God said: 'Open his mouth and his ears, so that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language which has been revealed';⁠l for it had ceased from the mouths of all the human beings from the day of the overthrow (of Babel). 26 And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to speak with him in Hebrew in the language of creation.⁠m 27 And he took the books of his ancestors, and these were written in Hebrew, and he copied them, and he began from then on to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not (understand), and he studied them during the six rainy months. 28 And in the seventh year of the sixth week [1953] he spoke to his father and informed him, that he would leave Haran to go into the land of Canaan to see it and return to him.⁠n 29 And Terah his father said to him; Go in peace: May the eternal God make your path straight. And the Lord [(be) with you, and] protect you from all evil, And grant you grace, mercy and favor before those who see you, And may none of the human beings have power over you to harm you; Go in peace. 30 And if you see a land pleasant to your eyes to live in, then get up and take me to you and take Lot with you, the son of Haran your brother as your own son: the Lord be with you. 31 And leave Nahor your brother with me until you return in peace, and we go with you all together.'