1 And Shema said to Abram: “Go from your country and from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. 3 And I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and by you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 And Abram went, as Shema had told him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the souls that they had acquired in Haran; and they set out to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to the land of Canaan. 6 And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to Elon Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

7 And Shema appeared to Abram, and said to him: “I will give this land to your offspring.” And he built an altar there to Shema, who had appeared to him.⁠a 8 And he moved from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and he built there an altar to Shema and invoked the name of Shema. 9 And Abram journeyed, still going toward the south.

10 And there was famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to stay there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at. 12 And when the Egyptians see you, they will say ‘This is his wife,’ and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive. 13 Please say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.” 14 And when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16 And Abram was well treated for her sake; and he had sheep, and oxen, a lot of cattle, male servants, and female servants, male donkeys, and female donkeys, and camels. 17 And Shema plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said: “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 And why did you say ‘She is my sister’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her, and leave.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him.