Bible in Basic EnglishBerean Standard Bible

1. The Call of Abram

   (Genesis 26:1–5; Acts 7:1–8)

2. 1BBENow the Lord said to Abram, Go out from your country and from your family and from your father's house, into the land to which I will be your guide:BSBBSB: Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
3. 2BBEAnd I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing:BSBBSB: I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
4. 3BBETo them who are good to you will I give blessing, and on him who does you wrong will I put my curse: and you will become a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.BSBBSB: I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
5. 4BBESo Abram went as the Lord had said to him, and Lot went with him: Abram was seventy-five years old when he went away from Haran.BSBBSB: So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
6. 5BBEAnd Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, and all their goods and the servants which they had got in Haran, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan.BSBBSB: And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, and set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
7. 6BBEAnd Abram went through the land till he came to Shechem, to the holy tree of Moreh. At that time, the Canaanites were still living in the land.BSBBSB: Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the Oak of Moreh at Shechem. And at that time the Canaanites were in the land.
8. 7BBEAnd the Lord came to Abram, and said, I will give all this land to your seed; then Abram made an altar there to the Lord who had let himself be seen by him.BSBBSB: Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
9. 8BBEAnd moving on from there to the mountain on the east of Beth-el, he put up his tent, having Beth-el on the west and Ai on the east: and there he made an altar and gave worship to the name of the Lord.BSBBSB: From there Abram moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the LORD, and he called on the name of the LORD.
10. 9BBEAnd he went on, journeying still to the South.BSBBSB: And Abram journeyed on toward the Negev.

11. Abram and Sarai in Egypt

12. 10BBEAnd because there was little food to be had in that land, he went down into Egypt.BSBBSB: Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.
13. 11BBENow when he came near to Egypt, he said to Sarai, his wife, Truly, you are a fair woman and beautiful to the eye;BSBBSB: As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,
14. 12BBEAnd I am certain that when the men of Egypt see you, they will say, This is his wife: and they will put me to death and keep you.BSBBSB: and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
15. 13BBESay, then, that you are my sister, and so it will be well with me because of you, and my life will be kept safe on your account.BSBBSB: Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
16. 14BBEAnd so it was that when Abram came into Egypt, the men of Egypt, looking on the woman, saw that she was fair.BSBBSB: So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
17. 15BBEAnd Pharaoh's great men, having seen her, said words in praise of her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh's house.BSBBSB: When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.
18. 16BBEAnd because of her, he was good to Abram, and he had sheep and oxen and asses, and men-servants and women-servants, and camels.BSBBSB: He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
19. 17BBEAnd the Lord sent great troubles on Pharaoh's house because of Sarai, Abram's wife.BSBBSB: The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
20. 18BBEThen Pharaoh sent for Abram, and said, What have you done to me? why did you not say that she was your wife?BSBBSB: So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
21. 19BBEWhy did you say that she was your sister? so that I took her for my wife: now, take your wife and go on your way.BSBBSB: Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
22. 20BBEAnd Pharaoh gave orders to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and all he had.BSBBSB: Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.