12
[LEKH LEKHA]
1 Now Hashem had said unto Avram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from the bais avicha, unto ha'aretz that I will show thee; 2 So that I will make of thee a goy gadol (great nation), so that I will bless thee, and make thy shem great; and so thou shalt be a brocha (blessing); 3 And I will bless the one blessing you, and curse him that curses you; and kol mishpochot haadamah shall be blessed through you.*
4 So Avram departed as Hashem had told him; and Lot went with him; and Avram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Charan. 5 And Avram took Sarai his isha, and Lot his brotherʼs son, and all their possessions that they had amassed, and the nefesh that they had gotten in Charan; and they went forth to go into the land of Kena'an; and they arrived in the land of Kena'an. 6 And Avram passed through the land unto the makom Shechem, unto Elon Moreh. And the Kena'ani was then in ha'aretz.
7 And Hashem appeared unto Avram, and said, Unto thy zera will I give ha'aretz hazot: and there built he a mizbe'ach unto Hashem, Who appeared unto him.
8 And he removed from there unto the harah mikedem Beit-El, and pitched his tent, having Beit-El on the west, and Ai on the east; and there he built a Mizbe'ach unto Hashem, and called upon the Shem of Hashem.
9 And Avram journeyed, going on still toward the Negev.
10 And there was a ra'av in the land; and Avram went down into Mitzrayim to sojourn there; for the ra'av was severe in ha'aretz. 11 And it came to pass, when he was about to enter into Mitzrayim, that he said unto Sarai his isha, Hinei now, I know that thou art an isha yafeh to look upon; 12 Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his isha; and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. 13 Say, now, thou art my achot; that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my nefesh shall live on account of thee.
14 And it came to pass, that, when Avram was come into Mitzrayim, the Egyptians beheld the isha that she was yafeh me'od. 15 The sarim of Pharaoh also saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh; and the isha was taken into Bais Pharaoh. 16 And he treated Avram well for her sake: and he acquired sheep and oxen, and male donkeys, and avadim, and shfachot, and female donkeys, and camels.
17 And Hashem plagued Pharaoh and his Bais with nega'im gedolim because of Sarai eshet Avram. 18 And Pharaoh summoned Avram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy isha? 19 Why saidst thou, She is my achot? So I might have taken her to me to wife; now therefore, hinei, thy wife, take her, and go!
20 And Pharaoh commanded his anashim concerning him; and they sent him away, and his isha, and all that he had.
* 12:3 There is a brocha in this verse that many do not know but that every true follower of Moshiach should know.