The Call of Abram
(Genesis 26:1–5; Acts 7:1–8)

1And the Lord had sayde vnto Abram: get thee out of thy coutrey, and out of thy nation, and from thy fathers house, vnto a lande that I wyll shewe thee:

2And I will make of thee a great people, and wyll blesse thee, and make thy name great, that thou shalt be euen a blessyng.

3I wyll also blesse them that blesse thee, and curse the that curseth thee: and in thee shall all kinredes of the earth be blessed.

4And so Abram departed, euen as the Lorde had spoken vnto hym, and Lot went with him: and Abram was seuentie and fiue yeres old when he departed out of Haran. 5And Abram toke Sarai his wyfe, and Lot his brothers sonne, & all their substaunce that they had in possession, and the soules that they had begotten in Haran, and they departed, that they might come into the lande of Chanaan: and into the lande of Chanaan they came. 6Abram passed through the lande, vnto the place of Sichem, vnto the plaine of Moreh. And the Chanaanite was then in the lande. 7And the Lorde appearyng vnto Abram, sayd, Unto thy seede wyl I geue this lande: And there buylded he an aulter vnto the Lorde whiche appeared vnto hym. 8And remouyng thence vnto a mountayne that was eastwarde from Bethel, he pitched his tent, hauyng Bethel on the west syde, & Hai on the east: and there he buyldyng an aulter vnto the Lorde, dyd call vpon the name of the Lorde. 9And Abram toke his iourney, goyng and iourneying towarde the south.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10And the there was a famine in that lande, and therfore went Abram downe into Egypt, that he myght soiourne there, for there was a greeuons famine in the lande. 11And when he was come neare to enter into Egypt, he sayde vnto Sarai his wife: beholde, I knowe that thou art a fayre woman to loke vpon: 12Therfore shall it come to passe, that when the Egyptians see thee, they shall say, she is his wyfe, and they wyll kyll me, but they wyll saue thee aliue: 13Say I pray thee, that thou art my sister, that I may fare well for thy sake, and that my soule may liue through thy occasion. 14And so when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians behelde the woman, for she was very fayre. 15The princes also of Pharao sawe her, and comended her before Pharao, and the woman was taken into Pharaos house. 16And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheepe and oxen, and he asses, menseruauntes, & maydeseruauntes, she asses and camelles.

17But the Lorde plagued Pharao and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai Abrams wyfe. 18And Pharao callyng Abram, sayde: why hast thou done this vnto me? 19Why diddest thou not tel me, that she was thy wyfe? why saydest thou, she is my sister? and so I might haue taken her to be my wyfe? Nowe therfore beholde, there is thy wyfe, take her, and go thy way. 20And Pharao gaue his men commaundement concerning him: and they conuayed him foorth, and his wyfe, and all that he had.