God's Call to Abram
1 The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives, and your father's home, and go to a land that I am going to show you. 2 I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
But I will curse those who curse you.
And through you I will bless all the nations.”
4 When Abram was seventy-five years old, he started out from Haran, as the Lord had told him to do; and Lot went with him. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the wealth and all the slaves they had acquired in Haran, and they started out for the land of Canaan.
When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land until he came to the sacred tree of Moreh, the holy place at Shechem. (At that time the Canaanites were still living in the land.) 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “This is the country that I am going to give to your descendants.” Then Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 After that, he moved on south to the hill country east of the city of Bethel and set up his camp between Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There also he built an altar and worshiped the Lord. 9 Then he moved on from place to place, going toward the southern part of Canaan.
Abram in Egypt
10 But there was a famine in Canaan, and it was so bad that Abram went farther south to Egypt, to live there for a while. 11 When he was about to cross the border into Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “You are a beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will assume that you are my wife, and so they will kill me and let you live. 13 Tell them that you are my sister; then because of you they will let me live and treat me well.” 14 When he crossed the border into Egypt, the Egyptians did see that his wife was beautiful. 15 Some of the court officials saw her and told the king how beautiful she was; so she was taken to his palace. 16 Because of her the king treated Abram well and gave him flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, slaves, and camels.
17 But because the king had taken Sarai, the Lord sent terrible diseases on him and on the people of his palace. 18 Then the king sent for Abram and asked him, “What have you done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say that she was your sister, and let me take her as my wife? Here is your wife; take her and get out!” 20 The king gave orders to his men, so they took Abram and put him out of the country, together with his wife and everything he owned.
Ndzimu unodana Abhuramu
1 Yahwe bakadwa Abhuramu bakati, “Bhuda mu shango ya kanyi kwenyu ne mu makamu awo ne mu nsha wa tate babo uyende ku shango yandinowokulakidza.
2 “Ndowokuthama itjaba tjikulu,
ndowokukombolela
ne zina lilo ndowolithama gulu,
kuti ube gombolelo.
3 Ndowokombolela ibabo banokukombolela.
Iye unokulonga bhiso ndowonlongabo bhiso.
Ngekuko njudzi dzose dze shango
ndowodzikombolela.”
4 Ndizo Abhuramu kamilika kayenda se kwaakadwiwa ndi Yahwe, ngono Loti kayenda naye. Abhuramu wakabe ana makole ali makumi ali kutendeka ana makole ali mashanu (75) ha ebhuda mu Harani. 5 Abhuramu katola nkadzi uwe Sarayi na Loti mwana we nnung'una uwe ne thundu yose yabakashaba ne balanda babakawana mu Harani, ngono bakamilika bakayenda ku shango ye Kanana.
Bakati beswika mu Kanana, 6 Abhuramu kayenda epalama shango kanoti ku Shekemu pa nti we pakayengemala wa More. Mu misi iyeyo Bakanana bakabe batjiyapo mu shango iyeyo. 7 Ipapo Yahwe bakazwilakidza kuna Abhuramu ngono bakati kunli, “Zwizekugwana zwizo ndowozwipa shango iyeyi.” Ngono Abhuramu kabakila Yahwe ibo bazwilakidza kunli tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo. 8 Kudwa ipapo kayendila ku matombo ku bhezhuba kwe Bhetele, kabe ebaka nshasha uwe pakati kwe Bhetele ne Ai, nzi we Bhetele uli ku golombedzo, we Ai uli ku bhezhuba. Kabakila Yahwe tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo ipapo, ngono kanamata Yahwe. 9 Abhuramu kamilika kadwilidza gwendo gugwe akalinga ku Negebu.
Abhuramu mu Egipiti
10 Ngono kukabe ne bhamba mu shango iyeyo. Ndizo Abhuramu kayenda ku Egipiti kunogalako kwe tjibakana, ngoti bhamba lakabe lili gulu mu shango. 11 Kukati babe pejo ne kuswika mu Egipiti, Abhuramu kadwa nkadzi uwe Sarayi kati, “Ndoziba kuti u nkadzi mbuya ngolingwa. 12 Baegipiti banowoti bekubona banowoti, ‘Oyu nkadzi uwe.’ Ipapo banowondibulaya koga iwe banowokuletja ukatjila. 13 Ubadwe uti u hazwadzi yangu kuti ndizo ndibhakhwe zubuyanana nge kuko nditjile.” 14 Kukati Abhuramu eswika mu Egipiti, Baegipiti bakati bebona nkadzi bakati wakanaka kwazo. 15 Hadzasha dza Faro dzikati dzimbona dzikanlumbidza kuna Faro, ngono kayisiwa ku ng'umba iye ye bushe. 16 Ngono kabhata Abhuramu zubuyanana nge kukwe, Abhuramu kawana pkhwizi ne ng'ombe ne madonki malume ne makadzi ne balandalume ne balandakadzi ne dzikamela.
17 Koga Yahwe bakaloba Faro ne be ng'umba iye nge njigwele dzakabangalala ngekwa Sarayi nkadzi wa Abhuramu. 18 Ndizo Faro kadana Abhuramu kambhuzwa kati, “Ini kwawandithama kene? Ini usakandibudza kuti nkadzi uwo kene? 19 Ini wakati i hazwadzi iyo, imi ndibe ndintola kube nkadzi wangu kene? Ngono hwoyu nkadzi uwo. Untole uyende.” 20 Ipapo Faro katuma bathu babe kuna Abhuramu ndizo bakampeleka ben'dusa mu shango iye ne nkadzi uwe ne tjimwe ne tjimwe tjaakabeanatjo.