Sarai and Hagar

16 Now (A)Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had (B)an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. (C)Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will [a]obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. And so after Abram had lived (D)ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. Then he had relations with Hagar, and she conceived; and when Hagar became aware that she had conceived, her mistress was insignificant in her sight. So Sarai said to Abram, “(E)May the wrong done to me be upon you! I put my slave woman into your [b]arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was insignificant in her [c]sight. (F)May the Lord judge between [d]you and me.” But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your slave woman is in your [e]power; do to her what is good in your [f]sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and (G)she fled from her presence.

Now (H)the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to (I)Shur. He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s slave woman, (J)from where have you come, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” So the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit [g]to her authority.” 10 The (K)angel of the Lord also said to her, “(L)I will greatly multiply your [h]descendants so that [i]they will be too many to count.” 11 The angel of the Lord said to her further,

“Behold, you are pregnant,
And you will give birth to a son;
And you shall name him [j]Ishmael,
Because (M)the Lord has heard your affliction.
12 But he will be a (N)wild donkey of a man;
His hand will be against everyone,
And everyone’s hand will be against him;
And he will live [k](O)in defiance of all his brothers.”

13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “[l]You are [m]a God who sees me”; for she said, “(P)Have I even seen Him here and lived after [n]He saw me?” 14 Therefore the well was called [o]Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between (Q)Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael. 16 Abram was (R)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to [p]him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:2 Lit be built from her
  2. Genesis 16:5 Lit breast
  3. Genesis 16:5 Lit eyes
  4. Genesis 16:5 Lit me and you
  5. Genesis 16:6 Lit hand
  6. Genesis 16:6 Lit eyes
  7. Genesis 16:9 Lit under her hands
  8. Genesis 16:10 Lit seed
  9. Genesis 16:10 Lit they shall not be counted for multitude
  10. Genesis 16:11 I.e., God hears
  11. Genesis 16:12 Lit before the face of; or opposite
  12. Genesis 16:13 Or You, God, see me
  13. Genesis 16:13 Heb Elroi
  14. Genesis 16:13 Lit His seeing me
  15. Genesis 16:14 I.e., the well of the living one who sees me
  16. Genesis 16:16 Lit Abram

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai,(A) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.(B) But she had an Egyptian slave(C) named Hagar;(D) so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.(E) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”(F)

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan(G) ten years,(H) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar,(I) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.(J) Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”(K)

“Your slave is in your hands,(L)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated(M) Hagar; so she fled from her.

The angel of the Lord(N) found Hagar near a spring(O) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.(P) And he said, “Hagar,(Q) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”(R)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”(S)

11 The angel of the Lord(T) also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.(U)
You shall name him(V) Ishmael,[a](W)
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.(X)
12 He will be a wild donkey(Y) of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward[b] all his brothers.(Z)

13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,(AA)” for she said, “I have now seen[c] the One who sees me.”(AB) 14 That is why the well(AC) was called Beer Lahai Roi[d];(AD) it is still there, between Kadesh(AE) and Bered.

15 So Hagar(AF) bore Abram a son,(AG) and Abram gave the name Ishmael(AH) to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old(AI) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
  2. Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
  3. Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
  4. Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.