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Sarai and Hagar

16 Now[a] Sarai, the wife of Abram, had borne him no children. And she had a female Egyptian servant, and her name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Look, please, Yahweh has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my servant; perhaps I will have children by her.”[b] And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. Then[c] Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband as his wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she[d] saw that she had conceived, then her mistress grew small in her eyes. And Sarai said to Abram, “may my harm be upon you. I had my servant sleep with you,[e] and when she saw that she had conceived, she no longer respected me.[f] May Yahweh judge between me and you!” And Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your servant is under your authority.[g] Do to her that which is good in your eyes.” And Sarai mistreated her, and she[h] fled from her presence.

Hagar and the Angel of Yahweh

And the angel of Yahweh found her at a spring of water in the wilderness, at the spring by the road of Shur. And he said to Hagar, the servant of Sarai, “From where[i] have you come, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of Sarai my mistress.” Then[j] the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her authority.”[k] 10 And the angel of Yahweh said to her, “I will greatly multiply[l] your offspring, so that they cannot be counted for their abundance.” 11 And the angel of Yahweh said to her:

“Behold, you are pregnant
    and shall have a son.
And you shall call his name Ishmael,
    for Yahweh has listened to your suffering.
12 And he shall be a wild donkey of a man,
    his hand will be against everyone,
    and the hand of everyone will be against him,
and he will live in hostility with all his brothers.”[m]

13 So[n] she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are El-Roi,”[o] for she said, “Here I have seen after he who sees me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-Lahai-Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar had a child for Abram, a son. And Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore to him, Ishmael. 16 And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:1 Or “And”
  2. Genesis 16:2 Literally “I will be built from her”
  3. Genesis 16:3 Or “And”
  4. Genesis 16:4 That is, Hagar
  5. Genesis 16:5 Literally “I put my servant in your lap”
  6. Genesis 16:5 Literally “I grew small in her eyes”
  7. Genesis 16:6 Literally “in your hand”
  8. Genesis 16:6 That is, Hagar
  9. Genesis 16:8 Literally “where from this”
  10. Genesis 16:9 Or “And”
  11. Genesis 16:9 Literally “her hand”
  12. Genesis 16:10 Literally “multiplying I will multiply”
  13. Genesis 16:12 Literally “against the face of all his brothers”
  14. Genesis 16:13 Or “And”
  15. Genesis 16:13 “God of seeing”

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.