Genesis 16:7-17:21

English Standard Version

⁷ The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to ^(A)Shur. ⁸ And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” ⁹ The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” ¹⁰ The angel of the Lord also said to her, ^(B)“I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” ¹¹ And the angel of the Lord said to her,

¹³ So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”^[b] for she said, ^(F)“Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”^{[c] 14} Therefore the well was called ^(G)Beer-lahai-roi;^[d] it lies between ^(H)Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty;^[e] walk before me, and be ^(I)blameless, ² that I may make my covenant between me and you, and ^(J)may multiply you greatly.” ³ Then Abram ^(K)fell on his face. And God said to him, ⁴ “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be ^(L)the father of a multitude of nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram,^[f] but ^(M)your name shall be Abraham,^{[g] (N)}for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make ^(O)you into nations, and ^(P)kings shall come from you. ⁷ And I will ^(Q)establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, ^(R)to be God to you and to your offspring after you. ⁸ And ^(S)I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and ^(T)I will be their God.”

⁹ And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰ This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a ^(U)sign of the covenant between me and you. ¹² He who is ^(V)eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or ^(W)bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, ¹³ both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Isaac's Birth Promised

¹⁵ And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah^[h] shall be her name. ¹⁶ I will bless her, and moreover, I will ^(X)give^[i] you a son by her. I will bless her, and ^(Y)she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham ^(Z)fell on his face ^(AA)and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” ¹⁹ God said, “No, but ^(AB)Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name ^(AC)Isaac.^[j] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and ^(AD)multiply him greatly. He ^(AE)shall father twelve princes, and ^(AF)I will make him into a great nation. ²¹ But ^(AG)I will establish my covenant with Isaac, ^(AH)whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”