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Genesis 16:4-16
New Catholic Bible
Genesis 16:4-16
New Catholic Bible
4 He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant.
But once she realized that she was pregnant, she no longer treated her mistress with respect. 5 Therefore, Sarai said to Abram, “May this affront fall upon you! I gave you my maid to embrace, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she stopped treating me with respect. Let the Lord judge between you and me.”
6 Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your slave is in your hands. Do with her as you see fit.” Sarai then maltreated her so much that Hagar ran away.
7 The angel of the Lord[a] found her near a spring in the desert. The spring was on the road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She answered, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and be obedient to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord continued, “I will multiply the number of your descendants so much that you will not be able to count them.”
11 The angel of the Lord added,
“Behold, you are pregnant:
you will bear a son
and call him Ishmael,
for the Lord has listened to you in your distress.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against all
and the hands of all will be against him.
He will be opposed to all of his brothers.”
13 Hagar gave a name to the Lord who had spoken to her, “You are the God of the Vision.”[b] Therefore, she said, “Here I remained alive after having received this vision.” 14 Because of this, the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kedesh and Bered.
15 Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son. Abram named the son whom Hagar had borne Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 16:7 The angel of the Lord: in these ancient stories this is a conventional way of signifying sensible manifestations of God himself, “the God of the Vision” (v. 13).
- Genesis 16:13 The God of the Vision: in Hebrew, El-Roi. Hagar was amazed that she remained alive after seeing God—in contrast to the ancient belief that a person died upon seeing God (see Gen 32:31; Ex 20:19; Deut 4:33; Jdg 13:22).
Genesis 16:4-16
New International Version
Genesis 16:4-16
New International Version
4 He slept with Hagar,(A) and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.(B) 5 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.”(C)
6 “Your slave is in your hands,(D)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated(E) Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord(F) found Hagar near a spring(G) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.(H) 8 And he said, “Hagar,(I) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”(J)
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 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.”(K)
11 The angel of the Lord(L) also said to her:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.(M)
You shall name him(N) Ishmael,[a](O)
for the Lord has heard of your misery.(P)
12 He will be a wild donkey(Q) 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.(R)”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,(S)” for she said, “I have now seen[c] the One who sees me.”(T) 14 That is why the well(U) was called Beer Lahai Roi[d];(V) it is still there, between Kadesh(W) and Bered.
15 So Hagar(X) bore Abram a son,(Y) and Abram gave the name Ishmael(Z) to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old(AA) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
Footnotes
- Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
- Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
- Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
- Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
New International Version (NIV) 
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