²³ Lamech said to his wives,

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) 2} 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. ³ 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. ⁴ He slept with Hagar,^(I) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.^{(J) 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.”^(K)

⁶ “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.

⁷ 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) 8} 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.

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.”^(S)

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

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.

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

⁸ The child grew and was weaned,^(A) and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. ⁹ But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham^(B) was mocking,^{(C) 10} and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman^(D) and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”^(E)

¹¹ The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.^{(F) 12} But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring^[a] will be reckoned.^{(G) 13} I will make the son of the slave into a nation^(H) also, because he is your offspring.”

¹⁴ Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar.^(I) He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.^(J)

¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she^[b] began to sob.^(K)

¹⁷ God heard the boy crying,^(L) and the angel of God^(M) called to Hagar from heaven^(N) and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid;^(O) God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸ Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.^(P)”

¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes^(Q) and she saw a well of water.^(R) So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

²⁰ God was with the boy^(S) as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer. ²¹ While he was living in the Desert of Paran,^(T) his mother got a wife for him^(U) from Egypt.

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah,^(A) and the name of the younger was Rachel.^{(B) 17} Leah had weak^[a] eyes, but Rachel^(C) had a lovely figure and was beautiful.^{(D) 18} Jacob was in love with Rachel^(E) and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”^(F)

¹⁹ Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel,^(G) but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.^(H)

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.^(I)”

²² So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast.^{(J) 23} But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah^(K) and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his servant Zilpah^(L) to his daughter as her attendant.^(M)

²⁵ When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me?^(N) I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?^(O)”

²⁶ Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.^{(P) 27} Finish this daughter’s bridal week;^(Q) then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.^(R)”

²⁸ And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.^{(S) 29} Laban gave his servant Bilhah^(T) to his daughter Rachel as her attendant.^{(U) 30} Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah.^(V) And he worked for Laban another seven years.^(W)

Jacob’s Children

³¹ When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved,^(X) he enabled her to conceive,^(Y) but Rachel remained childless. ³² Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son.^(Z) She named him Reuben,^[b](AA) for she said, “It is because the Lord has seen my misery.^(AB) Surely my husband will love me now.”

³³ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved,^(AC) he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.^[c](AD)

³⁴ Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me,^(AE) because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.^[d](AF)

³⁵ She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” So she named him Judah.^[e](AG) Then she stopped having children.^(AH)

30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children,^(AI) she became jealous of her sister.^(AJ) So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

² Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God,^(AK) who has kept you from having children?”^(AL)

³ Then she said, “Here is Bilhah,^(AM) my servant.^(AN) Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”^(AO)

⁴ So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife.^(AP) Jacob slept with her,^{(AQ) 5} and she became pregnant and bore him a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me;^(AR) he has listened to my plea and given me a son.”^(AS) Because of this she named him Dan.^[f](AT)

⁷ Rachel’s servant Bilhah^(AU) conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.”^(AV) So she named him Naphtali.^[g](AW)

⁹ When Leah^(AX) saw that she had stopped having children,^(AY) she took her servant Zilpah^(AZ) and gave her to Jacob as a wife.^{(BA) 10} Leah’s servant Zilpah^(BB) bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “What good fortune!”^[h] So she named him Gad.^[i](BC)

¹² Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me^(BD) happy.”^(BE) So she named him Asher.^[j](BF)

¹⁴ During wheat harvest,^(BG) Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants,^(BH) which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough^(BI) that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?”

“Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”^(BJ)

¹⁶ So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.”^(BK) So he slept with her that night.

¹⁷ God listened to Leah,^(BL) and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.”^(BM) So she named him Issachar.^[k](BN)

¹⁹ Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor,^(BO) because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.^[l](BP)

²¹ Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.^(BQ)

²² Then God remembered Rachel;^(BR) he listened to her^(BS) and enabled her to conceive.^{(BT) 23} She became pregnant and gave birth to a son^(BU) and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”^{(BV) 24} She named him Joseph,^[m](BW) and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”^(BX)

³ Now Israel^(A) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,^(B) because he had been born to him in his old age;^(C) and he made an ornate^[a] robe^(D) for him.^{(E) 4} When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him^(F) and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵ Joseph had a dream,^(G) and when he told it to his brothers,^(H) they hated him all the more.^{(I) 6} He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves^(J) of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”^(K)

⁸ His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”^(L) And they hated him all the more^(M) because of his dream and what he had said.

⁹ Then he had another dream,^(N) and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars^(O) were bowing down to me.”^(P)

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers,^(Q) his father rebuked^(R) him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”^{(S) 11} His brothers were jealous of him,^(T) but his father kept the matter in mind.^(U)

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,^{(V) 13} and Israel^(W) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.^(X) Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers^(Y) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.^(Z)

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.^(AA)’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.^(AB)

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!^(AC)” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns^(AD) and say that a ferocious animal^(AE) devoured him.^(AF) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”^(AG)

²¹ When Reuben^(AH) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.^{(AI) 22} “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern^(AJ) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.^(AK)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(AL) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(AM) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites^(AN) coming from Gilead.^(AO) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(AP) and myrrh,^(AQ) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(AR)

²⁶ Judah^(AS) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?^{(AT) 27} Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,^(AU) our own flesh and blood.^(AV)” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(AW) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(AX) and sold^(AY) him for twenty shekels^[b] of silver^(AZ) to the Ishmaelites,^(BA) who took him to Egypt.^(BB)

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.^{(BC) 30} He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”^(BD)

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe,^(BE) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(BF) 32} They took the ornate robe^(BG) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal^(BH) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^(BI)

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes,^(BJ) put on sackcloth^(BK) and mourned for his son many days.^{(BL) 35} All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,^(BM) but he refused to be comforted.^(BN) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son^(BO) in the grave.^(BP)” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites^[c](BQ) sold Joseph^(BR) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.^(BS)