Genesis 21:9-14

Living Bible

⁹But when Sarah noticed Ishmael—the son of Abraham and the Egyptian girl Hagar—teasing^[a] Isaac, ¹⁰she turned upon Abraham and demanded, “Get rid of that slave girl and her son. He is not going to share your property with my son. I won’t have it.”

¹¹This upset Abraham very much, for after all, Ishmael too was his son.

¹²But God told Abraham, “Don’t be upset over the boy or your slave-girl wife; do as Sarah says, for Isaac is the son through whom my promise will be fulfilled. ¹³And I will make a nation of the descendants of the slave girl’s son, too, because he also is yours.”

¹⁴So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food for the journey, and strapped a canteen of water to Hagar’s shoulders and sent her away with their son. She walked out into the wilderness of Beersheba, wandering aimlessly.

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Footnotes

Genesis 21:9 teasing, or “mocking,” whether in innocent fun or otherwise is not clear in the text.

Genesis 21:9-14

New International Version

⁹But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham^(A) was mocking,^(B) ¹⁰and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman^(C) and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”^(D)

¹¹The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.^(E) ¹²But 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.^(F) ¹³I will make the son of the slave into a nation^(G) also, because he is your offspring.”

¹⁴Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar.^(H) 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.^(I)

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