¹⁰ The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.”^(A)

²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; I will bless him and make him fruitful and exceedingly numerous; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.^(A)

Ishmael’s Descendants

¹² These are the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham.^{(A) 13} These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,^{(B) 14} Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵ Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes.^{(C) 17} (This is the length of the life of Ishmael, one hundred thirty-seven years; he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people.) ¹⁸ They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria; he settled down^[a] alongside^[b] all his people.^(D)

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son,^{(A) 17} I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies,^{(B) 18} and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth gain blessing for themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.”^(C)

¹⁸ Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.”^(A)

¹³ As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.”^(A)

³⁰ “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ³² ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look.^{(A) 33} Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.^{(B) 34} I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.’^(C)

³⁵ “It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.^{(D) 36} He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.^{(E) 37} This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.’^{(F) 38} He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai and with our ancestors, and he received living oracles to give to us.^(G)

¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who^[a] is close to the Father’s heart,^[b] who has made him known.^(A)