The Birth of Isaac

21 The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised.^(A)

¹⁰ Then one said, “I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him.^(A)

¹⁹ God said, “No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac.^[a] I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.^(A)

²³ One, the child of the enslaved woman, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise.^(A)

² in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began^(A)—

¹⁷ as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”), in the presence of the God in whom he believed,^[a] who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.^{(A) 18} Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So shall your descendants be.” ¹⁹ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already^[b] as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), and the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.^{(B) 20} No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,

²¹ And^[a] the Lord took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.^(A)

¹⁴ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.”^(A)

²⁸ Now you,^[a] my brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, like Isaac.