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.

⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.^(A)” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars^(B)—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring^[a] be.”^(C)

Abram in Egypt^(A)

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land,^(B) and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.^{(C) 11} As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,^(D) “I know what a beautiful woman^(E) you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister,^(F) so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.^{(G) 15} And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.^(H)

¹⁷ But the Lord inflicted^(I) serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household^(J) because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?”^(K) he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?^{(L) 19} Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’^(M) so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.