Genesis 16
EasyEnglish Bible
Sarai and Hagar
16 Abram's wife, Sarai, had not given birth to any children. She had an Egyptian servant. The servant's name was Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, ‘The Lord has not let me have any children. Go and sleep with my servant. Then if she gives birth, her children will be my family.’ Abram agreed to do this.[a]
3 Abram had now been living in Canaan for ten years. Sarai gave her Egyptian servant, Hagar, to him. She became like another wife for Abram.
4 Abram had sex with Hagar and she became pregnant. When Hagar knew that she was pregnant, she no longer respected Sarai.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘It is because of you that Hagar is now insulting me. I gave her to you so that you could have sex with her. Now she is pregnant and she does not respect me. The Lord will decide who is right, you or me.’
6 Abram said to Sarai, ‘Hagar is your servant and you have authority over her. Do to her whatever you think is right.’ Then Sarai caused trouble for Hagar. So Hagar ran away from Sarai.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar. She was by a spring of water in the desert. The spring was near the road to Shur. 8 The angel said, ‘Sarai's servant, Hagar, where have you come from? Where are you going?’ Hagar replied, ‘I am running away from Sarai. I am her servant.’
9 The angel of the Lord told Hagar, ‘Go back to Sarai. You are her servant and you must obey her.’
10 The angel also said, ‘I will make the number of your descendants become very many. They will be too many for people to count.’
11 The angel of the Lord said to Hagar,
‘Now you are pregnant and you will give birth to a son.
When you cried in pain, the Lord heard you,
so you must give your son the name “Ishmael”.[b]
12 Like a wild donkey, nobody will be able to rule him.
He will fight against everyone, and everyone will fight against him.
He will think that everyone is his enemy.
He will keep away from his brothers.’
13 When Hagar heard what the angel said, she said to herself, ‘I have seen the God who sees me!’ So she called the Lord ‘The God who sees me.’ 14 That is why they called the well in that place ‘Beer Lahai Roi’.[c] The well is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 After some time Hagar gave birth to a son. Abram was his father. Abram gave his son the name ‘Ishmael’. 16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
Genesis 16
Lexham English Bible
Sarai and Hagar
16 Now[a] Sarai, the wife of Abram, had borne him no children. And she had a female Egyptian servant, and her name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Look, please, Yahweh has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my servant; perhaps I will have children by her.”[b] And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 Then[c] Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband as his wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she[d] saw that she had conceived, then her mistress grew small in her eyes. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “may my harm be upon you. I had my servant sleep with you,[e] and when she saw that she had conceived, she no longer respected me.[f] May Yahweh judge between me and you!” 6 And Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your servant is under your authority.[g] Do to her that which is good in your eyes.” And Sarai mistreated her, and she[h] fled from her presence.
Hagar and the Angel of Yahweh
7 And the angel of Yahweh found her at a spring of water in the wilderness, at the spring by the road of Shur. 8 And he said to Hagar, the servant of Sarai, “From where[i] have you come, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of Sarai my mistress.” 9 Then[j] the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her authority.”[k] 10 And the angel of Yahweh said to her, “I will greatly multiply[l] your offspring, so that they cannot be counted for their abundance.” 11 And the angel of Yahweh said to her:
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall have a son.
And you shall call his name Ishmael,
for Yahweh has listened to your suffering.
12 And he shall be a wild donkey of a man,
his hand will be against everyone,
and the hand of everyone will be against him,
and he will live in hostility with all his brothers.”[m]
13 So[n] she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are El-Roi,”[o] for she said, “Here I have seen after he who sees me.” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-Lahai-Roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar had a child for Abram, a son. And Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore to him, Ishmael. 16 And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Footnotes
- Genesis 16:1 Or “And”
- Genesis 16:2 Literally “I will be built from her”
- Genesis 16:3 Or “And”
- Genesis 16:4 That is, Hagar
- Genesis 16:5 Literally “I put my servant in your lap”
- Genesis 16:5 Literally “I grew small in her eyes”
- Genesis 16:6 Literally “in your hand”
- Genesis 16:6 That is, Hagar
- Genesis 16:8 Literally “where from this”
- Genesis 16:9 Or “And”
- Genesis 16:9 Literally “her hand”
- Genesis 16:10 Literally “multiplying I will multiply”
- Genesis 16:12 Literally “against the face of all his brothers”
- Genesis 16:13 Or “And”
- Genesis 16:13 “God of seeing”
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