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Sarai and Hagar

16 Now (A)Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children, and she had (B)an Egyptian servant-woman whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, Yahweh has shut my womb from bearing children. (C)Please go in to my servant-woman; perhaps I will [a]obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. And after Abram had [b]lived (D)ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant-woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. Then she saw that she had conceived, so her mistress became [c]contemptible in her sight. And Sarai said to Abram, “(E)May the violence done to me be upon you. I gave my servant-woman into your [d]embrace, but she saw that she had conceived, so I became [e]contemptible in her [f]sight. (F)May Yahweh judge between [g]you and me.” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant-woman is in your [h]hand; do to her what is good in your [i]sight.” So Sarai afflicted her, and (G)she fled from her presence.

Now (H)the angel of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to (I)Shur. And he said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant-woman, (J)where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Return to your mistress and [j]humble yourself under her hands.” 10 Moreover, the (K)angel of Yahweh said to her, “(L)I will greatly multiply your seed so that [k]they will be too many to be counted.” 11 And the angel of Yahweh said to her further,

“Behold, you [l]are with child,
And you will bear a son;
And you shall call his name [m]Ishmael,
Because (M)Yahweh has heard your affliction.
12 And he will be a (N)wild donkey of a man,
His hand will be against everyone,
And everyone’s hand will be against him;
And he will dwell [n](O)in the face of all his brothers.”

13 Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “[o]You are [p]a God who sees”; for she said, “(P)Have I even [q]remained alive here after seeing Him?” 14 Therefore the well was called [r]Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between (Q)Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Now Abram was (R)eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to [s]him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:2 Lit be built from her
  2. Genesis 16:3 Lit dwelt
  3. Genesis 16:4 Or cursed, cf. 12:3
  4. Genesis 16:5 Lit bosom
  5. Genesis 16:5 Or cursed, cf. 12:3
  6. Genesis 16:5 Lit eyes
  7. Genesis 16:5 Lit me and you
  8. Genesis 16:6 Or power
  9. Genesis 16:6 Lit eyes
  10. Genesis 16:9 Lit afflict, cf. 16:6
  11. Genesis 16:10 Or it shall not be counted for multitude
  12. Genesis 16:11 Or have conceived, cf. 3:16; 21:2; 25:21; Ex 2:2; 1 Sam 1:20; Luke 1:31, 36
  13. Genesis 16:11 Lit God hears
  14. Genesis 16:12 Or to the east of, in defiance of
  15. Genesis 16:13 Or You, O God, see me
  16. Genesis 16:13 Heb El roi
  17. Genesis 16:13 Lit seen here after the one who saw me
  18. Genesis 16:14 Lit the well of the living one who sees me
  19. Genesis 16:16 Lit Abram

Sarai and Hagar

16 (A)Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was (B)Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children[a] by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram (C)had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, (D)she looked with contempt on her mistress.[b] And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May (E)the Lord judge between you and me!” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to (F)Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, (G)“I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant
    and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,[c]
    (H)because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
12 He shall be (I)a wild donkey of a man,
    his hand against everyone
    and everyone's hand against him,
and he shall dwell (J)over against all his kinsmen.”

13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”[d] for she said, (K)“Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”[e] 14 Therefore the well was called (L)Beer-lahai-roi;[f] it lies between (M)Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children
  2. Genesis 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5
  3. Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears
  4. Genesis 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me
  5. Genesis 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me?
  6. Genesis 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me