Genesis 16-17

Legacy Standard Bible

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. ² 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. ³ 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. ⁴ 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. ⁵ 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.” ⁶ 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.

⁷ 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. ⁸ 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.” ⁹ 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,

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.

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

17 Now it happened that when Abram was ninety-nine years old, ^(S)Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him,

³ Then Abram ^(X)fell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying,

⁶ And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and ^(AB)kings will go forth from you. ⁷ And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an ^(AC)everlasting covenant, ^(AD)to be God to you and ^(AE)to your seed after you. ^8 (AF)And I will give to you and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and ^(AG)I will be their God.”

⁹ God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, ^(AH)you shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. ^10 (AI)This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ And ^(AJ)you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹² And every male among you who is ^(AK)eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, one who is born in the house or one who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your seed. ¹³ A servant who is born in your house or ^(AL)who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴ But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be ^(AM)cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

Sarah Will Bear Isaac

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but ^[y]Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶ And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you ^(AN)a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; ^(AO)kings of peoples will ^[z]come from her.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham ^(AP)fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, “Will a son be born to a man one hundred years old? And ^(AQ)will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” ¹⁹ But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you ^(AR)a son, and you shall call his name ^[aa]Isaac; and ^(AS)I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and ^(AT)will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. ^(AU)He shall ^[ab]become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a ^(AV)great nation. ²¹ But My covenant I will establish with ^(AW)Isaac, whom ^(AX)Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.” ²² So He finished talking with him, and ^(AY)God went up from Abraham.

²³ Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all who were ^(AZ)born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, ^(BA)as God had spoken with him. ²⁴ Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when ^(BB)he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁵ And ^(BC)Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶ In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. ²⁷ Now all the men of his household, who were ^(BD)born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.