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Hagar and Ishmael

And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne Abraham, mocking. 10 Then she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not be heir with my son, with Isaac.” 11 And the matter displeased Abraham very much[a] on account of his son. 12 Then God said to Abraham, “Do not be displeased[b] on account of the boy and on account of the slave woman. Listen to everything that Sarah said to you,[c] for through Isaac your offspring will be named. 13 And I will also make the son of the slave woman into a nation, for he is your offspring.” 14 Then Abraham rose up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder. And he sent her away with the child, and she went, wandering about in the wilderness, in Beersheba. 15 And when the water was finished from the skin, she put the child under one of the bushes. 16 And she went and she sat a good distance away,[d] for she said, “Let me not see the child’s death.” So she sat away from him and lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the cry[e] of the boy and the angel of God called to Hagar from the heavens and said to her, “What is the matter[f] Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the cry[g] of the boy from where he is.[h] 18 Get up, take up the boy and take him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave a drink to the boy. 20 And God was with the boy, and he grew and lived in the wilderness. And he became an expert with a bow.[i] 21 And he lived in the wilderness of Paran. And his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 21:11 Literally “was very bad in the eyes of Abraham”
  2. Genesis 21:12 Literally “Do not let it be bad”
  3. Genesis 21:12 Literally “Everything Sarah said to you, listen with respect to her voice”
  4. Genesis 21:16 Literally “she sat with respect to her, opposite, far away, as the shooting of a bow”
  5. Genesis 21:17 Or “voice”
  6. Genesis 21:17 Literally “What to you”
  7. Genesis 21:17 Or “voice”
  8. Genesis 21:17 Literally “in which he is there”
  9. Genesis 21:20 Literally “an archer with the bow”

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son mocking[a]—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.(A) 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!”(B)

11 Now this was a very difficult thing for[b] Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned[c] about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac.(C) 13 But I will also make a nation of the slave’s son(D) because he is your offspring.”

14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away.[d] She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” So as she sat nearby, she[e] wept loudly.(E)

17 God heard the voice of the boy, and the[f] angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and support him, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes,(F) and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21 He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 21:9 LXX, Vg add Isaac her son
  2. Genesis 21:11 Lit was very bad in the eyes of
  3. Genesis 21:12 Lit Let it not be bad in your eyes
  4. Genesis 21:14 To “send away” a woman = divorce her; Dt 24:1. To “send away” a slave = free her; Dt 15:13.
  5. Genesis 21:16 LXX reads the boy
  6. Genesis 21:17 Or an