Chronological
The Birth of Ishmael
16 Now Sarai,[a] Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children,[b] but she had an Egyptian servant[c] named Hagar.[d] 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since[e] the Lord has prevented me from having children, please sleep with[f] my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.”[g] Abram did what[h] Sarai told him.
3 So after Abram had lived[i] in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant,[j] to her husband to be his wife.[k] 4 He slept with[l] Hagar, and she became pregnant.[m] Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai.[n] 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me![o] I gave my servant into your embrace,[p] but when she realized[q] that she was pregnant, she despised me.[r] May the Lord judge between you and me!”[s]
6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your[t] servant is under your authority,[u] do to her whatever you think best.”[v] Then Sarai treated Hagar[w] harshly,[x] so she ran away from Sarai.[y]
7 The angel of the Lord[z] found Hagar near a spring of water in the wilderness—the spring that is along the road to Shur.[aa] 8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from[ab] my mistress, Sarai.”
9 Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit[ac] to her authority. 10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the angel of the Lord added,[ad] “so that they will be too numerous to count.”[ae] 11 Then the angel of the Lord said to her,
“You are now[af] pregnant
and are about to give birth[ag] to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael,[ah]
for the Lord has heard your painful groans.[ai]
12 He will be a wild donkey[aj] of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone,[ak]
and everyone will be hostile to him.[al]
He will live away from[am] his brothers.”
13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,”[an] for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!”[ao] 14 That is why the well was called[ap] Beer Lahai Roi.[aq] (It is located[ar] between Kadesh and Bered.)
15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael.[as] 16 (Now[at] Abram was 86 years old[au] when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.)[av]
The Sign of the Covenant
17 When Abram was 99 years old,[aw] the Lord appeared to him and said,[ax] “I am the Sovereign God.[ay] Walk[az] before me[ba] and be blameless.[bb] 2 Then I will confirm my covenant[bc] between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.”[bd]
3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground,[be] and God said to him,[bf] 4 “As for me,[bg] this[bh] is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer will your name be[bi] Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham[bj] because I will make you[bk] the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you[bl] extremely[bm] fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you.[bn] 7 I will confirm[bo] my covenant as a perpetual[bp] covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you.[bq] 8 I will give the whole land of Canaan—the land where you are now residing[br]—to you and your descendants after you as a permanent[bs] possession. I will be their God.”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep[bt] the covenantal requirement[bu] I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep:[bv] Every male among you must be circumcised.[bw] 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder[bx] of the covenant between me and you. 12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old[by] must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 13 They must indeed be circumcised,[bz] whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant[ca] will be visible in your flesh as a permanent[cb] reminder. 14 Any uncircumcised male[cc] who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off[cd] from his people—he has failed to carry out my requirement.”[ce]
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai;[cf] Sarah[cg] will be her name. 16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations.[ch] Kings of countries[ci] will come from her!”
17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed[cj] as he said to himself,[ck] “Can[cl] a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old?[cm] Can Sarah[cn] bear a child at the age of ninety?”[co] 18 Abraham said to God, “O that[cp] Ishmael might live before you!”[cq]
19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac.[cr] I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual[cs] covenant for his descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you.[ct] I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants.[cu] He will become the father of twelve princes;[cv] I will make him into a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.[cw]
23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money)[cx] and circumcised them[cy] on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 24 Now Abraham was 99 years old[cz] when he was circumcised;[da] 25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old[db] when he was circumcised. 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Three Special Visitors
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham[dc] by the oaks[dd] of Mamre while[de] he was sitting at the entrance[df] to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 2 Abraham[dg] looked up[dh] and saw[di] three men standing across from[dj] him. When he saw them[dk] he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low[dl] to the ground.[dm]
3 He said, “My lord,[dn] if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant.[do] 4 Let a little water be brought so that[dp] you may all[dq] wash your feet and rest under the tree. 5 And let me get[dr] a bit of food[ds] so that you may refresh yourselves[dt] since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.”[du] “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take[dv] three measures[dw] of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.”[dx] 7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant,[dy] who quickly prepared it.[dz] 8 Abraham[ea] then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food[eb] before them. They ate while[ec] he was standing near them under a tree.
9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There,[ed] in the tent.” 10 One of them[ee] said, “I will surely return[ef] to you when the season comes round again,[eg] and your wife Sarah will have a son!”[eh] (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him.[ei] 11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years;[ej] Sarah had long since passed menopause.)[ek] 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking,[el] “After I am worn out will I have pleasure,[em] especially when my husband is old too?”[en]
13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why[eo] did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really[ep] have a child when I am old?’ 14 Is anything impossible[eq] for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”[er] 15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.”[es]
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men got up to leave,[et] they looked out over[eu] Sodom. (Now[ev] Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.)[ew] 17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?[ex] 18 After all, Abraham[ey] will surely become[ez] a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth may receive blessing[fa] through him. 19 I have chosen him[fb] so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep[fc] the way of the Lord by doing[fd] what is right and just. Then the Lord will give[fe] to Abraham what he promised[ff] him.”
20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against[fg] Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant[fh] 21 that I must go down[fi] and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests.[fj] If not,[fk] I want to know.”
22 The two men turned[fl] and headed[fm] toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord.[fn] 23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you really sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare[fo] the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge[fp] of the whole earth do what is right?”[fq]
26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord[fr] (although I am but dust and ashes),[fs] 28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy[ft] the whole city because five are lacking?”[fu] He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Abraham[fv] spoke to him again,[fw] “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
30 Then Abraham[fx] said, “May the Lord not be angry[fy] so that I may speak![fz] What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
31 Abraham[ga] said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
32 Finally Abraham[gb] said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
33 The Lord went on his way[gc] when he had finished speaking[gd] to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home.[ge]
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