Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

WAW

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’.

Believers belong to God

¹⁴ Do not become united with people who do not believe in Christ. God has made you right with himself. Right and wrong cannot work together. Light and dark cannot join together. ¹⁵ Christ will never agree with the Devil. People who believe in Christ are completely different from people who do not believe. ¹⁶ Idols do not belong in God's house. Remember that we believers are the house of the God who lives for ever. This is what God has said:

¹⁷ And so, the Lord says:

¹⁸ He also says:

Paul loves the believers at Corinth

7 So, my friends, God has promised these things to us. So we must keep ourselves clean from everything that makes our bodies or our spirits unclean. We must respect and obey God. Then we will become more and more like him.

² Be friends with us. We have done nothing wrong to any of you. We have not hurt anyone. We have not cheated anyone.