Genesis 16

1¶ Now Sarai Abram’s wife bore him no children; and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

2And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing; I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

3And Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar, her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

4¶ And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

5Then Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee; I have given my maid into thy bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes; the Lord judge between me and thee.

6But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleases thee. Then Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from her face.

7¶ And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

8And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where didst thou come from and where wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

9And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hands.

10¶ And the angel of the Lord also said unto her, I will multiply thy seed so exceedingly that it shall not be numbered for the multitude.

11And the angel of the Lord yet said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son and shalt call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard thy affliction.

12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

13And she called the name of the Lord that spoke unto her, Thou God that is seen: for she said, Have I not also here seen the back of him that sees me?

14Therefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; {well of the living one who sees me} behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15¶ And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bore, Ishmael.

16And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International

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Genesis 16

Hagar and Ishmael

1Abram's wife Sarai had not been able to have any children. But she owned a young Egyptian slave woman named Hagar, 2and Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has not given me any children. Sleep with my slave, and if she has a child, it will be mine.”#16.2 Sleep … mine: It was the custom for a wife who could not have children to let her husband sleep with one of her slave women. The children of the slave would belong to the wife. Abram agreed, 3and Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wife. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years. 4Later, when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and treated Sarai hatefully.

5Then Sarai said to Abram, “It's all your fault!#16.5 It's … fault: Or “I hope you'll be punished for what you did to me!” I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the Lord for this.”

6Abram said, “All right! She's your slave—do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai began treating Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.

7Hagar stopped to rest at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur. While she was there, the angel of the Lord came to her 8and asked, “Hagar, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

She answered, “I'm running away from Sarai, my owner.”

9The angel said, “Go back to Sarai and be her slave. 10-11I will give you a son, who will be called Ishmael,#16.10,11 Ishmael: In Hebrew “Ishmael” sounds like “God hears.” because I have heard your cry for help. And someday I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all. 12But your son will live far from his relatives; he will be like a wild donkey, fighting everyone, and everyone fighting him.”

13Hagar thought, “Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?”#16.13 Have … it: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. So from then on she called him, “The God Who Sees Me.”#16.13 The God Who Sees Me: Or “The God I Have Seen.” 14That's why people call the well between Kadesh and Bered, “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”#16.14 The Well … Me: Or “Beer-Lahai-Roi” (see 25.11).

15-16 # Ga 4.22. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to their son, and he named him Ishmael.

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