Genesis 21

1And Jehovah visited Sarah as he had said, and Jehovah did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2And Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh; every one that heareth will laugh with me. 7And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck? for I have borne him a son in his old age.

8And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. 10Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son: for the son of this handmaid shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. 11And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight on account of his son. 12And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy handmaid; in all that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 13And also of the son of the handmaid will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. 14And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and gave her the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. 16And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not look upon the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. 17And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy hand; for I will make him a great nation. 19And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. 20And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became, as he grew up, an archer. 21And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

22And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: 23now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. 24And Abraham said, I will swear. 25And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. 26And Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to-day. 27And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and they two made a covenant. 28And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? 30And he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged this well. 31Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba; because there they sware both of them. 32So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. 33And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Jehovah, the Everlasting God. 34And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

Learn More About American Standard Version

Genesis 21

Isaac Is Born

1The Lord graciously remembered and visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for her as He had promised. 2So Sarah conceived and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham named his son Isaac (laughter), the son to whom Sarah gave birth. 4So Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, just as God had commanded him. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. 6Sarah said, “God has made me laugh; all who hear [about our good news] will laugh with me.” 7And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have given birth to a son by him in his old age.”

8The child [Isaac] grew and was #This was probably when the child was about three years of age. Samuel served in the sanctuary from the time that he was weaned (1 Sam 1:22-28), and a Hebrew mother is quoted in 2 Maccabees 7:27 as saying to her son that she nursed him for three years.weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah Turns against Hagar

9Now [as time went on] Sarah saw [Ishmael] the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, #Ishmael was old enough to know better than to ridicule or tease his much younger brother, and his behavior was inappropriate and thoughtless.mocking [Isaac]. 10Therefore she said to Abraham, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac.” 11The situation #Lit was very displeasing in the eyes of Abraham.distressed Abraham greatly because of his son [Ishmael]. 12God said to Abraham, “Do not let it distress you because of Ishmael and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her and do what she asks, for your descendants will be named through Isaac. 13And I will also make a nation of [Ishmael] the son of the maid, because he is your descendant.” 14So Abraham got up early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy, and sent her #Ishmael was born when Abraham was eighty-six years old (Gen 16:16), so Ishmael was about fourteen when Isaac was born, and about sixteen or seventeen years old when Isaac was weaned (Gen 21:8; 2 Chr 31:16).away. And she left [but lost her way] and wandered [aimlessly] in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

15When the water in the skin was all gone, Hagar abandoned the boy under one of the bushes. 16Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Do not let me see the boy die.” And as she sat down opposite him, she raised her voice and wept. 17God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy from where he is [resting]. 18Get up, help the boy up, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the [empty] skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20God was with Ishmael, and he grew and developed; and he lived in the wilderness and became an [expert] archer. 21He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Covenant with Abimelech

22Now at that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do; 23so now, swear to me here by God that you will not deal unfairly with me [by breaking any agreements we have] or with my son or with my descendants, but as I have treated you with kindness, you shall do the same to me and to the land in which you have sojourned (temporarily lived).” 24And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well of water which the servants of Abimelech had [violently] seized [from him], 26Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this thing. Indeed, you did not tell me, and I did not hear of it until today.”

27So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant (binding agreement). 28Then Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs of the flock, 29and Abimelech said to Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set apart?” 30Abraham said, “You are to accept these seven ewe lambs from me as a witness for me, that I dug this well.” 31Therefore that place was called Beersheba (Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), because there the two of them swore an oath. 32So they made a covenant at Beersheba; then Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, got up and returned to the land of the Philistines. 33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord [in prayer], #Heb El Olam.the Eternal God. 34And Abraham lived [as a resident alien] in the land of the Philistines for #I.e. an extended period of time.many days.

Amplified® Bible

The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631

Learn More About Amplified Bible