Genesis 21

Abraham and Sarah had a son, Isaac

1God was good to Sarah, and he kept his promise to her, 2and a baby started to grow inside her. Then that baby boy was born at the time that God said he would be born. Abraham was an old man, but Sarah had a baby boy, and Abraham was his father.#Hebrews 11:11 3Abraham called him Isaac. That name means laugh.

4And when Isaac was 8 days old, Abraham did the young man operation on him, just like God told him to do, to show that Isaac belonged to God.#Genesis 17:12; Acts 7:8

5Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. 6Sarah said, “God is giving me something to laugh about now, and everyone that hears this story will be happy with me, and they will laugh too.” 7She also said, “Nobody reckoned that I can ever have a kid. But look, Abraham is old now, but I had a baby boy, and Abraham is his father.”

Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away from his camp

8When Isaac was about 3 years old, he stopped drinking Sarah’s milk, and Abraham gave him a big party. 9Then Sarah saw Ishmael laughing at Isaac. Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar. Hagar was Sarah’s worker, and she was from Egypt country. 10Then Sarah said to Abraham, “When you die, my son Isaac has to get all your things. I don’t want Ishmael to get anything, he is just the son of a worker woman. So you have to tell that woman and her son to get out of our camp. Send them right away from here.”#Galatians 4:29-30

11Abraham was really upset by what Sarah said. Ishmael was his son, so Abraham reckoned it was wrong to send him away. 12But God said to Abraham, “Don’t worry about Ishmael or his mother. You see, the family that I promised you will come from Isaac, not from Ishmael. So listen to Sarah, and do what she says.#Romans 9:7; Hebrews 11:18 13Don’t worry, I will give Ishmael a big family too. Later on, his family will grow into a big nation. I will do that for him, because he is your son too.”

14So early the next morning, Abraham got some food, and a leather water bag. He put them on Hagar’s shoulder, and he sent her and Ishmael out of his camp. They walked around in the desert country near Beersheba. 15They kept going until there was no water left in the water bag. Then they stopped, and Hagar left Ishmael in the shade of a little tree. 16And then she went and sat by herself a little way from him, because she thought, “I don’t want to watch him die.” And she started to cry out loud.

17Ishmael was crying too, and God heard him, and he sent an angel messenger from heaven to talk to Hagar. The angel said, “Why are you upset? Don’t worry. God has heard Ishmael crying, under that tree. 18Go and take care of him. Listen, I will give him a big family, and they will become a great nation.” 19Then God showed her a water-hole. So she got up and filled her water bag, and she gave Ishmael a drink.

20-21God kept Ishmael safe as he grew up in the desert called Paran. He learned how to use a bow and arrows properly, so he became a good hunter. And later on, Hagar got a wife for him from Egypt country.

Abraham and Abimelek made strong promises to each other

22-23One day, Abimelek went to talk to Abraham. Abimelek was the big boss of the country where Abraham lived. And Ficol, the leader of Abimelek’s army, went with him. Abimelek said to Abraham, “You know, you are not one of my people. You came from another place to live here in my country. But I have been good to you, and to all your people. So I want you to promise me that you will never try to trick me, or my kids, or anyone that is born into my family. I want you to promise that you will be good to them. We know that God is very good to you, and he helps you with everything you do. So I want you to make that promise to me while God is listening. I want you to tell God to punish you if you break that promise.”#Genesis 26:26

24So Abraham made that promise to Abimelek. He said those words in the way that Abimelek wanted.

25But then Abraham also complained to Abimelek. He said, “I’ve got a problem. Some of your workers took one of my water-holes, and then they stopped my workers from getting any water there.”

26Abimelek said, “I’m sorry, Abraham. I don’t know who did that. I never heard about it, and you didn’t tell me about it until now.”

27At that time, Abraham gave Abimelek some of his sheep, and goats, and cows, and the 2 men made strong promises to each other. 28Then Abraham also picked out 7 young female sheep from his animals, and he put them to one side. 29Abimelek asked him, “Why did you put these 7 sheep to one side? What do you mean by that?”

30Abraham said, “I want to give you these sheep as a special present. Take them. That’s how you can show people that you agree with me, that I dug that water-hole and that I own it.”

31From that time on, that place was called Beersheba. That name means water-hole where they made a promise. It was where Abraham and Abimelek made strong promises to each other.

32After they made those promises, Abimelek and Ficol went back to their home, in Philistia country. 33Then Abraham showed respect to God there in Beersheba. He called God by his special name Yahweh, and he planted a special tree to remember that place. Yahweh is the true God that lives for ever.

34Abraham and all his people lived for a long time in the country that belonged to the Philistia mob.

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Genesis 21

Isaac Is Born

1Then the Lord took note of Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had promised. 2So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. 4Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

8The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah Turns against Hagar

9Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. 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 matter distressed Abraham greatly because of his son. 12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named. 13And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant.” 14So Abraham rose 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 away. And she departed and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.

15When the water in the skin was used up, she left 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 she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept. 17God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” 19Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink.

20God was with the lad, and he grew; and he lived in the wilderness and became an 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 it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do; 23now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.” 24Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized. 26And Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor did I hear of it until today.”

27Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs mean, which you have set by themselves?” 30He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand so that it may be a witness to me, that I dug this well.” 31Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because there the two of them took an oath. 32So they made a covenant at Beersheba; and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose 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, the Everlasting God. 34And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days.

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