Genesis 16
16
1And Sarai, Abram's wife, hath not borne to him, and she hath an handmaid, an Egyptian, and her name [is] Hagar;
2and Sarai saith unto Abram, ‘Lo, I pray thee, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing, go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; perhaps I am built up from her;’ and Abram hearkeneth to the voice of Sarai.
3And Sarai, Abram's wife, taketh Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, at the end of the tenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, and giveth her to Abram her husband, to him for a wife,
4and he goeth in unto Hagar, and she conceiveth, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and her mistress is lightly esteemed in her eyes.
5And Sarai saith unto Abram, ‘My violence [is] for thee; I — I have given mine handmaid into thy bosom, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and I am lightly esteemed in her eyes; Jehovah doth judge between me and thee.’
6And Abram saith unto Sarai, ‘Lo, thine handmaid [is] in thine hand, do to her that which is good in thine eyes;’ and Sarai afflicted her, and she fleeth from her presence.
7And a messenger of Jehovah findeth her by the fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way [to] Shur,
8and he saith, ‘Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, whence hast thou come, and whither dost thou go?’ and she saith, ‘From the presence of Sarai, my mistress, I am fleeing.’
9And the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, ‘Turn back unto thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hands;’
10and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, ‘Multiplying I multiply thy seed, and it is not numbered from multitude;’
11and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, ‘Behold thou [art] conceiving, and bearing a son, and hast called his name Ishmael, for Jehovah hath hearkened unto thine affliction;
12and he is a wild-ass man, his hand against every one, and every one's hand against him — and before the face of all his brethren he dwelleth.’
13And she calleth the name of Jehovah who is speaking unto her, ‘Thou [art], O God, my beholder;’ for she said, ‘Even here have I looked behind my beholder?’
14therefore hath one called the well, ‘The well of the Living One, my beholder;’ lo, between Kadesh and Bered.
15And Hagar beareth to Abram a son; and Abram calleth the name of his son, whom Hagar hath borne, Ishmael;
16and Abram [is] a son of eighty and six years in Hagar's bearing Ishmael to Abram.
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 16
16
Hagar and the Ishmaelites’ origins
1Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to have children. Since she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar, 2Sarai said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from giving birth, so go to my servant. Maybe she will provide me with children.” Abram did just as Sarai said. 3After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 4He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when she realized that she was pregnant, she no longer respected her mistress. 5Sarai said to Abram, “This harassment is your fault. I allowed you to embrace my servant, but when she realized she was pregnant, I lost her respect. Let the LORD decide who is right, you or me.”
6Abram said to Sarai, “Since she’s your servant, do whatever you wish to her.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from Sarai.
7The LORD’s messenger found Hagar at a spring in the desert, the spring on the road to Shur, 8and said, “Hagar! Sarai’s servant! Where did you come from and where are you going?”
She said, “From Sarai my mistress. I’m running away.”
9The LORD’s messenger said to her, “Go back to your mistress. Put up with her harsh treatment of you.” 10The LORD’s messenger also said to her,
“I will give you many children,
so many they can’t be counted!”
11The LORD’s messenger said to her,
“You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son.
You will name him Ishmael#16.11 Or God hears
because the LORD has heard about your harsh treatment.
12He will be a wild mule of a man;
he will fight everyone, and they will fight him.
He will live at odds with all his relatives.”#16.12 Or He will reside near all his relatives.
13Hagar named the LORD who spoke to her, “You are El Roi”#16.13 Or God who sees or God whom I’ve seen because she said, “Can I still see after he saw me?”#16.13 Heb uncertain; or Have I really seen God and survived? 14Therefore, that well is called Beer-lahai-roi;#16.14 Or the Well of the Living One who sees me or whom I’ve seen it’s the well between Kadesh and Bered. 15Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram, and Abram named him Ishmael. 16Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for Abram.
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