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
The Birth of Ishmael
1Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, 2and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. 4He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.
7The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8And he said, “Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” 10The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your offspring that they cannot be counted for multitude.” 11And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;
you shall call him Ishmael,#16.11 That is God hears
for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.
12He shall be a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
and everyone's hand against him;
and he shall live at odds with all his kin.”
13So she named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”;#16.13 Perhaps God of seeing or God who sees for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”#16.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain 14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;#16.14 That is the Well of the Living One who sees me it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
15Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him#16.16 Heb Abram Ishmael.
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.