Genesis 21
21
1And Jehovah hath looked after Sarah as He hath said, and Jehovah doth to Sarah as He hath spoken;
2and Sarah conceiveth, and beareth a son to Abraham, to his old age, at the appointed time that God hath spoken of with him;
3and Abraham calleth the name of his son who is born to him, whom Sarah hath born to him — Isaac;
4and Abraham circumciseth Isaac his son, [being] a son of eight days, as God hath commanded him.
5And Abraham [is] a son of a hundred years in Isaac his son being born to him,
6and Sarah saith, ‘God hath made laughter for me; every one who is hearing laugheth for me.’
7She saith also, ‘Who hath said to Abraham, Sarah hath suckled sons, that I have born a son for his old age?’
8And the lad groweth, and is weaned, and Abraham maketh a great banquet in the day of Isaac's being weaned;
9and Sarah seeth the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she hath borne to Abraham, mocking,
10and she saith to Abraham, ‘Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid hath no possession with my son — with Isaac.’
11And the thing is very wrong in the eyes of Abraham, for his son's sake;
12and God saith unto Abraham, ‘Let it not be wrong in thine eyes because of the youth, and because of thy handmaid: all that Sarah saith unto thee — hearken to her voice, for in Isaac is a seed called to thee.
13As to the son of the handmaid also, for a nation I set him, because he [is] thy seed.’
14And Abraham riseth early in the morning, and taketh bread, and a bottle of water, and giveth unto Hagar (placing [it] on her shoulder), also the lad, and sendeth her out; and she goeth on, and goeth astray in the wilderness of Beer-Sheba;
15and the water is consumed from the bottle, and she placeth the lad under one of the shrubs.
16And she goeth and sitteth by herself over-against, afar off, about a bow-shot, for she said, ‘Let me not look on the death of the lad;’ and she sitteth over-against, and lifteth up her voice, and weepeth.
17And God heareth the voice of the youth; and the messenger of God calleth unto Hagar from the heavens, and saith to her, ‘What to thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath hearkened unto the voice of the youth where he [is];
18rise, lift up the youth, and lay hold on him with thy hand, for for a great nation I set him.’
19And God openeth her eyes, and she seeth a well of water, and she goeth and filleth the bottle [with] water, and causeth the youth to drink;
20and God is with the youth, and he groweth, and dwelleth in the wilderness, and is an archer;
21and he dwelleth in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother taketh for him a wife from the land of Egypt.
22And it cometh to pass at that time that Abimelech speaketh — Phichol also, head of his host — unto Abraham, saying, ‘God [is] with thee in all that thou art doing;
23and now, swear to me by God here: thou dost not lie to me, or to my continuator, or to my successor; according to the kindness which I have done with thee thou dost with me, and with the land in which thou hast sojourned.’
24And Abraham saith, ‘I — I do swear.’
25And Abraham reasoned with Abimelech concerning the matter of a well of water which Abimelech's servants have taken violently away,
26and Abimelech saith, ‘I have not known who hath done this thing, and even thou didst not declare to me, and I also, I have not heard save to-day.’
27And Abraham taketh sheep and oxen, and giveth to Abimelech, and they make, both of them, a covenant;
28and Abraham setteth seven Lambs of the flock by themselves.
29And Abimelech saith unto Abraham, ‘What [are] they — these seven lambs which thou hast set by themselves?’
30And he saith, ‘For — the seven lambs thou dost accept from my hand, so that it becometh a witness for me that I have digged this well;’
31therefore hath he called that place ‘Beer-Sheba,’ for there have both of them sworn.
32And they make a covenant in Beer-Sheba, and Abimelech riseth — Phichol also, head of his host — and they turn back unto the land of the Philistines;
33and [Abraham] planteth a tamarisk in Beer-Sheba, and preacheth there in the name of Jehovah, God age-during;
34and Abraham sojourneth in the land of the Philistines many days.
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 21
21
A Baby for Sarah
1The Lord cared for Sarah as he had said and did for her what he had promised. 2Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Everything happened at the time God had said it would. 3Abraham named his son Isaac, the son Sarah gave birth to. 4He circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded.
5Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. 6And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. 7No one thought that I would be able to have Abraham’s child, but even though Abraham is old I have given him a son.”
Hagar and Ishmael Leave
8Isaac grew, and when he became old enough to eat food, Abraham gave a great feast. 9But Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac. (Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave.) 10So Sarah said to Abraham, “Throw out this slave woman and her son. Her son should not inherit anything; my son Isaac should receive it all.”
11This troubled Abraham very much because Ishmael was also his son. 12But God said to Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the boy and the slave woman. Do whatever Sarah tells you. The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac. 13I will also make the descendants of Ishmael into a great nation because he is your son, too.”
14Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a leather bag full of water. He gave them to Hagar and sent her away. Carrying these things and her son, Hagar went and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
15Later, when all the water was gone from the bag, Hagar put her son under a bush. 16Then she went away a short distance and sat down. She thought, “My son will die, and I cannot watch this happen.” She sat there and began to cry.
17God heard the boy crying, and God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying there. 18Help him up and take him by the hand. I will make his descendants into a great nation.”
19Then God showed Hagar a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her bag with water and gave the boy a drink.
20God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert and became an archer. 21He lived in the Desert of Paran, and his mother found a wife for him in Egypt.
Abraham’s Bargain with Abimelech
22Then Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23So make a promise to me here before God that you will be fair with me and my children and my descendants. Be kind to me and to this land where you have lived as a stranger—as kind as I have been to you.”
24And Abraham said, “I promise.” 25Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about Abimelech’s servants who had seized a well of water.
26But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who did this. You never told me about this before today.”
27Then Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, and they made an agreement. 28Abraham also put seven female lambs in front of Abimelech.
29Abimelech asked Abraham, “Why did you put these seven female lambs by themselves?”
30Abraham answered, “Accept these lambs from me to prove that you believe I dug this well.”
31So that place was called Beersheba because they made a promise to each other there.
32After Abraham and Abimelech made the agreement at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and prayed to the Lord, the God who lives forever. 34And Abraham lived as a stranger in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.