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
Isaac’s birth
1The LORD was attentive to Sarah just as he had said, and the LORD carried out just what he had promised her. 2She became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham when he was old, at the very time God had told him. 3Abraham named his son—the one Sarah bore him—Isaac.#21.3 Or he laughs 4Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old just as God had commanded him. 5Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born. 6Sarah said, “God has given me laughter. Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me.”#21.6 Or God has made a joke of me. Everyone who hears about it will laugh at me. 7She said, “Who could have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse sons? But now I’ve given birth to a son when he was old!”
Hagar and Ishmael evicted
8The boy grew and stopped nursing. On the day he stopped nursing, Abraham prepared a huge banquet. 9Sarah saw Hagar’s son laughing, the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. 10So she said to Abraham, “Send this servant away with her son! This servant’s son won’t share the inheritance with my son Isaac.”
11This upset Abraham terribly because the boy was his son. 12God said to Abraham, “Don’t be upset about the boy and your servant. Do everything Sarah tells you to do because your descendants will be traced through Isaac. 13But I will make of your servant’s son a great nation too, because he is also your descendant.” 14Abraham got up early in the morning, took some bread and a flask of water, and gave it to Hagar. He put the boy in her shoulder sling and sent her away.
She left and wandered through the desert near Beer-sheba. 15Finally the water in the flask ran out, and she put the boy down under one of the desert shrubs. 16She walked away from him about as far as a bow shot and sat down, telling herself, I can’t bear to see the boy die. She sat at a distance, cried out in grief, and wept.
17God heard the boy’s cries, and God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “Hagar! What’s wrong? Don’t be afraid. God has heard the boy’s cries over there. 18Get up, pick up the boy, and take him by the hand because I will make of him a great nation.” 19Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. She went over, filled the water flask, and gave the boy a drink. 20God remained with the boy; he grew up, lived in the desert, and became an expert archer. 21He lived in the Paran desert, and his mother found him an Egyptian wife.
Abraham’s treaty with the Philistines
22At that time Abimelech, and Phicol commander of his forces, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything that you do. 23So give me your word under God that you won’t cheat me, my children, or my descendants. Just as I have treated you fairly, so you must treat me and the land in which you are an immigrant.”
24Abraham said, “I give you my word.” 25Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.
26Abimelech said, “I don’t know who has done this, and you didn’t tell me. I didn’t even hear about it until today.” 27Abraham took flocks and cattle, gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them drew up a treaty.#21.27 Or covenant 28Abraham set aside, by themselves, seven female lambs from the flock. 29So Abimelech said to Abraham, “What are these seven lambs you’ve set apart?”
30Abraham said, “These seven lambs that you take from me will attest that I dug this well.” 31Therefore, the name of that place is Beer-sheba#21.31 Or Well of seven; or Well of giving one’s word because there they gave each other their word. 32After they drew up a treaty#21.32 Or covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech, and Phicol commander of his forces, returned to the land of the Philistines. 33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and he worshipped there in the name of the LORD, El Olam.#21.33 Or the eternal God 34Abraham lived as an immigrant in the Philistines’ land for a long time.
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