Genesis 16

Sarai and Hagar

1  a Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was b Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the  Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children ▼
▼ Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for  children
 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram d had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, e she looked with contempt on her mistress. ▼
▼ Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5
 5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May g the  Lord judge between you and me!” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7 The angel of the  Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to h Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The angel of the  Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the  Lord also said to her, i “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the  Lord said to her,

“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael, ▼
▼  Ishmael means God hears

k because the  Lord has listened to your affliction.
 12 He shall be l a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he shall dwell m over against all his kinsmen.”

13 So she called the name of the  Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” ▼
▼ Or  You are a God who sees me
 for she said, o “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” ▼
▼ Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me?
 14 Therefore the well was called q Beer-lahai-roi; ▼
▼  Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me
 it lies between s Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

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