1Now Sarai Abram' wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.2And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.3And Sarai Abram' wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.5And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.6But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.7And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.8And he said, Hagar, Sarai' maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.9And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.10And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.11And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man' hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.13And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?14Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.15And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son' name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.16And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
Genesis 16
New International Reader’s Version
Hagar and Ishmael
1Abram’s wife Sarai had never had any children by him. But she had a female slave from Egypt named Hagar.2So she said to Abram, ‘The LORD has kept me from having children. Go and sleep with my slave. Maybe I can have a family through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai had said.3His wife Sarai gave him her slave Hagar to be his wife. That was after he had been living in Canaan for ten years.4Then he slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to look down on the woman who owned her.5Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘It’s your fault that I’m suffering like this. I put my slave in your arms. Now that she knows she’s pregnant, she looks down on me. May the LORD judge between you and me. May he decide which of us is right.’6‘Your slave belongs to you,’ Abram said. ‘Do with her what you think is best.’ Then Sarai treated Hagar badly. So Hagar ran away from her.7The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert. The spring was beside the road to Shur.8The angel said, ‘Hagar, you are Sarai’s slave. Where have you come from? Where are you going?’ ‘I’m running away from my owner Sarai,’ she answered.9Then the angel of the LORD told her, ‘Go back to the woman who owns you. Obey her.’10The angel continued, ‘I will give you and your family many children. There will be more of them than anyone can count.’11The angel of the LORD also said to her, ‘You are now pregnant and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, because the LORD has heard about your suffering.12He will be like a wild donkey. He will use his power against everyone, and everyone will be against him. He will not get along with any of his family.’13She gave a name to the LORD who spoke to her. She called him ‘You are the God who sees me.’ That’s because she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’14That’s why the well was named Beer Lahai Roi. It’s still there, between Kadesh and Bered.15So Hagar had a son by Abram and Abram gave him the name Ishmael.16Abram was 86 years old when Hagar had Ishmael by him.