Genesis 21:1-13

1The Lord was kind to Sarah. He did what he had promised to do for her.

2Sarah became pregnant. She gave birth to a son for Abraham when he was very old. This happened at the time when God had said that it would.

3Abraham called his son ‘Isaac’. This is the son that Sarah gave birth to.

4When Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. That is what God had told him to do.

5Abraham was 100 years old when his son, Isaac, was born.

6Sarah said, ‘Now God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about what has happened will be happy with me.’

7She also said, ‘Abraham would never have thought that I would feed a child at my breasts. But I have given birth to a son for him, even when he is old.’

8The child grew stronger, and he began to eat food. On that day, Abraham prepared a big party meal.

9Then Sarah saw that Ishmael was laughing at Isaac. (Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian servant.)

10So Sarah said to Abraham, ‘Send that slave woman and her son away from here. Ishmael must never receive any of our family's things. Everything must belong to my own son, Isaac.’

11This made Abraham very sad, because Ishmael was his own son.

12God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be upset about Ishmael or about Hagar. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your family's descendants will come through Isaac, not Ishmael.

13But, because Ishmael is also your son, I will make his descendants become a great nation of people too.’