Genesis 16

Sarai and Hagar

1Now 1Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had 2an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar. 2So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. 3Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will 4obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3And so after Abram had lived 5ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 4Then he had relations with Hagar, and she conceived; and when Hagar became aware that she had conceived, her mistress was insignificant in her sight. 5So Sarai said to Abram, “6May the wrong done to me be upon you! I put my slave woman into your 7arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was insignificant in her 8sight. 9May the Lord judge between 10you and me.” 6But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your slave woman is in your 11power; do to her what is good in your 12sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and 13she fled from her presence.

7Now 14the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to 15Shur. 8He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s slave woman, 16from where have you come, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9So the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit 17to her authority.” 10The 18angel of the Lord also said to her, “19I will greatly multiply your 20descendants so that 21they will be too many to count.” 11The angel of the Lord said to her further, “Behold, you are pregnant, And you will give birth to a son; And you shall name him 22Ishmael, Because 23the Lord has heard your affliction.12But he will be a 24wild donkey of a man; His hand will be against everyone, And everyone’s hand will be against him; And he will live 2526in defiance of all his brothers.” 13Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “27You are 28a God who sees me”; for she said, “29Have I even seen Him here and lived after 30He saw me?” 14Therefore the well was called 31Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between 32Kadesh and Bered.

15So Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael. 16Abram was 33eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to 34him.