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Genesis 16:1–2

Sarai and Hagar

16 aNow Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was bHagar. 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 children1 by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

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Genesis 16:1–2 — The New International Version (NIV)

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

Genesis 16:1–2 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And 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.

Genesis 16:1–2 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal.

Genesis 16:1–2 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:1–2 — New Century Version (NCV)

Sarai, Abram’s wife, had no children, but she had a slave girl from Egypt named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “Look, the Lord has not allowed me to have children, so have sexual relations with my slave girl. If she has a child, maybe I can have my own family through her.”

Abram did what Sarai said.

Genesis 16:1–2 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bare him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:1–2 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And Sarai Abram’s wife did not bear him children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant; and her name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, Jehovah has shut me up, that I do not bear. Go in, I pray thee, to my maidservant: it may be that I shall be built up by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:1–2 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Sarai, Abram’s wife, was not able to have children. She owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Why don’t you sleep with my slave? Maybe I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed with Sarai. 

Genesis 16:1–2 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.

Genesis 16:1–2 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:1–2 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian female slave, and her name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Look, please, Yahweh has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my servant; perhaps I will have children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:1–2 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Abram’s wife Sarai had never had any children by him. But she had a female servant from Egypt named Hagar. So she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go and make love to my servant. Maybe I can have a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai had said.

Genesis 16:1–2 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.


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