Genesis 16–20

Hagar and Ishmael

16Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. ²Sarai 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. ^s3So Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years. ⁴He slept with ^tHagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt. ⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! ^uI put my slave in your arms, ^vand ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.” ^w

⁶Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.

⁷The Angel of the Lord ^xfound her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”

⁹Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.” ^y10The Angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, ^zand they will be too many to count.”

¹¹Then the Angel of the Lord said to her:

You have conceived and will have a son.

You will name him Ishmael, ^a

for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction.

¹²This man will be like a wild donkey.

His hand will be against everyone,

and everyone’s hand will be against him;

he will live at odds with ^ball his brothers. ^c

¹³So she called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, ^dfor she said, “In this place, have I actually seen ^ethe One who sees me?” ^f14That is why she named the spring, “A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” ^gIt is located between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son Hagar had. ¹⁶Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Covenant Circumcision

17When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. ^hLive in My presence and be blameless. ⁱ²I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”

³Then Abram fell facedown and God spoke with him: ⁴“As for Me, My covenant is with you: you will become the father of many nations. ^j5Your name will no longer be Abram, ^kbut your name will be Abraham, ^lfor I will make you the father of many nations. ^m6I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. ⁷I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your future offspring throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant ⁿto be your God and the God of your offspring after you. ^o8And to you and your future offspring ^pI will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession, ^qand I will be their God.”

⁹God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep My covenant. ¹⁰This is My covenant, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every one of your males must be circumcised. ¹¹You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you. ^rs12Throughout your generations, every male among you at eight days old is to be circumcised. ^tThis includes a slave born in your house and one purchased with money from any foreigner. The one who is not your offspring, ¹³a slave born in your house, as well as one purchased with money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

¹⁵God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai, for Sarah ^uwill be her name. ¹⁶I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. ^vI will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

¹⁷Abraham fell facedown. Then he laughed ^wand said to himself, “Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?” ¹⁸So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to You!” ^x

¹⁹But God said, “No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. ^yI will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his future offspring. ²⁰As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will certainly bless him; I will make him fruitful and will multiply him greatly. He will father 12 tribal leaders, ^zand I will make him into a great nation. ²¹But I will confirm My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.” ^a22When He finished talking with him, God withdrew ^bfrom Abraham. ^c

²³Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that very day, just as God had said to him. ²⁴Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised, ²⁵and his son Ishmael was 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised. ²⁶On that same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. ²⁷And all the men of his household—both slaves born in his house and those purchased with money from a foreigner—were circumcised with him.

Abraham’s Three Visitors

18Then the Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre ^dwhile he was sitting in the entrance of his tent during the heat of the day. ²He looked up, and he saw three men standing near him. ^eWhen he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed to the ground. ³Then he said, “My lord, ^fif I have found favor in your sight, please do not go on past your servant. ⁴Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. ^gThis is why you have passed your servant’s way. Later, you can continue on.”

“Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Knead three measures ^hof fine flour and make bread.” ⁱ⁷Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd and got a tender, choice calf. He gave it to a young man, who hurried to prepare it. ⁸Then Abraham took curds ^jand milk, and the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He served ^kthem as they ate under the tree.

Sarah Laughs

⁹“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he answered.

¹⁰The Lord said, “I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” ^lNow Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

¹¹Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years. ^mSarah had passed the age of childbearing. ^no12So she laughed to herself: “After I have become shriveled up and my lord is old, will I have delight?” ^p

¹³But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’ ¹⁴Is anything impossible for the Lord? ^qAt the appointed time I will come back to you, and in about a year she will have a son.”

¹⁵Sarah denied it. “I did not laugh,” she said, because she was afraid.

But He replied, “No, you did laugh.”

Abraham’s Plea for Sodom

¹⁶The men got up from there and looked out over Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off. ¹⁷Then the Lord said, “Should I hide what I am about to do from Abraham? ^r18Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. ^s19For I have chosen ^thim so that he will command his children and his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. This is how the Lord will fulfill to Abraham what He promised him.” ²⁰Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. ²¹I will go down ^uto see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to Me. If not, I will find out.”

²²The men turned from there and went toward Sodom ^vwhile Abraham remained standing before the Lord. ^w23Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ^x24What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people who are in it? ²⁵You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” ^y

²⁶The Lord said, “If I find 50 righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” ^z

²⁷Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord—even though I am dust and ashes— ²⁸suppose the 50 righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”

He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find 45 there.”

²⁹Then he spoke to Him again, “Suppose 40 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it on account of 40.”

³⁰Then he said, “Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose 30 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find 30 there.”

³¹Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose 20 are found there?”

He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of 20.”

³²Then he said, “Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time. ^aSuppose 10 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of 10.” ³³When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, He departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19The two angels entered Sodom ^bin the evening…