Genesis 16:1–16

Sarai and Hagar

¹Now ^aSarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had ^ban Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

²So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. ^aPlease go in to my maid; perhaps I will ¹obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

³After Abram had ¹lived ^aten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.

⁴He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.

⁵And Sarai said to Abram, “^aMay the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your ¹arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her ²sight. ^bMay the Lord judge between ³you and me.”

⁶But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your ¹power; do to her what is good in your ²sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and ^ashe fled from her presence.

⁷Now ^athe angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to ^bShur.

⁸He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, ^awhere have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

⁹Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself ¹to her authority.”

¹⁰Moreover, the ^aangel of the Lord said to her, “^bI will greatly multiply your ¹descendants so that ²they will be too many to count.”

¹¹The angel of the Lord said to her further,

“Behold, you are with child,

And you will bear a son;

And you shall call his name ¹Ishmael,

Because ^athe Lord ²has given heed to your affliction.

¹²“He will be a ^awild donkey of a man,

His hand will be against everyone,

And everyone’s hand will be against him;

And he will ¹live ^2bto the east of all his brothers.”

¹³Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “¹You are ²a God who sees”; for she said, “^aHave I even ³remained alive here after seeing Him?”

¹⁴Therefore the well was called ¹Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between ^aKadesh and Bered.

¹⁵So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

¹⁶Abram was ^aeighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to ¹him.