⁸Isaac grew, and when he became old enough to eat food, Abraham gave a great feast. ⁹But Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac. (Ishmael was the son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave.) ¹⁰So Sarah said to Abraham, “Throw out this slave woman and her son. Her son should not inherit anything; my son Isaac should receive it all.”

¹¹This troubled Abraham very much because Ishmael was also his son. ¹²But God said to Abraham, “Don’t be troubled about the boy and the slave woman. Do whatever Sarah tells you. The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac. ¹³I will also make the descendants of Ishmael into a great nation because he is your son, too.”

¹⁴Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a leather bag full of water. He gave them to Hagar and sent her away. Carrying these things and her son, Hagar went and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.

¹⁵Later, when all the water was gone from the bag, Hagar put her son under a bush. ¹⁶Then she went away a short distance and sat down. She thought, “My son will die, and I cannot watch this happen.” She sat there and began to cry.

¹⁷God heard the boy crying, and God’s angel called to Hagar from heaven. He said, “What is wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid! God has heard the boy crying there. ¹⁸Help him up and take him by the hand. I will make his descendants into a great nation.”

¹⁹Then God showed Hagar a well of water. So she went to the well and filled her bag with water and gave the boy a drink.

²⁰God was with the boy as he grew up. Ishmael lived in the desert and became an archer. ²¹He lived in the Desert of Paran, and his mother found a wife for him in Egypt.

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