Genesis 16:1–16

Hagar and Ishmael

16Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, ^ahad borne him no children. And she had ^ban Egyptian maidservant whose name was ^cHagar. ^2dSo Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord ^ehas restrained me from bearing children. Please, ^fgo in to my maid; perhaps I shall ¹obtain children by her.” And Abram ^gheeded the voice of Sarai. ³Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram ^hhad dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. ⁴So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became ⁱdespised in her ²eyes.

⁵Then Sarai said to Abram, ³“My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. ^jThe Lord judge between you and me.”

^6kSo Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, ^lshe fled from her presence.

⁷Now the ^mAngel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, ⁿby the spring on the way to ^oShur. ⁸And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

⁹The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and ^psubmit yourself under her hand.” ¹⁰Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, ^q“I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” ¹¹And the Angel of the Lord said to her:

“Behold, you are with child,

^rAnd you shall bear a son.

You shall call his name ⁴Ishmael,

Because the Lord has heard your affliction.

^12sHe shall be a wild man;

His hand shall be against every man,

And every man’s hand against him.

^tAnd he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

¹³Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-⁵the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here ⁶seen Him ^uwho sees me?” ¹⁴Therefore the well was called ^vBeer Lahai Roi; ⁷observe, it is ^wbetween Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵So ^xHagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.