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Genesis 16:1-18:19
Contemporary English Version
Genesis 16:1-18:19
Contemporary English Version
Hagar and Ishmael
16 Abram's wife Sarai had not been able to have any children. But she owned a young Egyptian slave woman named Hagar, 2 and Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has not given me any children. Sleep with my slave, and if she has a child, it will be mine.”[a] Abram agreed, 3 and Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wife. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years. 4 Later, when Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she became proud and treated Sarai hatefully.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “It's all your fault![b] I gave you my slave woman, but she has been hateful to me ever since she found out she was pregnant. You have done me wrong, and you will have to answer to the Lord for this.”
6 Abram said, “All right! She's your slave—do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai began treating Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.
7 Hagar stopped to rest at a spring in the desert on the road to Shur. While she was there, the angel of the Lord came to her 8 and asked, “Hagar, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
She answered, “I'm running away from Sarai, my owner.”
9 The angel said, “Go back to Sarai and be her slave. 10-11 I will give you a son, who will be called Ishmael,[c] because I have heard your cry for help. And someday I will give you so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all. 12 But your son will live far from his relatives; he will be like a wild donkey, fighting everyone, and everyone fighting him.”
13 Hagar thought, “Have I really seen God and lived to tell about it?”[d] So from then on she called him, “The God Who Sees Me.”[e] 14 That's why people call the well between Kadesh and Bered, “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”[f]
15-16 (A) Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to their son, and he named him Ishmael.
God's Promise to Abraham
17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him again and said, “I am God All-Powerful. If you obey me and always do right, 2 I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted.” 3 Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:
4-5 (B) I promise that you will be the father of many nations. So now I'm changing your name from Abram to Abraham.[g] 6 I will give you a lot of descendants, and they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.
7 (C) I will always keep the promise I have made to you and your descendants, because I am your God and their God. 8 (D) I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God.
9 Abraham, you and all future members of your family must promise to obey me. 10-11 (E) As the sign that you are keeping this promise, you must circumcise every man and boy in your family. 12-13 From now on, your family must circumcise every baby boy when he is eight days old. You must even circumcise any man or boy you have as a slave, both those born in your homes and those you buy from foreigners. This will be a sign that my promise to you will last forever. 14 Any man who isn't circumcised hasn't kept his part of the promise and cannot be one of my people.
15 Abraham, from now on your wife's name will be Sarah instead of Sarai. 16 I will bless her, and you will have a son by her. She will become the mother of nations, and some of her descendants will even be kings.
17 Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, “I am almost 100 years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is 90. How can she have a child?” So he started laughing. 18 Then he asked God, “Why not let Ishmael[h] inherit what you have promised me?”
19 But God answered:
No! You and Sarah will have a son. His name will be Isaac,[i] and I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants.
20 However, I have heard what you asked me to do for Ishmael, and so I will also bless him with many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make his family a great nation. 21 But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.
22 God finished speaking to Abraham and then left.
23-27 On that same day Abraham obeyed God by circumcising Ishmael. Abraham was also circumcised, and so were all the other men and boys in his household, including his servants and slaves. He was 99 years old at the time, and his son Ishmael was 13.
The Lord Promises Abraham a Son
18 One hot summer afternoon while Abraham was sitting by the entrance to his tent near the sacred trees of Mamre, the Lord appeared to him. 2 (F) Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. He quickly ran to meet them, bowed with his face to the ground, 3 and said, “Please come to my home where I can serve you. 4 I'll have some water brought, so you can wash your feet, then you can rest under a tree. 5 Let me get you some food to give you strength before you leave. I would be honored to serve you.”
“Thank you very much,” they answered. “We accept your offer.”
6 Abraham went quickly to his tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get a large sack of flour and make some bread.” 7 After saying this, he rushed off to his herd of cattle and picked out one of the best calves, which his servant quickly prepared. 8 He then served his guests some yogurt and milk together with the meat.
While they were eating, he stood near them under the tree, 9 and they asked, “Where's your wife Sarah?”
“She is right there in the tent,” Abraham answered.
10 (G) One of the guests was the Lord, and he said, “I'll come back about this time next year, and when I do, Sarah will already have a son.”
Sarah was behind Abraham, listening at the entrance to the tent. 11 Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah was well past the age for having children. 12 (H) So she laughed and said to herself, “Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, will I really know such happiness?”[j]
13 The Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Does she doubt that she can have a child in her old age? 14 (I) I am the Lord! There is nothing too difficult for me. I'll come back next year at the time I promised, and Sarah will already have a son.”
15 Sarah was so frightened that she lied and said, “I didn't laugh.”
“Yes, you did!” he answered.
Abraham Prays for Sodom
16 When the three men got ready to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked part of the way with them.
17 The Lord said to himself, “I should tell Abraham what I am going to do, 18 since his family will become a great and powerful nation that will be a blessing to all the other nations on earth.[k] 19 I have chosen him to teach his family to obey me forever and to do what is right and fair. If they do, I will give Abraham many descendants, just as I promised.”
Footnotes
- 16.2 Sleep … mine: It was the custom for a wife who could not have children to let her husband sleep with one of her slave women. The children of the slave would belong to the wife.
- 16.5 It's … fault: Or “I hope you'll be punished for what you did to me!”
- 16.10,11 Ishmael: In Hebrew “Ishmael” sounds like “God hears.”
- 16.13 Have … it: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 16.13 The God Who Sees Me: Or “The God I Have Seen.”
- 16.14 The Well … Me: Or “Beer-Lahai-Roi” (see 25.11).
- 17.4,5 Abraham: In Hebrew “Abraham” sounds like “father of many nations.”
- 17.18 Ishmael: Ishmael was the son of Sarah's slave Hagar (see 16.1-16).
- 17.19 Isaac: In Hebrew “Isaac” sounds like “laugh.”
- 18.12 know such happiness: Either the joy of making love or the joy of having children.
- 18.18 that will be … on earth: Or “and all other nations on earth will ask me to bless them as I have blessed his family.”
Genesis 16:1-18:19
New International Version
Genesis 16:1-18:19
New International Version
Hagar and Ishmael
16 Now Sarai,(A) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.(B) But she had an Egyptian slave(C) named Hagar;(D) 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.(E) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”(F)
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan(G) ten years,(H) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar,(I) and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.(J) 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”(K)
6 “Your slave is in your hands,(L)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated(M) Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord(N) found Hagar near a spring(O) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.(P) 8 And he said, “Hagar,(Q) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”(R)
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”(S)
11 The angel of the Lord(T) also said to her:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.(U)
You shall name him(V) Ishmael,[a](W)
for the Lord has heard of your misery.(X)
12 He will be a wild donkey(Y) of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward[b] all his brothers.(Z)”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,(AA)” for she said, “I have now seen[c] the One who sees me.”(AB) 14 That is why the well(AC) was called Beer Lahai Roi[d];(AD) it is still there, between Kadesh(AE) and Bered.
15 So Hagar(AF) bore Abram a son,(AG) and Abram gave the name Ishmael(AH) to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old(AI) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
The Covenant of Circumcision
17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,(AJ) the Lord appeared to him(AK) and said, “I am God Almighty[e];(AL) walk before me faithfully and be blameless.(AM) 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you(AN) and will greatly increase your numbers.”(AO)
3 Abram fell facedown,(AP) and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you:(AQ) You will be the father of many nations.(AR) 5 No longer will you be called Abram[f]; your name will be Abraham,[g](AS) for I have made you a father of many nations.(AT) 6 I will make you very fruitful;(AU) I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.(AV) 7 I will establish my covenant(AW) as an everlasting covenant(AX) between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God(AY) and the God of your descendants after you.(AZ) 8 The whole land of Canaan,(BA) where you now reside as a foreigner,(BB) I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;(BC) and I will be their God.(BD)”
9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,(BE) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.(BF) 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.(BG) 11 You are to undergo circumcision,(BH) and it will be the sign of the covenant(BI) between me and you. 12 For the generations to come(BJ) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,(BK) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.(BL) My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.(BM) 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised(BN) in the flesh, will be cut off from his people;(BO) he has broken my covenant.(BP)”
15 God also said to Abraham, “As for Sarai(BQ) your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah.(BR) 16 I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.(BS) I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;(BT) kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Abraham fell facedown;(BU) he laughed(BV) and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old?(BW) Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?”(BX) 18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael(BY) might live under your blessing!”(BZ)
19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son,(CA) and you will call him Isaac.[h](CB) I will establish my covenant with him(CC) as an everlasting covenant(CD) for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.(CE) He will be the father of twelve rulers,(CF) and I will make him into a great nation.(CG) 21 But my covenant(CH) I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you(CI) by this time next year.”(CJ) 22 When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.(CK)
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household(CL) or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him.(CM) 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old(CN) when he was circumcised,(CO) 25 and his son Ishmael(CP) was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household(CQ), including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
The Three Visitors
18 The Lord appeared to Abraham(CR) near the great trees of Mamre(CS) while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent(CT) in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up(CU) and saw three men(CV) standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.(CW)
3 He said, “If I have found favor in your eyes,(CX) my lord,[i] do not pass your servant(CY) by. 4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet(CZ) and rest under this tree. 5 Let me get you something to eat,(DA) so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.”
“Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three seahs[j] of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread.”(DB)
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf(DC) and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. 8 He then brought some curds(DD) and milk(DE) and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them.(DF) While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 “Where is your wife Sarah?”(DG) they asked him.
“There, in the tent,(DH)” he said.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,(DI) and Sarah your wife will have a son.”(DJ)
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. 11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old,(DK) and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.(DL) 12 So Sarah laughed(DM) to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord(DN) is old, will I now have this pleasure?”
13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’(DO) 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord?(DP) I will return to you at the appointed time next year,(DQ) and Sarah will have a son.”(DR)
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”
But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.”
Abraham Pleads for Sodom
16 When the men(DS) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham(DT) what I am about to do?(DU) 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,(DV) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.[k] 19 For I have chosen him(DW), so that he will direct his children(DX) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord(DY) by doing what is right and just,(DZ) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”(EA)
Footnotes
- Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
- Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
- Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
- Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
- Genesis 17:1 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Genesis 17:5 Abram means exalted father.
- Genesis 17:5 Abraham probably means father of many.
- Genesis 17:19 Isaac means he laughs.
- Genesis 18:3 Or eyes, Lord
- Genesis 18:6 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- Genesis 18:18 Or will use his name in blessings (see 48:20)
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