1Abram’s wife Sarai had never had any children by him. But she had a female slave from Egypt named Hagar. 2So she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go and sleep with my slave. Maybe I can have a family through her.”

Abram agreed to what Sarai had said. 3His wife Sarai gave him her slave Hagar to be his wife. That was after he had been living in Canaan for ten years. 4Then he slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant.

When Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to look down on the woman who owned her. 5Then Sarai said to Abram, “It’s your fault that I’m suffering like this. I put my slave in your arms. Now that she knows she’s pregnant, she looks down on me. May the Lord judge between you and me. May he decide which of us is right.”

6“Your slave belongs to you,” Abram said. “Do with her what you think is best.” Then Sarai treated Hagar badly. So Hagar ran away from her.

7The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert. The spring was beside the road to Shur. 8The angel said, “Hagar, you are Sarai’s slave. Where have you come from? Where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my owner Sarai,” she answered.

9Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to the woman who owns you. Obey her.” 10The angel continued, “I will give you and your family many children. There will be more of them than anyone can count.”

11The angel of the Lord also said to her,

“You are now pregnant

and will have a son.

You will name him Ishmael,

because the Lord has heard about your suffering.

12He will be like a wild donkey.

He will use his power against everyone,

and everyone will be against him.

He will not get along with any of his family.”

13She gave a name to the Lord who spoke to her. She called him “You are the God who sees me.” That’s because she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14That’s why the well was named Beer Lahai Roi. It’s still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

15So Hagar had a son by Abram and Abram gave him the name Ishmael. 16Abram was 86 years old when Hagar had Ishmael by him.

Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®

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Genesis 16

1Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar; 2and Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my maid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3So, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. 4And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 5And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my maid to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” 6But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

7The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8And he said, “Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 9The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” 10The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; you shall call his name Ishmael;#16.11 That is God hears because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. 12He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” 13So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “Thou art a God of seeing”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”#16.13 Cn: Heb have I even here seen after him who sees me? 14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi;#16.14 That is the well of one who sees and lives it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

15And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America

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Genesis 16

Genesis 16