1The Lord came to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.#Gn 17:16; 18:10; Gl 4:23 2Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.#Gn 17:21; 18:10,14; Heb 11:11 3Abraham named his son who was born to him — the one Sarah bore to him — Isaac.#Gn 17:19 4When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.#Gn 17:10,12; Ac 7:8 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.#Gn 17:1,17; Rm 4:19

6Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”#21:6 Isaac = He Laughs; Gn 17:19#Gn 18:12–15 7She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him#21:7 Sam, Tg Jonathan; MT omits him in his old age.”

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

8The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9But Sarah saw the son mocking — the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.#Gn 16:1,15; Gl 4:29 10So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!” #Gl 4:30

11This was very distressing to#21:11 Lit was very bad in the eyes of Abraham because of his son. 12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed#21:12 Lit “Let it not be bad in your eyes about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac,#Rm 9:7; Heb 11:18 13and I will also make a nation of the slave’s son#Gn 16:10; 21:18; 25:12–18 because he is your offspring.”

14Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes 16and went and sat at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” While she sat at a distance, she#21:16 LXX reads the boy wept loudly.#Jr 6:26; Am 8:10

17God heard the boy crying, and the#21:17 Or an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. 18Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19Then God opened her eyes,#Nm 22:31; 2Kg 6:17–18,20; Lk 24:16,31 and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. 21He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech

22At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army,#Gn 20:2; 26:1,26 said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.#Gn 26:28 23Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a resident alien.”

24And Abraham said, “I swear it.” 25But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.#Gn 26:15,18,20–22

26Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”

27Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.#Gn 26:31 28Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock. 29And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?”

30He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from me so that this act#21:30 Lit that it will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” 31Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba#21:31 = Well of the Oath, or Seven Wells#Gn 26:33 because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. 32After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.

33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.#Ps 45:6; 48:14; 90:2; 93:2; Is 40:28; Jr 10:10; Rm 16:26; Heb 13:8 34And Abraham lived as an alien in the land of the Philistines for many days.

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Genesis 21

A Baby for Sarah

1The Lord cared for Sarah as he had said and did for her what he had promised. 2Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. Everything happened at the time God had said it would. 3Abraham named his son Isaac, the son Sarah gave birth to. 4He circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded.

5Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born. 6And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. 7No one thought that I would be able to have Abraham’s child, but even though Abraham is old I have given him a son.”

Hagar and Ishmael Leave

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.

Abraham’s Bargain with Abimelech

22Then Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23So make a promise to me here before God that you will be fair with me and my children and my descendants. Be kind to me and to this land where you have lived as a stranger—as kind as I have been to you.”

24And Abraham said, “I promise.” 25Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about Abimelech’s servants who had seized a well of water.

26But Abimelech said, “I don’t know who did this. You never told me about this before today.”

27Then Abraham gave Abimelech some sheep and cattle, and they made an agreement. 28Abraham also put seven female lambs in front of Abimelech.

29Abimelech asked Abraham, “Why did you put these seven female lambs by themselves?”

30Abraham answered, “Accept these lambs from me to prove that you believe I dug this well.”

31So that place was called Beersheba because they made a promise to each other there.

32After Abraham and Abimelech made the agreement at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines.

33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and prayed to the Lord, the God who lives forever. 34And Abraham lived as a stranger in the land of the Philistines for a long time.

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Genesis 21

Genesis 21