1Abram's wife, Sarai, had not given birth to any children. She had an Egyptian servant. The servant's name was Hagar. 2Sarai said to Abram, ‘The Lord has not let me have any children. Go and sleep with my servant. Then if she gives birth, her children will be my family.’ Abram agreed to do this. #16:2 Sarai wanted Abram to have a son. God had told Abram that he would have many descendants. But Abram and Sarai did not wait for God to keep his promise.

3Abram had now been living in Canaan for ten years. Sarai gave her Egyptian servant, Hagar, to him. She became like another wife for Abram.

4Abram had sex with Hagar and she became pregnant. When Hagar knew that she was pregnant, she no longer respected Sarai.

5Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘It is because of you that Hagar is now insulting me. I gave her to you so that you could have sex with her. Now she is pregnant and she does not respect me. The Lord will decide who is right, you or me.’

6Abram said to Sarai, ‘Hagar is your servant and you have authority over her. Do to her whatever you think is right.’ Then Sarai caused trouble for Hagar. So Hagar ran away from Sarai.

7The angel of the Lord found Hagar. She was by a spring of water in the desert. The spring was near the road to Shur. 8The angel said, ‘Sarai's servant, Hagar, where have you come from? Where are you going?’ Hagar replied, ‘I am running away from Sarai. I am her servant.’

9The angel of the Lord told Hagar, ‘Go back to Sarai. You are her servant and you must obey her.’

10The angel also said, ‘I will make the number of your descendants become very many. They will be too many for people to count.’

11The angel of the Lord said to Hagar,

‘Now you are pregnant and you will give birth to a son.

When you cried in pain, the Lord heard you,

so you must give your son the name “Ishmael”. #16:11 The name ‘Ishmael’ means ‘God hears’.

12Like a wild donkey, nobody will be able to rule him.

He will fight against everyone, and everyone will fight against him.

He will think that everyone is his enemy.

He will keep away from his brothers.’

13When Hagar heard what the angel said, she said to herself, ‘I have seen the God who sees me!’ So she called the Lord ‘The God who sees me.’ 14That is why they called the well in that place ‘Beer Lahai Roi’. #16:14 ‘Beer Lahai Roi’ means ‘Well of the living One who sees me’. The well is between Kadesh and Bered.

15After some time Hagar gave birth to a son. Abram was his father. Abram gave his son the name ‘Ishmael’. 16Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

MissionAssist 2018

Learn More

Genesis 16

Hagar and Ishmael

1Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. 2So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.”

And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife. 4And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.#16:4 Or her mistress became despised in her sight

5Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me.”

6“Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.

7Now the angel #16:7 Or Angel; also in verses 9, 10, and 11; corresponding pronouns may also be capitalized. of the Lord found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur. 8“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.

9So the angel of the Lord told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.” 10Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”

11The angel of the Lord proceeded:

“Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son.

And you shall name him Ishmael,#16:11 Ishmael means God hears.

for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction.

12He will be a wild donkey of a man,

and his hand will be against everyone,

and everyone’s hand against him;

he will live in hostility

toward all his brothers.”

13So Hagar gave this name to the Lord who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,#16:13 Hebrew El-Roi” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!” 14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi.#16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means well of the Living One who sees me. It is located between Kadesh and Bered.

15And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Learn More

Choose your language

Genesis 16

Genesis 16