Genesis 21
21
CHAPTER 21
1Forsooth God visited Sarah, as he promised, and [ful] filled those things, that he spake.
2And she conceived, and childed a son in her eld age, in the time wherein God before-said to her.
3And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sarah childed to him, Isaac.
4And Abraham circumcised him in the eighth day, as God commanded to him,
5when he was of an hundred years; for Isaac was born in this age of the father.
6And Sarah said, The Lord hath made laughing to me, and whoever shall hear shall laugh with me.
7And again she said, Who should hear, and believe to Abraham, that Sarah should give sucking to a son, whom she childed to him, when he is now an eld [or old] man?
8Therefore the child increased, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast in the day of his weaning.
9And when Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, playing, or doing idolatry, with Isaac her son,
10she said to Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of the handmaid shall not be heir with my son Isaac.
11Abraham took this heavily for his son;
12and God said to him, Be it not seen sharp to thee on the child, and on thine handmaid; all things which Sarah saith to thee, hear thou her voice, for in Isaac seed shall be called to thee;
13but also I shall make the son of the handmaid into a great folk, for he is thy seed.
14And so Abraham rose early, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and put it on Hagar’s shoulder, and he betook to her the child#21:14 Ishmael would be about 15 years old at this time., and let go her; and when she had gone, she went out of the way in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15And when the water in the bottle was ended, she cast away the child under a tree that was there;
16and she went away, and she sat even against, as far as a bow may cast; for she said, I shall not see the child dying; and she sat against, and raised [up] her voice, and wept.
17Forsooth the Lord heard the voice of the child, and the angel of the Lord called Hagar from heaven, and said, What doest thou, Hagar? do not thou dread, for God hath heard the voice of the child, from the place wherein he is.
18Rise thou, and take the child, and hold his hand; for I shall make him into a great folk.
19And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water, and she went, and filled the bottle, and she gave drink to the child;
20and God was with him, and he increased, and dwelled in wilderness, and he was made a young man an archer,
21and dwelled in the desert of Paran; and his mother took to him a wife of the land of Egypt.
22In the same time, Abimelech, and Phicol, prince of his host, said to Abraham, God is with thee in all things that thou doest;
23therefore swear thou by God that thou harm not me, and mine heirs, and my kindred; but by the mercy which I did to thee, do thou to me, and to the land in which thou livedest as a comeling.
24And Abraham said, I shall swear.
25And he blamed Abimelech for the well of water, which his servants took away by violence.
26And Abimelech answered, I wist not who did this thing, but also thou showedest not to me, and I heard not except today.
27And so Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave to Abimelech, and both smote together a bond of peace.
28And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock asides half.
29And Abimelech said to him, What will these seven ewe lambs mean to themselves, which thou madest stand asides half?
30And he said, Thou shalt take of mine hand seven ewe lambs, that those [or they] be into witnessing to me, for I digged this well.
31Therefore that place was called Beersheba, that is, The Well of the Oath#21:31 Beersheba also means ‘the Well of the Seven’., for ever either swore there;
32and they made bond of peace for the well of an oath. Forsooth Abimelech rose, and Phicol, the prince of his chivalry, and they turned again into the land of Palestines.
33Soothly Abraham planted a wood in Beersheba, and inwardly called there the name of [the] everlasting God;
34and he was an earth-tiller, or a comeling, of the land of Palestines in many days.
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Genesis 21: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Genesis 21
21
Chapter 21
Abraham's sons
1The Lord was kind to Sarah. He did what he had promised to do for her. 2Sarah became pregnant. She gave birth to a son for Abraham when he was very old. This happened at the time when God had said that it would. #21:2 See Genesis 18:10.
3Abraham called his son ‘Isaac’. This is the son that Sarah gave birth to. 4When Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. That is what God had told him to do. #21:4 See Genesis 17:9-14; Genesis 17:23-27.
5Abraham was 100 years old when his son, Isaac, was born. 6Sarah said, ‘Now God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about what has happened will be happy with me.’ 7She also said, ‘Abraham would never have thought that I would feed a child at my breasts. But I have given birth to a son for him, even when he is old.’
8The child grew stronger, and he began to eat food. On that day, Abraham prepared a big party meal.
9Then Sarah saw that Ishmael was laughing at Isaac. (Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the Egyptian servant.) 10So Sarah said to Abraham, ‘Send that slave woman and her son away from here. Ishmael must never receive any of our family's things. Everything must belong to my own son, Isaac.’
11This made Abraham very sad, because Ishmael was his own son.
12God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be upset about Ishmael or about Hagar. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your family's descendants will come through Isaac, not Ishmael. 13But, because Ishmael is also your son, I will make his descendants become a great nation of people too.’
14Abraham woke up early the next morning. He took some food and some water in a bottle that was made from animal skin. He gave them to Hagar and he put them on her shoulders. Then he sent Hagar away, with their son, Ishmael.
She went and she travelled round the wilderness of Beersheba. #21:14 The wilderness of Beersheba is dry and hot. There is not much water there. 15After they had drunk all the water, Hagar put her son in the shade under a bush. 16She herself went and sat down about 100 metres away from him. She thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ As she sat there, she began to cry.
17Ishmael was crying and God heard him. The angel of God spoke to Hagar from heaven. He said, ‘What is the trouble, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy while he is crying there. 18Go over to him and lift him up. Take hold of his hand and help him to stand. I will make him become a great nation of people.’ #21:18 God had already told this to Hagar, when she ran away from Sarah. See Genesis 16:10.
19Then God helped Hagar to see clearly. She saw a well with water in it. She went to the well and she filled the bottle with water. She gave the boy some water to drink.
20God took care of Ishmael while he grew up. The boy lived in the desert. He became a hunter of wild animals. 21He lived in the Paran wilderness. Hagar, his mother, found an Egyptian wife for him to marry.
Abraham and Abimelech make an agreement together
22At that time Phicol was the leader of King Abimelech's army. Abimelech and Phicol said to Abraham, ‘We see that God helps you in everything that you do. 23So please make a promise to me in front of God. Promise that you will never deceive me, or my children, or my descendants. You are living here in this land as a stranger. I have been kind to you, so please show that you will also be kind to us.’ 24Abraham said, ‘I promise to do all that.’
25One day, Abraham complained to Abimelech about a certain well of water. Abimelech's servants had taken the well from Abraham. They said that the well belonged to them. 26Abimelech said, ‘I do not know who has done this. You did not tell me before. I did not hear about it until today.’
27So Abraham brought some sheep and some cows and he gave them to Abimelech. The two men made a promise to help each other. 28Abraham took seven female lambs from the sheep. He put them in a different place from the other animals. 29Abimelech asked Abraham, ‘Why have you put these seven lambs in a different place?’ 30Abraham replied, ‘You must accept these seven lambs as a gift from me. That will show that you agree that I dug this well. Everyone will know that it belongs to me.’ 31Because of that, the name of the place became ‘Beersheba’, because the two men made a promise there. #21:31 ‘Beersheba’ means ‘well of seven’ or ‘well of the promise’.
32In that way, they made a promise at Beersheba to help one another. Then Abimelech and Phicol, the leader of his army, returned to the land of the Philistines.
33Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba. #21:33 A tamarisk tree can grow in dry places. It lives for a long time. Abraham was showing that he believed God's promises. In that place, he worshipped the Lord who is God for ever.
34Abraham lived in the land of the Philistines for a long time.
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