1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar. 2So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please have relations with my slave woman; perhaps I will #16.2: Lit be built from herobtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3And so after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 4Then he had relations with Hagar, and she conceived; and when Hagar became aware that she had conceived, her mistress was insignificant in her sight. 5So Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I put my slave woman into your #16.5: Lit breastarms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was insignificant in her #16.5: Lit eyessight. May the Lord judge between #16.5: Lit me and youyou and me.” 6But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your slave woman is in your #16.6: Lit handpower; do to her what is good in your #16.6: Lit eyessight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.

7Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s slave woman, from where have you come, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” 9So the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit #16.9: Lit under her handsto her authority.” 10The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will greatly multiply your #16.10: Lit seeddescendants so that #16.10: Lit they shall not be counted for multitudethey will be too many to count.” 11The angel of the Lord said to her further,

“Behold, you are pregnant,

And you will give birth to a son;

And you shall name him #16.11: I.e., God hearsIshmael,

Because the Lord has heard your affliction.

12“But he will be a wild donkey of a man;

His hand will be against everyone,

And everyone’s hand will be against him;

And he will live #16.12: Lit before the face of; or oppositein defiance of all his brothers.”

13Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “#16.13: Or You, God, see meYou are #16.13: Heb Elroia God who sees me”; for she said, “Have I even seen Him here and lived after #16.13: Lit His seeing meHe saw me?” 14Therefore the well was called #16.14: I.e., the well of the living one who sees meBeer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15So Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, Ishmael. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to #16.16: Lit Abramhim.

NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE® NASB®

A Corporation Not for Profit

La Habra, CA

www.lockman.org

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