Genesis 16 - Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Abram’s wife Sarai had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.[a] 3 So Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years. 4 He slept with[b] Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering![c] I put my slave in your arms,[d] and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.”(A)

6 Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her.

7 The Angel of the Lord(B) found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”

9 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.”[e] 10 The Angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring,(C) and they will be too many to count.”

11 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her:

You have conceived and will have a son.
You will name him Ishmael,[f]
for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction.
12 This man will be like a wild donkey.
His hand will be against everyone,
and everyone’s hand will be against him;
he will live at odds with[g] all his brothers.(D)

13 So she called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees,[h] for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen(E) the One who sees me?”[i] 14 That is why she named the spring, “A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”[j] It is located between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son Hagar had. 16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:2 Lit Abram listened to the voice of Sarai
  2. Genesis 16:4 Lit He came to
  3. Genesis 16:5 Or May my suffering be on you
  4. Genesis 16:5 Lit bosom
  5. Genesis 16:9 Lit to mistreatment under her hand
  6. Genesis 16:11 = God Hears
  7. Genesis 16:12 Or live away from
  8. Genesis 16:13 Lit her: You God Who Sees
  9. Genesis 16:13 Hb obscure
  10. Genesis 16:14 Or Beer-lahai-roi

Cross references

  1. 16:5 : Gn 31:49; Jos 22:25; 1Sm 24:12
  2. 16:7 : Gn 22:11; Ex 3:2; Nm 22:22; Jdg 2:1; 2Sm 24:16; 1Kg 19:7; 2Kg 19:35; Ps 34:7
  3. 16:10 : Gn 15:5; 17:2; 26:24; Lv 26:9; Dt 7:13; 30:5; Ps 107:38
  4. 16:12 : Gn 25:18
  5. 16:13 : Gn 32:30; Ex 33:23; Ps 139:1-12

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16 And Sarai, Abram's wife, hath not borne to him, and she hath an handmaid, an Egyptian, and her name [is] Hagar; 2 and Sarai saith unto Abram, `Lo, I pray thee, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing, go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; perhaps I am built up from her;' and Abram hearkeneth to t...
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Genesis 16 - World English Bible (WEB)

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by her.” Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 Sarai, ...
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16 Despite God’s promise, years went by. Still Abram’s wife Sarai remained childless. But she did have an Egyptian servant girl whose name was Hagar. Sarai had an idea so she approached her husband. Sarai (to Abram): 2 You can see that the Eternal One has still not allowed me to have any children. W...
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Genesis 16 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Hagar and Ishmael16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him children. But she had an Egyptian slave-girl—her name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, Adonai has prevented me from having children. Go, please, to my slave-girl. Perhaps I’ll get a son by her.”Abram listened to Sarai’s v...
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Genesis 16 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Birth of Ishmael16 Now Sar′ai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar; 2 and Sar′ai 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 th...
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Genesis 16 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Birth of Ishmael16 Now Sar′ai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar; 2 and Sar′ai 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 th...
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Genesis 16 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Birth of Ishmael16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, 2 and Sarai said to Abram, ‘You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram list...
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Genesis 16 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Birth of Ishmael16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave whose name was Hagar,(A)2 and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to t...
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Genesis 16 - New Living Translation (NLT)

The Birth of Ishmael16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed...
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Genesis 16 - New Life Version (NLV)

Hagar and Ishmael16 Now Abram’s wife Sarai had not given birth to any children. She had a woman servant from Egypt whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now see, the Lord has kept me from having children. Go in to the woman who serves me. It may be that I will get children through her.” ...
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Genesis 16 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Hagar and Ishmael16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, (A)had borne him no children. And she had (B)an Egyptian maidservant whose name was (C)Hagar. 2 (D)So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord (E)has restrained me from bearing children. Please, (F)go in to my maid; perhaps I shall [a]obtain children by h...
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Genesis 16 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Hagar and Ishmael16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.’Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abra...
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