Ishmael

1Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Sarai was Abram's wife. She had never had any children. She had a servant girl from Egypt named Hagar.

2And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Sarai said to Abram, "God has not let me have a baby. Please have a baby with my servant Hagar. Then maybe I can have a family through her." Abram did what Sarai said.

3And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

By now Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan. Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, and gave her to Abram to be his wife.

4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

Abram and Hagar had a baby starting to grow inside her. When Hagar knew this, she began to look down on Sarai.

5And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

Sarai said to Abram, "This hurt is your fault. I gave my servant to you. Now she knows she is having a baby. She looks down on me. Let God decide who is right, you or me."

6But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

Abram said, "Your servant belongs to you. Do what you think is best." Then Sarai was very mean to Hagar. So Hagar ran away from her.

7And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

God sent a messenger to Hagar. He found her in the dry, empty land. She was beside a spring of water on the road to Shur.

8And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

He said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where did you come from? Where are you going?" She said, "I am running away from Sarai."

9And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

The messenger from God said to her, "Go back to Sarai. Do what she tells you to do."

10And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

The messenger from God also said, "I will give you so many children and grandchildren that no one will be able to count them."

11And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

The messenger from God said, "You are going to have a baby boy. Name him Ishmael. God has heard how much you are hurting."

12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

"He will live wild and free. He will fight with everyone, and everyone will fight with him. He will live near all his family, but not in peace with them."

13And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

Hagar gave a name to God, who had talked with her. She called him "You are the God who sees me." She said, "Have I really seen the One who sees me?"

14Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

That is why people call the well Beerlahairoi. It is between the towns of Kadesh and Bered.

15And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

Hagar had a baby boy for Abram. Abram named him Ishmael.

16And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

Abram was eighty-six years old when Ishmael was born.

15And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.

God also said to Abraham, "Do not call your wife Sarai anymore. Her name will now be Sarah."

16And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

"I will be good to her. I will give you a son through her. Whole nations will come from her, and some of her family will be kings."

17Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?

Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed. He thought, "Can a man of a hundred have a baby? Can Sarah have a baby at ninety?"

18And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

Then Abraham said to God, "Please let Ishmael live and be blessed by you!"

19And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

God said, "No, your wife Sarah really will have a son. Name him Isaac. I will keep my promise with him and his children forever."

20And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

"I have heard what you asked about Ishmael. I will be good to him. His family will grow very large. He will have twelve sons who become rulers, and he will become a great nation."

21But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

"But my promise will go on through Isaac. Sarah will give birth to him at this same time next year."

22And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

When God finished talking with Abraham, he went up and away from him.

23And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

That very same day, Abraham did what God said. He circumcised his son Ishmael. He circumcised every male in his house, both those born there and those he had bought.

24And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.

25And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

His son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.

26In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.

Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on the same day.

27And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

Every man in his house was circumcised with him. That included men born in his house and men bought from strangers.

8And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

The boy grew. One day he stopped drinking his mother's milk. That same day Abraham made a big feast.

9And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.

Hagar came from Egypt. She had a son with Abraham too. Sarah saw that boy making fun of Isaac.

10Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

So Sarah said to Abraham, "Send that servant woman and her son away. Her son will not share what belongs to my son Isaac."

11And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

This made Abraham very sad, because Ishmael was his son too.

12And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

God said to Abraham, "Do not be sad about the boy or about your servant. Do what Sarah tells you. Your family line will be counted through Isaac."

13And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

"I will also make the servant woman's son into a big nation, because he is your son too."

14And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.

Early in the morning Abraham got up. He took bread and a bag of water. He put them on Hagar's shoulders. He sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the dry, empty land near Beersheba.

15And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.

The water in the bag ran out. Hagar laid the boy down under a bush.

16And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.

She walked away and sat down, about as far as an arrow flies. She said, "I cannot watch my boy die." She sat there and cried out loud.

17And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

God heard the boy crying. God's angel, a messenger from God, called to Hagar from heaven. He said, "What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid. God has heard the boy right where he is."

18Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.

"Get up. Lift the boy up. Hold him by the hand. I will make him into a big nation."

19And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.

Then God helped her see a well of water. She went and filled the bag and gave the boy a drink.

20And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

God was with the boy. He grew up and lived in the dry, empty land. He learned to shoot a bow.

21And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.

He lived in the wild land called Paran. His mother found him a wife from Egypt.

7And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.

Abraham lived 175 years in all.

8Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.

Then Abraham died. He was very old and had lived a long, full life. He was buried with his family who had died before him.

9And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;

His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave called Machpelah. It was in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite, near Mamre.

10The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.

Abraham had bought that field from the Hittite people. He was buried there, next to his wife Sarah.

11And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.

After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived near a well called Beer-lahai-roi.

12Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham:

This is the family story of Ishmael, Abraham's son. His mother was Hagar, an Egyptian woman who served Sarah.

13And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

Here are Ishmael's sons, in the order they were born. The oldest was Nebajoth. Then came Kedar, Adbeel, and Mibsam.

14And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

After them came Mishma, Dumah, and Massa.

15Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:

Then came Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

16These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.

These were Ishmael's twelve sons. Each one led his own people, with his own villages and camps.

17And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.

Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he died and was buried with his family who had died before him.

18And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.

His family lived in the land from Havilah to Shur, near Egypt, on the way toward Assyria. They settled right beside all their relatives.