Genesis 16

1 Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had not conceived children. But, having an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar,

Up to that time, Abram’s wife Sarai had not given birth to any children for Abram. But she had a female slave from Egypt, whose name was Hagar.

2 she said to her husband: “Behold, the Lord has closed me, lest I give birth. Enter to my handmaid, so that perhaps I may receive sons of her at least.” And when he agreed to her supplication,

[So one day] Sarai said to Abram, “Listen to me! Yahweh has not allowed me to become pregnant. So (sleep with/have sex with) [EUP] my slave Hagar. Perhaps she will bear children whom I can consider to be mine.” Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.

3 she took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, ten years after they began to live in the land of Canaan, and she gave her to her husband as a wife.

So Abram (slept with/had sex with) Hagar, his wife Sarai’s slave from Egypt. This happened ten years after they went to live in Canaan [land]. Sarai gave Hagar to her husband to be his secondary wife.

4 And he entered to her. But when she saw that she had conceived, she despised her mistress.

He (slept with/had sex with) [EUP] Hagar and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress Sarai.

5 And Sarai said to Abram: “You have acted unfairly against me. I gave my handmaid into your bosom, who, when she saw that she had conceived, held me in contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.”

Then Sarai said to Abram, “It is your fault! I put my servant into your arms, so that you could sleep with her [EUP]. Now she realizes that she is pregnant, and she despises me. I think Yahweh will punish you for doing this to me!”

6 Abram responded to her by saying, “Behold, your handmaid is in your hand to treat as it pleases you.” And so, when Sarai afflicted her, she took flight.

So Abram said to Sarai, “[You listen to me]! She is your servant, so act towards her in the way you consider best.” Then Sarai started to mistreat her, so she ran away from Sarai.

7 And when the Angel of the Lord had found her, near the fountain of water in the wilderness, which is on the way to Shur in the desert,

An angel of Yahweh found her as she was near a spring of water in the desert. It was the spring that was alongside the road to Shur.

8 he said to her: “Hagar, handmaid of Sarai, where have you come from? And where will you go?” And she answered, “I flee from the face of Sarai, my mistress.”

He said to her, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I have run away from Sarai, my mistress.”

9 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hand.”

The angel said, “Go back to your mistress and be under her authority [MTY]”.

10 And again he said, “I will multiply your offspring continuously, and they will not be numbered because of their multitude.”

The angel also said to her, “I will enable you to bear so many descendants that no one will be able to count them!”

11 But thereafter he said: “Behold, you have conceived, and you will give birth to a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction.

The angel also said to her, “[Listen to this!] You are pregnant. You will give birth to a son. You must name him Ishmael, [which means ‘God hears]’, because Yahweh has heard you crying because you feel so miserable.

12 He will be a wild man. His hand will be against all, and all hands will be against him. And he will pitch his tents away from the region of all his brothers.”

But your son will be as uncontrollable as a wild donkey [MET]. He will oppose everyone, and everyone will oppose him [MTY]. He will live far away from his relatives [SYN].”

13 Then she called upon the name of the Lord who had spoken to her: “You are the God who has seen me.” For she said, “Certainly, here I have seen the back of the one who sees me.”

Then Hagar realized that the angel was really Yahweh, so she said to herself, “(It is difficult to believe that I have really seen the back of Yahweh, the one who sees me!/Have I really seen the back of Yahweh, the one who sees me?)” [RHQ] So she called him ‘Yahweh, the one who sees me’.

14 Because of this, she called that well: ‘The well of the one who lives and who sees me.’ The same is between Kadesh and Bered.

That is why people call the well there ‘Beer-Lahai-Roi’, [which means, ‘The well of the living one who sees us’!] It is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram, who called his name Ishmael.

So Hagar later gave birth to a son for Abram, and she gave to her son the name Ishmael.

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for him.

Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son Ishmael.