Genesis 21
1 Then the Lord visited Sarah, just as he had promised; and he fulfilled what he had spoken.
And the Lord came to Sarah as he had said and did to her as he had undertaken.
2 And she conceived and gave birth to a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold to her.
And Sarah became with child, and gave Abraham a son when he was old, at the time named by God.
3 And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sarah bore for him, Isaac.
And Abraham gave to his son, to whom Sarah had given birth, the name Isaac.
4 And he circumcised him on the eighth day, just as God had instructed him,
And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham made him undergo circumcision, as God had said to him.
5 when he was one hundred years old. Indeed, at this stage of his father’s life, Isaac was born.
Now Abraham was a hundred years old when the birth of Isaac took place.
6 And Sarah said: “God has brought laughter to me. Whoever will hear of it will laugh with me.”
And Sarah said, God has given me cause for laughing, and everyone who has news of it will be laughing with me.
7 And again, she said: “Hearing this, who would believe Abraham, that Sarah breast-fed a son, to whom she gave birth, despite being elderly?”
And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would have a child at her breast? for see, I have given him a son now when he is old.
8 And the boy grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day of his weaning.
And when the child was old enough to be taken from the breast, Abraham made a great feast.
9 And when Sarah had seen the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with her son Isaac, she said to Abraham:
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with Isaac.
10 “Cast out this woman servant and her son. For the son of a woman servant will not be heir with my son Isaac.”
So she said to Abraham, Send away that woman and her son: for the son of that woman is not to have a part in the heritage with my son Isaac.
11 Abraham took this grievously, for the sake of his son.
And this was a great grief to Abraham because of his son.
12 And God said to him: “Let it not seem harsh to you concerning the boy and your woman servant. In all that Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be invoked in Isaac.
But God said, Let it not be a grief to you because of the boy and Hagar his mother; give ear to whatever Sarah says to you, because it is from Isaac that your seed will take its name.
13 Yet I will also make the son of the woman servant into a great nation, for he is your offspring.”
And I will make a nation of the son of your servant-woman, because he is your seed.
14 And so Abraham arose in the morning, and taking bread and a skin of water, he placed it upon her shoulder, and he handed over the boy, and he released her. And when she had departed, she wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.
And early in the morning Abraham got up, and gave Hagar some bread and a water-skin, and put the boy on her back, and sent her away: and she went, wandering in the waste land of Beer-sheba.
15 And when the water in the skin had been consumed, she set aside the boy, under one of the trees that were there.
And when all the water in the skin was used up, she put the child down under a tree.
16 And she moved away and sat in a distant area, as far as a bow can reach. For she said, “I shall not see the boy die.” And so, sitting opposite her, he lifted up his voice and wept.
And she went some distance away, about an arrow flight, and seating herself on the earth, she gave way to bitter weeping, saying, Let me not see the death of my child.
17 But God heard the voice of the boy. And an Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, saying: “What are you doing, Hagar? Do not be afraid. For God has heeded the voice of the boy, from the place where he is.
And the boy's cry came to the ears of God; and the angel of God said to Hagar from heaven, Hagar, why are you weeping? have no fear, for the child's cry has come to the ears of God.
18 Rise up. Take the boy and hold him by the hand. For I will make of him a great nation.”
Come, take your child in your arms, for I will make of him a great nation.
19 And God opened her eyes. And seeing a well of water, she went and filled the skin, and she gave the boy to drink.
Then God made her eyes open, and she saw a water-spring, and she got water in the skin and gave the boy a drink.
20 And God was with him. And he grew, and he stayed in the wilderness, and he became a young man, an archer.
And God was with the boy, and he became tall and strong, and he became a bowman, living in the waste land.
21 And he lived in the desert of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
And while he was in the waste land of Paran, his mother got him a wife from the land of Egypt.
22 At the same time, Abimelech and Phicol, the leader of his army, said to Abraham: “God is with you in everything that you do.
Now at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, said to Abraham, I see that God is with you in all you do.
23 Therefore, swear by God that you will do no harm to me, and to my posterity, and to my stock. But according to the mercy that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land, to which you have turned as a newcomer.”
Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living.
24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”
And Abraham said, I will give you my oath.
25 And he reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which his servants had taken away by force.
But Abraham made a protest to Abimelech because of a water-hole which Abimelech's servants had taken by force.
26 And Abimelech responded, “I do not know who did this thing, but you also did not reveal it to me, nor have I heard of it, before today.”
But Abimelech said, I have no idea who has done this thing; you never gave me word of it, and I had no knowledge of it till this day.
27 And so Abraham took sheep and oxen, and he gave them to Abimelech. And both of them struck a pact.
And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement together.
28 And Abraham set aside seven female lambs from the flock.
And Abraham put seven young lambs of the flock on one side by themselves.
29 Abimelech said to him, “What purpose have these seven female lambs, which you have caused to stand separately?”
Then Abimelech said, What are these seven lambs which you have put on one side?
30 But he said, “You will receive seven female lambs from my hand, so that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.”
And he said, Take these seven lambs from me as a witness that I have made this water-hole.
31 For this reason, that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them did swear.
So he gave that place the name Beer-sheba, because there the two of them had given their oaths.
32 And they initiated a pact on behalf of the well of oath.
So they made an agreement at Beer-sheba, and Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines.
33 Then Abimelech and Phicol, the leader of his army, rose up, and they returned to the land of the Palestinians. In truth, Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord God Eternal.
And Abraham, after planting a holy tree in Beer-sheba, gave worship to the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.
34 And he was a settler in the land of the Palestinians for many days.
And Abraham went on living in the land of the Philistines as in a strange country.
