16:1 Now Sarai, 1 Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 2 but she had an Egyptian servant 3 named Hagar. 4 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 5 the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 6 my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 7 Abram did what 8 Sarai told him.
16:3 So after Abram had lived 9 in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 10 to her husband to be his wife. 11 16:4 He had sexual relations with 12 Hagar, and she became pregnant. 13 Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 14 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 15 I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 16 but when she realized 17 that she was pregnant, she despised me. 18 May the Lord judge between you and me!” 19
16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 20 servant is under your authority, 21 do to her whatever you think best.” 22 Then Sarai treated Hagar 23 harshly, 24 so she ran away from Sarai. 25
16:7 The Lord’s angel 26 found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 27 16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 28 my mistress, Sarai.”
16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 29 to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 30 “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 31 16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,
“You are now 32 pregnant
and are about to give birth 33 to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael, 34
for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 35
16:12 He will be a wild donkey 36 of a man.
He will be hostile to everyone, 37
and everyone will be hostile to him. 38
He will live away from 39 his brothers.”
16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 40 for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 41 16:14 That is why the well was called 42 Beer Lahai Roi. 43 (It is located 44 between Kadesh and Bered.)
16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 45 16:16 (Now 46 Abram was 86 years old 47 when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 48
17:1 When Abram was 99 years old, 49 the Lord appeared to him and said, 50 “I am the sovereign God. 51 Walk 52 before me 53 and be blameless. 54 17:2 Then I will confirm my covenant 55 between me and you, and I will give you a multitude of descendants.” 56
17:3 Abram bowed down with his face to the ground, 57 and God said to him, 58 17:4 “As for me, 59 this 60 is my covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 17:5 No longer will your name be 61 Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham 62 because I will make you 63 the father of a multitude of nations. 17:6 I will make you 64 extremely 65 fruitful. I will make nations of you, and kings will descend from you. 66 17:7 I will confirm 67 my covenant as a perpetual 68 covenant between me and you. It will extend to your descendants after you throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 69 17:8 I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing 70 – to you and your descendants after you as a permanent 71 possession. I will be their God.”
17:9 Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep 72 the covenantal requirement 73 I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 17:10 This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: 74 Every male among you must be circumcised. 75 17:11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder 76 of the covenant between me and you. 17:12 Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old 77 must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. 17:13 They must indeed be circumcised, 78 whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant 79 will be visible in your flesh as a permanent 80 reminder. 17:14 Any uncircumcised male 81 who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off 82 from his people – he has failed to carry out my requirement.” 83
17:15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for your wife, you must no longer call her Sarai; 84 Sarah 85 will be her name. 17:16 I will bless her and will give you a son through her. I will bless her and she will become a mother of nations. 86 Kings of countries 87 will come from her!”
17:17 Then Abraham bowed down with his face to the ground and laughed 88 as he said to himself, 89 “Can 90 a son be born to a man who is a hundred years old? 91 Can Sarah 92 bear a child at the age of ninety?” 93 17:18 Abraham said to God, “O that 94 Ishmael might live before you!” 95
17:19 God said, “No, Sarah your wife is going to bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. 96 I will confirm my covenant with him as a perpetual 97 covenant for his descendants after him. 17:20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. 98 I will indeed bless him, make him fruitful, and give him a multitude of descendants. 99 He will become the father of twelve princes; 100 I will make him into a great nation. 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.” 17:22 When he finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him. 101
17:23 Abraham took his son Ishmael and every male in his household (whether born in his house or bought with money) 102 and circumcised them 103 on that very same day, just as God had told him to do. 17:24 Now Abraham was 99 years old 104 when he was circumcised; 105 17:25 his son Ishmael was thirteen years old 106 when he was circumcised. 17:26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on the very same day. 17:27 All the men of his household, whether born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
18:1 The Lord appeared to Abraham 107 by the oaks 108 of Mamre while 109 he was sitting at the entrance 110 to his tent during the hottest time of the day. 18:2 Abraham 111 looked up 112 and saw 113 three men standing across 114 from him. When he saw them 115 he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low 116 to the ground. 117
18:3 He said, “My lord, 118 if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by and leave your servant. 119 18:4 Let a little water be brought so that 120 you may all 121 wash your feet and rest under the tree. 18:5 And let me get 122 a bit of food 123 so that you may refresh yourselves 124 since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” 125 “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”
18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Take 126 three measures 127 of fine flour, knead it, and make bread.” 128 18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, 129 who quickly prepared it. 130 18:8 Abraham 131 then took some curds and milk, along with the calf that had been prepared, and placed the food 132 before them. They ate while 133 he was standing near them under a tree.
18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, 134 in the tent.” 18:10 One of them 135 said, “I will surely return 136 to you when the season comes round again, 137 and your wife Sarah will have a son!” 138 (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 139 18:11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; 140 Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 141 18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 142 “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 143 especially when my husband is old too?” 144
18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 145 did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 146 have a child when I am old?’ 18:14 Is anything impossible 147 for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.” 148 18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 149
18:16 When the men got up to leave, 150 they looked out over 151 Sodom. (Now 152 Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.) 153 18:17 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? 154 18:18 After all, Abraham 155 will surely become 156 a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth will pronounce blessings on one another 157 using his name. 18:19 I have chosen him 158 so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep 159 the way of the Lord by doing 160 what is right and just. Then the Lord will give 161 to Abraham what he promised 162 him.”
18:20 So the Lord said, “The outcry against 163 Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant 164 18:21 that I must go down 165 and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. 166 If not, 167 I want to know.”
18:22 The two men turned 168 and headed 169 toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord. 170 18:23 Abraham approached and said, “Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? 18:24 What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare 171 the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? 18:25 Far be it from you to do such a thing – to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge 172 of the whole earth do what is right?” 173
18:26 So the Lord replied, “If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
18:27 Then Abraham asked, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord 174 (although I am but dust and ashes), 175 18:28 what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy 176 the whole city because five are lacking?” 177 He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
18:29 Abraham 178 spoke to him again, 179 “What if forty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty.”
18:30 Then Abraham 180 said, “May the Lord not be angry 181 so that I may speak! 182 What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
18:31 Abraham 183 said, “Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
18:32 Finally Abraham 184 said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
18:33 The Lord went on his way 185 when he had finished speaking 186 to Abraham. Then Abraham returned home. 187