HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 386
G EN ES IS 1 7
happened ten years after Abram had settled in
the land of Canaan.)
4 So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar,
and she became pregnant. But when Hagar
knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her
mistress, Sarai, with contempt. 5 Then Sarai said
to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord
will show who’s wrong—you or me!”
6 Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant,
so deal with her as you see fit.” Then Sarai
treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran
away.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside
a spring of water in the wilderness, along the
road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and
where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,”
she replied.
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return
to your mistress, and submit to her authority.”
10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name
him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the
Lord has heard your cry of distress. 12 This son of
yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild
donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone,
and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will
live in open hostility against all his relatives.”
13 Thereafter, Hagar used another name to
refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She
said, “You are the God who sees me.”* She also
said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
14 So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which
means “well of the Living One who sees me”).
It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar gave Abram a son, and Abram
named him Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six
years old when Ishmael was born.
Abram Is Named Abraham
When Abram was ninety-nine years old,
the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am
El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully
and live a blameless life. 2 I will make a covenant
with you, by which I will guarantee to give you
countless descendants.”
3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground.
Then God said to him, 4 “This is my covenant
with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations! 5 What’s more, I am changing
your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead,
you will be called Abraham,* for you will be
the father of many nations. 6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become
many nations, and kings will be among them!
7 “I will confirm my covenant with you and
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your descendants* after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God
of your descendants after you. 8 And I will give
the entire land of Canaan, where you now live
as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It
will be their possession forever, and I will be
their God.”
The Mark of the Covenant
9 Then God said to Abraham, “Your responsibility is to obey the terms of the covenant. You
and all your descendants have this continual
responsibility. 10 This is the covenant that you
and your descendants must keep: Each male
among you must be circumcised. 11 You must
cut off the flesh of your foreskin as a sign of the
covenant between me and you. 12 From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. This
applies not only to members of your family but
also to the servants born in your household and
the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. 13 All must be circumcised. Your bodies
will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant.
14 Any male who fails to be circumcised will be
cut off from the covenant family for breaking
the covenant.”
Sarai Is Named Sarah
15 Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai,
your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai.
From now on her name will be Sarah.* 16 And I
will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes,
I will bless her richly, and she will become the
mother of many nations. Kings of nations will
be among her descendants.”
17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground,
but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How
could I become a father at the age of 100?” he
thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when
she is ninety years old?” 18 So Abraham said to
God, “May Ishmael live under your special
blessing!”
19 But God replied, “No—Sar ah, your wife,
will give birth to a son for you. You will name
him Isaac,* and I will confirm my covenant with
him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant. 20 As for Ishmael, I will bless him also,
just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants.
He will become the father of twelve princes,
and I will make him a great nation. 21 But my
covenant will be confirmed with Isaac, who will
be born to you and Sarah about this time next
year.” 22 When God had finished speaking, he
left Abraham.
16:13 Hebrew El-roi. 17:5 Abram means “exalted father”;
Abraham sounds like a Hebrew term that means “father
of many.” 17:7 Hebrew seed; also in 17:7b, 8, 9, 10, 19.
17:15 Sarai and Sarah both mean “princess”; the change in
spelling may reflect the difference in dialect between Ur and
Canaan. 17:19 Isaac means “he laughs.”