Genesis 16 - 19 — Legacy Standard Bible

Sarai and Hagar

16Now ^aSarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children, and she had ^ban Egyptian servant-woman whose name was Hagar. ²So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, Yahweh has shut my womb from bearing children. ^aPlease go in to my servant-woman; perhaps I will ¹obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³And after Abram had ¹lived ^aten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant-woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. ⁴So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. Then she saw that she had conceived, so her mistress became ¹contemptible in her sight. ⁵And Sarai said to Abram, “^aMay the violence done to me be upon you. I gave my servant-woman into your ¹embrace, but she saw that she had conceived, so I became ²contemptible in her ³sight. ^bMay Yahweh judge between ⁴you and me.” ⁶But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant-woman is in your ¹hand; do to her what is good in your ²sight.” So Sarai afflicted her, and ^ashe fled from her presence.

⁷Now ^athe angel of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to ^bShur. ⁸And he said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant-woman, ^awhere have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.” ⁹Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Return to your mistress and ¹humble yourself under her hands.” ¹⁰Moreover, the ^aangel of Yahweh said to her, “^bI will greatly multiply your seed so that ¹they will be too many to be counted.” ¹¹And the angel of Yahweh said to her further, “Behold, you ¹are with child,And you will bear a son;And you shall call his name ²Ishmael,Because ^aYahweh has heard your affliction.

¹²“And he will be a ^awild donkey of a man,His hand will be against everyone,And everyone’s hand will be against him;And he will dwell ¹^,^bin the face of all his brothers.”

¹³Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “¹You are ²a God who sees”; for she said, “^aHave I even ³remained alive here after seeing Him?” ¹⁴Therefore the well was called ¹Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between ^aKadesh and Bered.

¹⁵So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶Now Abram was ^aeighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to ¹him.

Circumcision, the Sign of the Covenant

17Now it happened that when Abram was ninety-nine years old, ^aYahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am ¹God ^bAlmighty;Walk before Me and be ²^,^cblameless,

²so that I may ¹confirm My ^acovenant between Me and you,And that I may ^bmultiply you exceedingly.”

³Then Abram ^afell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying,

⁴“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,And you will be the father of a ^amultitude of nations.⁵“And no longer shall your name be called ¹Abram,But ^ayour name shall be ²Abraham;For ^bI have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

⁶“And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and ^akings will go forth from you. ⁷“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an ^aeverlasting covenant, ^bto be God to you and ^cto your seed after you. ⁸“^aAnd I will give to you and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and ^bI will be their God.”

⁹God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, ^ayou shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations. ¹⁰“^aThis is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹“And ^ayou shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. ¹²“And every male among you who is ^aeight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, one who is born in the house or one who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your seed. ¹³“A servant who is born in your house or ^awho is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. ¹⁴“But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be ^acut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

Sarah Will Bear Isaac

¹⁵Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but ¹Sarah shall be her name. ¹⁶“And I will bless her, and indeed I will give you ^aa son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; ^bkings of peoples will ¹come from her.” ¹⁷Then Abraham ^afell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, “Will a son be born to a man one hundred years old? And ^bwill Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?” ¹⁸And Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before You!” ¹⁹But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you ^aa son, and you shall call his name ¹Isaac; and ^bI will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him. ²⁰“As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and ^awill make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. ^bHe shall ¹become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a ^cgreat nation. ²¹“But My covenant I will establish with ^aIsaac, whom ^bSarah will bear to you at this season next year.” ²²So He finished talking with him, and ^aGod went up from Abraham.

²³Then Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all who were ^aborn in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s household, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the very same day, ^bas God had spoken with him. ²⁴Now Abraham was ninety-nine years old when ^ahe was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁵And ^aIshmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ²⁶In the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son. ²⁷Now all the men of his household, who were ^aborn in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Yahweh Appears to Abraham

18Then ^aYahweh appeared to him by the ¹^,^boaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. ²And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three ^amen were standing nearby; he saw, and he ran from the tent door to meet them, and he bowed himself to the earth, ³and he said, “¹My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not ²pass Your servant by. ⁴“Please let a little water be brought and ^awash your feet, and ¹rest yourselves under the tree; ⁵and let me ¹^,^abring a piece of bread, that you may ²refresh your hearts; after that you may pass on, since in such a manner you have passed by your servant.” And they said, “So you shall do, as you have said.” ⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “¹Hurry, prepare ²three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and make bread cakes.” ⁷Abraham also ran to the herd and took a tender and ¹choice calf and gave it to his young man, and he hurried to prepare it. ⁸Then he took curds and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and placed it before them; and he was standing by them under the tree, and they ate.

⁹Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” ¹⁰And He said, “^aI will surely return to you ¹at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door which was behind him. ¹¹Now ^aAbraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was ^bpast ¹childbearing. ¹²And Sarah laughed ¹to herself, saying, “^aAfter I am worn out, shall I have pleasure, my ^blord being old also?” ¹³And Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed ¹bear a son, when I am so old?’ ¹⁴“^aIs anything too ¹difficult for Yahweh? At the ^bappointed time I will return to you, ²at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁵Then Sarah denied it however, saying, “I did not laugh”; for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Yahweh and Abraham Speak About Sodom

¹⁶Then ^athe men rose up from there and looked down toward Sodom; and Abraham was walking with them to send them off. ¹⁷^aNow Yahweh said, “Shall I conceal from Abraham ^bwhat I am about to do, ¹⁸since Abraham will surely become a great and ¹mighty nation, and in him ^aall the nations of the earth will be blessed? ¹⁹“For I have ¹^,^aknown him, so that he may ^bcommand his children and his household after him, ^cthat they keep the way of Yahweh to do righteousness and justice, so that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham ^dwhat He has spoken about him.” ²⁰So Yahweh said, “^aThe outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. ²¹“I will ^ago down now and see whether they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

²²Then ^athe men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before ^bYahweh. ²³Then Abraham came near and said, “^aWill You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴“Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not ¹spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵“Far be it from You to do ¹such a thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not ^athe Judge of all the earth do justice?” ²⁶So Yahweh said, “^aIf I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will ¹spare the whole place on their account.” ²⁷And Abraham answered and said, “Now behold, I have ¹ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but ^adust and ashes. ²⁸“Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?” And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹Then he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.” ³⁰Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹And he said, “Now behold, I have ¹ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.” ³²Then he said, “^aOh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” ³³And as soon as He had finished speaking to Abraham, ^aYahweh departed, and Abraham returned to his place.

Yahweh Destroys Sodom and Gomorrah

19Then the ^atwo angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. ^bLot saw them and rose to meet them and ¹bowed down with his ²face to the ground. ²And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” ³Yet he pressed them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; ^aand he made a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴Before they lay down, ^athe men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from young to old, all the people ¹from every quarter; ⁵and they called to Lot and said to him, “^aWhere are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may ¹know them.” ⁶But Lot went out to them at the doorway and shut the door behind him, ⁷and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. ⁸“Now behold, ^aI have two daughters who have not known a man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them what is good in your eyes; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the ¹shelter of my roof.” ⁹But they said, “Step aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came to sojourn, and already ^ahe is persistently acting like a judge; now we will treat you more wickedly than them.” So they pressed hard against ¹Lot and stepped up to break the door. ¹⁰But ^athe men reached out their ¹hands and brought Lot into the house ²with them and shut the door. ¹¹^aAnd they ¹struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from small to great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.

¹²Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and everyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place; ¹³for we are about to destroy this place because ^atheir outcry has become great before Yahweh, so ^bYahweh has sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who ¹were to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up, ^aget out of this place, for Yahweh will destroy the city.” ^bBut he appeared to his sons-in-law ²to be jesting.

¹⁵Now at the ¹breaking of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Get up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the ²punishment of the city.” ¹⁶But he hesitated. So the men ^aseized his hand and the hand of his wife and the ¹hands of his two daughters, for ^bthe compassion of Yahweh was upon him; and they brought him out and put him outside the city. ¹⁷Now it happened, as they brought them outside, ¹one said, “^aEscape for your life! ^bDo not look behind you, and do not stay ²anywhere in the ^cvalley; escape to ^dthe ³mountains, lest you be swept away.” ¹⁸But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! ¹⁹“Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by preserving my life; but I cannot escape to the ¹mountains, lest calamity overtake me and I die; ²⁰now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) ¹that my life may be preserved.” ²¹And he said to him, “Behold, I grant you this ¹request also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. ²²“Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called ¹^,^aZoar.

²³The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴And Yahweh ^arained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of heaven, ²⁵and ^aHe overthrew those cities, and all the ¹valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. ²⁶Then his wife, from behind him, ^alooked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

²⁷Now Abraham arose early in the morning and went to ^athe place where he had stood before Yahweh; ²⁸and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the ¹valley, and he saw, and behold, ^athe smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a ²furnace.

²⁹Thus it happened, when God destroyed the cities of the ¹valley, that ^aGod remembered Abraham and ^bsent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

Lot and His Daughters

³⁰And Lot went up from Zoar and ¹^,^astayed in the ²mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to ³stay in Zoar; and he ⁴stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. ³¹Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man ¹on earth to ^acome in to us after the manner of the earth. ³²“Come, ^alet us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our seed through our father.” ³³So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. ³⁴Now it happened on the following day, that the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our seed through our father.” ³⁵So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. ³⁶Thus both the daughters of Lot conceived by their father. ³⁷And the firstborn bore a son and called his name ^aMoab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. ³⁸As for the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the ¹sons of ^aAmmon to this day.