English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.
1
Sarai, Abram's wife, hadn't yet produced a child.
2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
2
Sarai said to Abram, "God has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her." Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.
3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.
3
So Sarai, Abram's wife, took her Egyptian maid Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. Abram had been living ten years in Canaan when this took place.
4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.
4
He slept with Hagar and she got pregnant. When she learned she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress.
5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”
5
Sarai told Abram, "It's all your fault that I'm suffering this abuse. I put my maid in bed with you and the minute she knows she's pregnant, she treats me like I'm nothing. May God decide which of us is right."
6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.
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"You decide," said Abram. "Your maid is your business." Sarai was abusive to Hagar and she ran away.
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.
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An angel of God found her beside a spring in the desert; it was the spring on the road to Shur.
8 And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.”
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He said, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, what are you doing here?" She said, "I'm running away from Sarai my mistress."
9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”
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The angel of God said, "Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse."
10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”
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He continued, "I'm going to give you a big family, children past counting.
11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,“Behold, you are pregnantand shall bear a son.You shall call his name Ishmael,because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
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From this pregnancy, you'll get a son: Name him Ishmael; for God heard you, God answered you.
12 He shall be a wild donkey of a man,his hand against everyoneand everyone’s hand against him,and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”
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He'll be a bucking bronco of a man, a real fighter, fighting and being fought, Always stirring up trouble, always at odds with his family."
13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
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She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, "You're the God who sees me!" "Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!"
14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.
14
That's how that desert spring got named "God-Alive-Sees-Me Spring." That spring is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
15
Hagar gave Abram a son. Abram named him Ishmael.
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
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Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave him his son, Ishmael.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.