Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Abram’s wife Sarai had not given birth to any children. She had a woman servant from Egypt whose name was Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “Now see, the Lord has kept me from having children. Go in to the woman who serves me. It may be that I will get children through her.” Abram listened to what Sarai said. ³ So Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, who served her, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. That was after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan. ⁴ He went in to Hagar, and she was going to have a child. And when she saw that she was going to have a child, she began to hate Sarai. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you. I gave the woman who served me into your arms. But when she saw that she was going to have a child, she began to hate me. May the Lord judge who is guilty or not between you and me.” ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, “See, the woman who serves you is in your power. Do what you want with her.” So Sarai made it hard for Hagar. And Hagar ran away from her.

⁷ The angel of the Lord found Hagar by a well of water in the desert on the way to Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, you who serve Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am running away from Sarai, the one I serve.” ⁹ Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your boss. Put yourself under her power.” ¹⁰ The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will give you so many people in your family through the years that they will be too many to number.” ¹¹ The angel of the Lord also said to her, “See, you are going to have a child. And you will give birth to a son. You will give him the name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard how you have suffered. ¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against all people. And the hand of all people will be against him. He will live to the east of all his brothers.” ¹³ So Hagar gave this name to the Lord Who spoke to her, “You are a God Who sees.” For she said, “Have I even stayed alive here after seeing Him?” ¹⁴ So the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵ Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son. And Abram gave his son who was born of Hagar the name Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to his son Ishmael.

The Special Act of the Agreement

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him and said, “I am God All-powerful. Obey Me, and be without blame. ² And I will keep My agreement between Me and you. I will give you many children.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face. God said to him, ⁴ “See, My agreement is with you. You will be the father of many nations. ⁵ No more will your name be Abram. But your name will be Abraham. For I will make you the father of many nations. ⁶ Many will come from you. I will make nations of you. Kings will come from you. ⁷ I will make My agreement between Me and you and your children after you through their whole lives for all time. I will be God to you and to your children’s children after you. ⁸ I will give to you and your children after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan for yourselves forever. And I will be their God.”

⁹ Then God said to Abraham, “You must keep My agreement, you and your children after you for all time. ¹⁰ This is My agreement between Me and you and your children after you, which you must obey: Every man among you must have this religious act done. ¹¹ In this religious act the skin is cut off from the end of your sex part. This will be the special act of the agreement between Me and you. ¹² Every male child among you who is eight days old must have this religious act done, through all time. The same must be done to all the men born in your house or bought with your money from any stranger, who is not one of your family. ¹³ He that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money must have this religious act done. So will My agreement be marked in your flesh, an agreement that lasts forever. ¹⁴ But the man who has not had this religious act done, of cutting off his piece of skin, will be cut off from his people. He has broken My agreement.”

¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, do not call her name Sarai. But Sarah will be her name. ¹⁶ And I will bring good to her. I will give you a son by her. I will bring good to her. And she will be the mother of nations. Kings of many people will come from her.”

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed. He said to himself, “Will a child be born to a man who is 100 years old? ¹⁸ Then Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live before You!” ¹⁹ But God said, “No, but your wife Sarah will give birth to your son. And you will give him the name Isaac. I will make My agreement with him and for his children after him, an agreement that will last forever. ²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have heard you. I will bring good to him. I will make him grow in number. He will be the father of twelve rulers. I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But I will make My agreement with Isaac, who will be born to Sarah at this time next year.”

²² When He had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. ²³ Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money, and every man and boy who lived in his house. And he cut off their piece of skin that very day, as God had told him to do. ²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he had the religious act done of cutting off his piece of skin. ²⁵ His son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he had the religious act done of cutting off his piece of skin. ²⁶ Abraham and his son Ishmael had this religious act done that very day. ²⁷ And all the men of his house, who were born in the house or bought with money from a stranger, had this religious act done with him.

Abraham Is Promised a Son

18 The Lord showed Himself to Abraham by the oak trees of Mamre, as he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day. ² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them. He put his face to the ground ³ and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let us have a little water brought to wash your feet. Rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ And I will get a piece of bread so you may eat and get strength. After that you may go on your way, since you have come to your servant.”

The men said, “Do as you have said.” ⁶ So Abraham ran into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Hurry and get three pails of fine flour, mix it well, and make bread.” ⁷ Then Abraham ran to the cattle and took out a young and good calf. He gave it to the servant to make it ready in a hurry. ⁸ He took milk and cheese and the meat which he had made ready, and set it in front of them. He stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There in the tent.” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “I will be sure to return to you at this time next year. And your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. ¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old. They had lived many years. The way of women had stopped for Sarah. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Will I have this joy after my husband and I have grown old?” ¹³ Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘How can I give birth to a child when I am so old?’ ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” ¹⁵ But Sarah said, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Abraham Cries Out for Sodom

¹⁶ Then the men got up from there and looked down toward Sodom. Abraham went with them to send them on their way. ¹⁷ And the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, ¹⁸ since Abraham will become a great and powerful nation, because good will come to all the nations of the earth through him? ¹⁹ For I have chosen him, so that he may teach his children and the sons of his house after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and fair. So the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has promised him.” ²⁰ Then the Lord said, “The cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is loud. Their sin is very bad. ²¹ I will now go down and see if they have done as much wrong as the cry against them has told Me they have. And if not, I will know.”

²² Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom. But Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ Abraham came near and said, “Will You destroy the good also, with the bad? ²⁴ What if there are fifty good people within the city? Will You destroy the place and not save it because of the fifty good people in it? ²⁵ May You never do such a thing as to destroy the good with the bad! May the good never be punished like the bad! You would never do such a thing! Will not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” ²⁶ So the Lord said, “If I find fifty good people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole place because of them.” ²⁷ Abraham said, “Now see, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am only dust and ashes. ²⁸ What if five of the fifty good people are not so good. Will You destroy the whole city because of five?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five good people there.” ²⁹ Abraham spoke to Him again and said, “What if only forty are found there?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it if there are forty.” ³⁰ Then Abraham said, “O may the Lord not be angry, and I will speak. What if only thirty are found there?” The Lord said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹ Abraham said, “Now see, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. What if twenty are found there?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it because of the twenty.” ³² Then Abraham said, “O may the Lord not be angry. And I may speak once more. What if ten are found there?” The Lord said, “I will not destroy it because of the ten.” ³³ Then the Lord went on His way when He finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

19 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them. He put his face to the ground ² and said, “My lords, come into the house of your servant. Stay the night, and wash your feet. Then you may rise early and go on your way.” But they said, “No, we will stay the night in the street.” ³ But he begged them, so they turned aside with him and went into his house. And he made a supper for them. He made bread without yeast, and they ate.

⁴ Before they went to bed, all the men of the city of Sodom both young and old gathered around the house. ⁵ They called to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we may lie with them.” ⁶ Lot went out the door to the men, and shut the door behind him. ⁷ He said, “My brothers, please do not be so sinful. ⁸ See, I have two daughters who have never had a man. Let me bring them out to you. And do to them whatever you want. But do nothing to these men, for they have come to be safe under my roof.” ⁹ But they said, “Get out of our way. This man came to live here from another land. And already he acts like a judge. Now we will do worse things to you than to them.” So they pushed hard against Lot and almost broke down the door. ¹⁰ But the two men put out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. ¹¹ Then they blinded the men who were at the door of the house, both small and big. So the men became tired trying to find the door.

Lot Leaves Sodom

¹² Then the two men asked Lot, “Do you have any others here? Sons-in-law, your sons, your daughters, anyone you have in the city, bring them out of this place. ¹³ For we are about to destroy this place. Because the cry against its people has become so loud to the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” ¹⁴ So Lot went out to speak to his sons-in-law who were to marry his daughters. He said, “Get up! Get out of this place! For the Lord will destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was only joking.

¹⁵ When morning came, the angels told Lot to hurry. They said, “Get up. Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Or else you will be destroyed when the city is punished.” ¹⁶ But Lot was slow to move. So the men took him, his wife and two daughters by the hand and brought them out of the city. For the Lord had loving-pity for him. ¹⁷ When they had brought them out of the city, one of them said, “Run for your life! Do not look behind you. Do not stop until you are out of the valley. Run to the mountains or else you will be destroyed.” ¹⁸ But Lot said to them, “O, no, my lords! ¹⁹ See, your servant has found favor in your eyes. You have shown me great kindness in what you have done for me by saving my life. But I cannot run to the mountains. For I will run into danger and die. ²⁰ See, this town is near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me run there (is it not small?) and my life will be saved.” ²¹ The angel said to him, “See, I am doing what you ask. I will not destroy this town that you have spoken about. ²² Hurry and run there. For I cannot do anything until you get there.” So the name given to the town was Zoar.

²³ The sun had moved over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴ Then the Lord poured fire from the heavens upon Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁵ He destroyed those cities, and all the valley, and all the people of the cities, and what grew on the ground. ²⁶ But Lot’s wife behind him turned and looked toward the cities. And she was changed into salt.

²⁷ Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. ²⁸ He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley. And he saw the smoke of the land going up like the smoke from a place where there is much fire. ²⁹ But when God destroyed the cities of the valley, He remembered Abraham. He sent Lot out of the center of the danger, when He destroyed the cities where Lot lived.

³⁰ Then Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters, and lived in the mountains for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He lived in a cave in the side of a mountain with his two daughters. ³¹ Then the first-born daughter said to the younger one, “Our father is old. And there is not a man on earth to marry us. ³² Come, let us make our father drink wine. Let us lie with him, so we may keep our family through our father.” ³³ So they made their father drink wine that night. And the first-born went in and lay with her father. He did not know when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁴ On the next day, the first-born said to the younger, “See, I lay with my father last night. Let us make him drink wine tonight also, then you go in and lie with him. And we may keep our family through our father.” ³⁵ So they made their father drink wine that night also, then the younger daughter went and lay with him. He did not know when she lay down or when she got up. ³⁶ So both the daughters of Lot were going to have a child by their father. ³⁷ The first-born daughter gave birth to a son, and gave him the name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. ³⁸ The younger daughter gave birth to a son also. She gave him the name Benammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.