Genesis 21

1 And the Lord visited Sarah, as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had spoken. 2 She conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time, just as the Lord had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 Abraham circumcised Isaac on the eighth day, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, “The Lord has made laughter for me — whoever hears of it will rejoice with me.” 7 And she said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse a child? Yet I have borne a son in my old age.” 8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day his son Isaac was weaned.

9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, who had been born to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac, [a] 10 and she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman and her son — for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit with my son Isaac.” 11 The word seemed very hard to Abraham, because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be hard before you, concerning the child and concerning the slave woman. In everything Sarah says to you, listen to her voice — for in Isaac your seed will be named. 13 And the son of the slave woman I will also make into a great nation, because he is your seed.” 14 So Abraham rose in the morning and took loaves of bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, and he set the child on her shoulder, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness near the Well of the Oath. [b] 15 When the water in the skin ran out, she threw the child down under a fir tree, [c] 16 and went and sat down opposite him, far off — about a bowshot away — for she said, “I cannot watch my child die.” And she sat opposite him, and the child cried aloud and wept. [d] 17 And God heard the voice of the child from the place where he was, and a messenger of God called to Hagar out of heaven and said to her, “What is it, Hagar? Do not be afraid — God has heard the voice of your child from the place where he is. [g] 18 Rise, take up the child and hold him by your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of living water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the child a drink. 20 And God was with the child. He grew up and lived in the wilderness, and became an archer. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

22 At that time Abimelech — with Ahuzzath his groomsman and Phicol the commander of his army — spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in everything you do. [e] 23 Now swear to me by God that you will not wrong me, or my seed, or my name — but as I have dealt righteously with you, so you will deal with me, and with the land where you have lived as a stranger.” 24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.” 25 But Abraham reproached Abimelech about the wells of water that Abimelech’s servants had seized. 26 And Abimelech said to him, “I do not know who has done this thing to you. You did not tell me, and I heard nothing of it until today.” 27 So Abraham took sheep and calves and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant. 28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs by themselves. 29 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What are these seven ewe lambs you have set apart?” 30 And Abraham said, “You shall accept the seven ewe lambs from me, so that they may be a witness for me that I dug this well.” 31 That is why he named that place the Well of the Oath — because there the two of them swore. 32 So they made a covenant at the Well of the Oath. Then Abimelech rose up, with Ahuzzath his groomsman and Phicol the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines. 33 And Abraham planted a field at the Well of the Oath, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God. [f] 34 And Abraham lived as a stranger in the land of the Philistines many days.