16

夏甲與以實瑪利

1亞伯蘭的妻子撒萊沒有為他生孩子。撒萊有一個婢女,是埃及人,名叫夏甲 2撒萊亞伯蘭說:「看哪,耶和華使我不能生育。你來和我的婢女同房,也許我可以從她得孩子 。」亞伯蘭聽從了撒萊的話。 3於是亞伯蘭的妻子撒萊把她的婢女,埃及夏甲,給了丈夫為妾;那時亞伯蘭迦南已經住了十年。 4亞伯蘭夏甲同房,夏甲就懷了孕。她看見自己有孕,就輕視她的女主人。 5撒萊亞伯蘭說:「我因你受了委屈。我把我的婢女放在你懷中,她見自己懷了孕,就輕視我。願耶和華在你我之間判斷。」 6亞伯蘭撒萊說:「看哪,婢女在你手裏,你可以照你看為好的對待她。」於是,撒萊虐待她,她就從撒萊面前逃走了。
7耶和華的使者在曠野的水泉旁,在書珥路上的水泉旁遇見夏甲 8對她說:「撒萊的婢女夏甲,你從哪裏來?要到哪裏去?」她說:「我從我的女主人撒萊面前逃出來。」 9耶和華的使者對她說:「你要回到你的女主人那裏,屈服在她手下。」 10耶和華的使者對她說:
  「我必使你的後裔極其繁多,
  多到不可勝數。」
11耶和華的使者又對她說:
  「看哪,你已懷孕,
  要生一個兒子。
  你要給他起名叫以實瑪利
  因為耶和華聽見了你的苦楚。
  12他為人必像野驢。
  他的手要攻打人,
  人的手也要攻打他;
  他必常與他的眾弟兄作對 。」
13夏甲就稱那向她說話的耶和華為「你是看見的上帝」,因為她說:「他看見了我之後,我還能在這裏看見他嗎?」 14所以這井名叫庇耳‧拉海‧萊,看哪,它位於加低斯巴列的中間。
15後來夏甲亞伯蘭生了一個兒子;亞伯蘭夏甲生的兒子起名叫以實瑪利 16夏甲亞伯蘭以實瑪利的時候,亞伯蘭年八十六歲。

16

Hagar and Ishmael

1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
 Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
3So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
 When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
5Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”
6“Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
 “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11The angel of the Lord also said to her:
  “You are now pregnant
   and you will give birth to a son.
  You shall name him Ishmael,
   for the Lord has heard of your misery.
  12He will be a wild donkey of a man;
   his hand will be against everyone
   and everyone’s hand against him,
  and he will live in hostility
   toward all his brothers.”
13She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 14That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.