Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept.
Parallel translations
- WEB She went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a bow shot away. For she said, “Don’t let me see the death of the child.” She sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
- KJV And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
- NKJV Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept.
- NASB Then she went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away, for she said, “May I not see the boy die!” And she sat opposite him, and raised her voice and wept.
- NLT Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards away. “I don’t want to watch the boy die,” she said, as she burst into tears.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hagar sits apart, unable to watch her son die, and weeps aloud. Her anguish gives way to hopeless tears.
Overview
Overcome by grief, Hagar distances herself so as not to witness Ishmael's death, and lifts up her voice in weeping. Her sorrow represents the depth of human despair when every earthly hope is gone. Yet her cry, and the boy's, are heard in heaven, showing that God attends to the tears of the afflicted even when they feel forgotten.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Isa 49:15“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!
- 1 Sam 24:16When David had finished saying these things, Saul called back, “Is that your voice, David my son?” Then Saul wept aloud
- 1 Kgs 3:26Then the woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she yearned with compassion for her son. “Please, my lord,” she said, “give her the living baby. Do not kill him!” But the other woman said, “He will be neither mine nor yours. Cut him in two!”
- 1 Sam 30:4So David and the troops with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no strength left to weep.
- Judg 2:4When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
- Ruth 1:9May the LORD enable each of you to find rest in the home of your new husband.” And she kissed them as they wept aloud
- Gen 29:11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
- Esth 8:6For how could I bear to see the disaster that would befall my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”
- Luke 15:20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
- Zech 12:10Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
- Gen 44:34For how can I go back to my father without the boy? I could not bear to see the misery that would overwhelm him.”
- Gen 27:38Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, O my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 21:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.