Genesis 16:5-6

16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ¹  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ²  but when she realized ³  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ⁴  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ⁵ 

16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your ⁶  servant is under your authority, ⁷  do to her whatever you think best.” ⁸  Then Sarai treated Hagar ⁹  harshly, ¹⁰  so she ran away from Sarai. ¹¹ 

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¹ tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”

² tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”

³ tn Heb “saw.”

⁴ tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.

⁵ tn Heb “me and you.”

sn May the Lord judge between you and me. Sarai blamed Abram for Hagar’s attitude, not the pregnancy. Here she expects to be vindicated by the Lord who will prove Abram responsible. A colloquial rendering might be, “God will get you for this.” It may mean that she thought Abram had encouraged the servant girl in her elevated status.

⁶ tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”

⁷ tn Heb “in your hand.”

⁸ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

⁹ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.