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Genesis 16:5 – NASB vs. HCSB
Genesis 16:5 NASB And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
Genesis 16:5 HCSB Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has looked down on me. May the LORD judge between me and you.”
Apparently the Hebrew can be translated with either intent, “may the wrong done me be upon you” or “you are responsible for my suffering.” Either Sarah is blaming Abram for the ill treatment she is receiving from Hagar (i.e., the HCSB), or else she is cursing Abram with the same curse she is experiencing (i.e., NASB, ESV).
In the NASB the language used by Sarai is the language of a curse. Sarai said she was despised in Hagar’s sight, and wanted Abraham to share in that curse. God Himself said to Abram, “I will curse those who treat you with contempt” (Genesis 12:3). That is the same Hebrew word in both: despised (16:5); contempt (12:3).
However in the HCSB, there is not the same curse-like language. Sarah simply blames Abram unjustly. I think the NASB and ESV is probably more accurate contextually.
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