UGenesisi 16

1 USarayi umkaAbrama wayengamzaleli-ke abantwana; wayelencekukazi umGibhithekazi, lebizo layo linguHagari.

Up to that time, Abram’s wife Sarai had not given birth to any children for Abram. But she had a female slave from Egypt, whose name was Hagar.

2 USarayi wasesithi kuAbrama: Khangela-ke, iNkosi ingivalile ukuze ngingazali; ake ungene encekukazini yami, mhlawumbe ngingakhiwa ngayo. UAbrama waselalela ilizwi likaSarayi.

[So one day] Sarai said to Abram, “Listen to me! Yahweh has not allowed me to become pregnant. So (sleep with/have sex with) [EUP] my slave Hagar. Perhaps she will bear children whom I can consider to be mine.” Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.

3 Ngakho uSarayi umkaAbrama wamthatha uHagari umGibhithe, incekukazi yakhe, ekupheleni kweminyaka elitshumi uAbrama esehlale elizweni leKhanani, wasemnika uAbrama indoda yakhe ukuthi abe ngumkakhe.

So Abram (slept with/had sex with) Hagar, his wife Sarai’s slave from Egypt. This happened ten years after they went to live in Canaan [land]. Sarai gave Hagar to her husband to be his secondary wife.

4 Wasengena kuHagari, wasethatha isisu. Esebonile ukuthi uzithwele, inkosikazi yakhe yasideleleka emehlweni akhe.

He (slept with/had sex with) [EUP] Hagar and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress Sarai.

5 USarayi wasesithi kuAbrama: Ububi bami buphezu kwakho. Mina nginike incekukazi yami esifubeni sakho, ithe isibonile ukuthi izithwele, ngiyadeleleka emehlweni ayo. INkosi kayahlulele phakathi kwami lawe.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “It is your fault! I put my servant into your arms, so that you could sleep with her [EUP]. Now she realizes that she is pregnant, and she despises me. I think Yahweh will punish you for doing this to me!”

6 UAbrama wasesithi kuSarayi: Khangela, incekukazi yakho isesandleni sakho. Yenza kuyo lokho okuhle emehlweni akho. USarayi waseyiphatha kubi, yasibaleka ebusweni bakhe.

So Abram said to Sarai, “[You listen to me]! She is your servant, so act towards her in the way you consider best.” Then Sarai started to mistreat her, so she ran away from Sarai.

7 Ingilosi yeNkosi yasiyifica emthonjeni wamanzi enkangala, emthonjeni endleleni eya eShuri.

An angel of Yahweh found her as she was near a spring of water in the desert. It was the spring that was alongside the road to Shur.

8 Yasisithi: Hagari, ncekukazi kaSarayi, uvela ngaphi, uya ngaphi? Yasisithi: Ngibalekela ubuso bukaSarayi inkosikazi yami.

He said to her, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I have run away from Sarai, my mistress.”

9 Ingilosi yeNkosi yasisithi kuyo: Buyela enkosikazini yakho, ubusuzehlisela ngaphansi kwezandla zayo.

The angel said, “Go back to your mistress and be under her authority [MTY]”.

10 Ingilosi yeNkosi yathi kuyo futhi: Ngizakwandisa kakhulu inzalo yakho ukuze ingabalwa ngenxa yobunengi.

The angel also said to her, “I will enable you to bear so many descendants that no one will be able to count them!”

11 Ingilosi yeNkosi yasisithi kuyo: Khangela, uzithwele, futhi uzazala indodana, njalo uzayitha ibizo layo uthi nguIshmayeli, ngoba iNkosi izwile ukuhlupheka kwakho.

The angel also said to her, “[Listen to this!] You are pregnant. You will give birth to a son. You must name him Ishmael, [which means ‘God hears]’, because Yahweh has heard you crying because you feel so miserable.

12 Yona-ke izakuba ngumuntu ongubabhemi ongathambanga, isandla sayo simelane labo bonke, lesandla sabo bonke simelane layo; izahlala phambi kobuso babafowabo bonke.

But your son will be as uncontrollable as a wild donkey [MET]. He will oppose everyone, and everyone will oppose him [MTY]. He will live far away from his relatives [SYN].”

13 Waseyitha iNkosi eyakhuluma laye ibizo lokuthi: Wena Nkulunkulu wokubona. Ngoba wathi: Lapha lami ngimkhangele yini ongibonayo?

Then Hagar realized that the angel was really Yahweh, so she said to herself, “(It is difficult to believe that I have really seen the back of Yahweh, the one who sees me!/Have I really seen the back of Yahweh, the one who sees me?)” [RHQ] So she called him ‘Yahweh, the one who sees me’.

14 Ngakho umthombo wabizwa ngokuthi iBeri-Lahayi-Royi; khangela, uphakathi kweKadeshi leBeredi.

That is why people call the well there ‘Beer-Lahai-Roi’, [which means, ‘The well of the living one who sees us’!] It is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

15 UHagari wasemzalela uAbrama indodana; uAbrama wasesitha ibizo lendodana yakhe, uHagari ayizalayo, wathi nguIshmayeli.

So Hagar later gave birth to a son for Abram, and she gave to her son the name Ishmael.

16 Njalo uAbrama wayeleminyaka engamatshumi ayisificaminwembili lesithupha mhla uHagari emzalela uAbrama uIshmayeli.

Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son Ishmael.