Genesis 18:5

18:5 And let me get ¹  a bit of food ²  so that you may refresh yourselves ³  since you have passed by your servant’s home. After that you may be on your way.” ⁴  “All right,” they replied, “you may do as you say.”

Genesis 19:21

19:21 “Very well,” he replied, ⁵  “I will grant this request too ⁶  and will not overthrow ⁷  the town you mentioned.

Genesis 27:19

27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ⁸  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ⁹ 

[18:5]  ¹ tn The Qal cohortative here probably has the nuance of polite request.

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “a piece of bread.” The Hebrew word לֶחֶם (lekhem) can refer either to bread specifically or to food in general. Based on Abraham’s directions to Sarah in v. 6, bread was certainly involved, but v. 7 indicates that Abraham had a more elaborate meal in mind.

[18:5]  ³ tn Heb “strengthen your heart.” The imperative after the cohortative indicates purpose here.

[18:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “so that you may refresh yourselves, after [which] you may be on your way – for therefore you passed by near your servant.”

[19:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “And he said, ‘Look, I will grant.’” The order of the clauses has been rearranged for stylistic reasons. The referent of the speaker (“he”) is somewhat ambiguous: It could be taken as the angel to whom Lot has been speaking (so NLT; note the singular references in vv. 18-19), or it could be that Lot is speaking directly to the Lord here. Most English translations leave the referent of the pronoun unspecified and maintain the ambiguity.

[19:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “I have lifted up your face [i.e., shown you favor] also concerning this matter.”

[19:21]  ⁷ tn The negated infinitive construct indicates either the consequence of God’s granting the request (“I have granted this request, so that I will not”) or the manner in which he will grant it (“I have granted your request by not destroying”).

[27:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “get up and sit.” This may mean simply “sit up,” or it may indicate that he was to get up from his couch and sit at a table.

[27:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “so that your soul may bless me.” These words, though not reported by Rebekah to Jacob (see v. 7) accurately reflect what Isaac actually said to Esau (see v. 4). Perhaps Jacob knew more than Rebekah realized, but it is more likely that this was an idiom for sincere blessing with which Jacob was familiar. At any rate, his use of the precise wording was a nice, convincing touch.