Genesis 24:3-7

24:3 so that I may make you solemnly promise ¹  by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire ²  a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 24:4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives ³  to find ⁴  a wife for my son Isaac.”

24:5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me ⁵  to this land? Must I then ⁶  take your son back to the land from which you came?”

24:6 “Be careful ⁷  never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. ⁸  24:7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, ⁹  promised me with a solemn oath, ¹⁰  ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel ¹¹  before you so that you may find ¹²  a wife for my son from there.

[24:3]  ¹ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose.

[24:3]  ² tn Heb “because you must not take.”

[24:4]  ³ tn Heb “for to my country and my relatives you must go.”

[24:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and take.”

[24:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “to go after me.”

[24:5]  ⁶ tn In the Hebrew text the construction is emphatic; the infinitive absolute precedes the imperfect. However, it is difficult to reflect this emphasis in an English translation.

[24:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “guard yourself.”

[24:6]  ⁸ tn The introductory clause “And Abraham said to him” has been moved to the end of the opening sentence of direct discourse in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[24:7]  ⁹ tn Or “the land of my birth.”

[24:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying.”

[24:7]  ¹¹ tn Or “his messenger.”

[24:7]  ¹² tn Heb “before you and you will take.”