Genesis 32:17-18

32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ¹  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ²  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ³  32:18 then you must say, ⁴  ‘They belong ⁵  to your servant Jacob. ⁶  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ⁷  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ⁸ 

[32:17]  ¹ tn Heb “the first”; this has been specified as “the servant leading the first herd” in the translation for clarity.

[32:17]  ² tn Heb “to whom are you?”

[32:17]  ³ tn Heb “and to whom are these before you?”

[32:18]  ⁴ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; it has the nuance of an imperfect of instruction.

[32:18]  ⁵ tn The words “they belong” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[32:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “to your servant, to Jacob.”

[32:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “to my lord, to Esau.”

[32:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “and look, also he [is] behind us.” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.