“My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while.
Parallel translations
- WEB and said, “My lord, if now I have found favor in your sight, please don’t go away from your servant.
- KJV And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
- BSB “My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.
- NKJV and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
- NASB and said, “My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, please do not pass Your servant by.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abraham humbly begs his honored guest not to pass by without staying.
Overview
Addressing the chief visitor as 'my lord,' Abraham urges him to stay, treating the guests as honored and himself as a lowly servant. His posture of humility and eagerness to serve reflects genuine reverence. Hospitality here becomes the setting for renewed covenant promise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- Gen 32:5I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 18:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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