And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:
Parallel translations
- WEB I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now you do prosper my way which I go —
- BSB So when I came to the spring today, I prayed: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if only You would make my journey a success!
- NKJV “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go,
- NASB “So I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I have been going successful;
- NLT “So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O Lord, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission.
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
The servant tells how he prayed at the spring for Yahweh to prosper his way.
Overview
He recounts his arrival and his earnest petition to the God of his master Abraham. The servant's practice of dependent prayer models seeking God's guidance in concrete decisions. His reliance on Abraham's God shows the covenant faith extending beyond Abraham himself to those in his household.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Neh 1:11O LORD, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.
- Ps 90:17And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
- Rom 1:10Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.
- Ps 37:5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
- Ezra 8:21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.
- Gen 24:12–14And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
- Gen 24:31And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
- Acts 10:7–8And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;
- Gen 39:3And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
- Acts 10:22And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 24:42 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.