Limitless Word
“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.
Genesis 24:42 · New Living Translation
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 —
  • KJV 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:
  • 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;

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 1:11Lord, I beg you, let your ear be attentive now to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name; and please prosper your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cup bearer to the king.
  • Ps 90:17Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us; establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.
  • Rom 1:10requesting, if by any means now at last I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you.
  • Ps 37:5Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this:
  • Ezra 8:21Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a straight way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our possessions.
  • Gen 24:12–14He said, “Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
  • Gen 24:31He said, “Come in, you blessed of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.”
  • Acts 10:7–8When the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually.
  • Gen 39:3His master saw that Yahweh was with him, and that Yahweh made all that he did prosper in his hand.
  • Acts 10:22They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, and well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was directed by a holy angel to invite you to his house, and to listen to what you say.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 24:42YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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.