I will get a piece of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant.” They said, “Very well, do as you have said.”
Parallel Translations
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I will get a piece of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant.” They said, “Very well, do as you have said.”
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And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
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And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart; after that ye shall pass on; forasmuch as ye are come to your servant.' And they said: 'So do, as thou hast said.'
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Genesis 18:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 104:15 wine that makes the heart of man glad, oil to make his face to shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.
- Judges 6:18 Please don’t go away until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you.” He said, “I will wait until you come back.”
- Judges 13:15 Manoah said to Yahweh’s angel, “Please stay with us, that we may make a young goat ready for you.”
- Genesis 19:8 See now, I have two virgin daughters. Please let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them what seems good to you. Only don’t do anything to these men, because they have come under the shadow of my roof.”
- Genesis 33:10 Jacob said, “Please, no, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present at my hand, because I have seen your face, as one sees the face of God, and you were pleased with me.
- Judges 19:5 On the fourth day, they got up early in the morning, and he rose up to depart. The young lady’s father said to his son-in-law, “Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way.”
- Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.
- Isaiah 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, the whole supply of bread, and the whole supply of water;
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 5. For therefore are ye come to your servant…
5. For therefore are ye come to your servant He does not mean that they had come designedly, or for the express purpose of seeking to be entertained, as his guests; but he intimates that their coming had occurred opportunely, as if he would say, ‘You have not slipped into this place by chance; but have been led hither by the design and the direction of God.’ He, therefore, refers it to the providence of God, that they had come, so conveniently, to a place where they might refresh themselves a little while, till the heat of the sun should abate. Moreover, as it is certain that Abraham spoke thus in sincerity of mind; let us after his examples conclude that, whenever our brethren, who need our help, meet us, they are sent unto us by God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain As sent of God, that I should do my…
As sent of God, that I should do my duty to you.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 18:5 And I will fetch a morsel of…
Gen 18:5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
Ver. 5. For therefore are ye come to your servant.] He meaneth not, that they therefore came to him to taste of his cheer; but that God, by his providence, had so ordered that he should see them passing, and invite them to his house. How glad was this good man of an occasion to show kindness, acknowledging God’s good providence! And how improvident are we for ourselves, that will not offer a sacrifice, when God sets up an altar before us!
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So do as thou hast said.] The angels needed not his courtesy, yet kindly accept of it. Good offers or offices, even from inferiors, are not to be rejected, but regarded, yea, rewarded.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Therefore are ye come to your servant; not that…
Therefore are ye come to your servant; not that he saith or thought that this was their design, but an effect of Divine Providence. The meaning is, Therefore hath God directed you this way, that I might have an occasion of performing my duty to you, which I cheerfully embrace.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And I will fetch a morsel of bread,.... A…
And I will fetch a morsel of bread,.... A piece or a loaf of bread, as De Dieu shows the word signifies; bread being put for all the necessaries of life:
and comfort ye your hearts; eat to refresh your spirits and renew your strength, that ye may be able to pursue your journey: and
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after that ye shall pass on your way; I will retard you no longer:
for therefore are ye come to your servant; not that he thought they came this way on purpose to take some refreshment with him, but so it was ordered by the providence of God; and since it was, he desires that they would accept of his invitation:
and they said, so do as thou hast said; they agreed to it, that water should be fetched to wash their feet, and food for them to eat.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 5. I will fetch a morsel of bread]…
Verse 5. I will fetch a morsel of bread] This was the third requisite, and is introduced in its proper order; as eating immediately after exertion or fatigue is very unwholesome. The strong action of the lungs and heart should have time to diminish before any food is received into the stomach, as otherwise concoction is prevented, and fever in a less or greater degree produced.
For therefore are ye come] In those ancient days every traveller conceived he had a right to refreshment, when he needed it, at the first tent he met with on his journey.
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So do as thou hast said.] How exceedingly simple was all this! On neither side is there any compliment but such as a generous heart and sound sense dictate.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Therefore, Providence has directed you hither. Abraham promises but…
Therefore, Providence has directed you hither. Abraham promises but little, and gives much, in the true spirit of generous hospitality. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain for therefore are ye come--No questions were asked. But…
for therefore are ye come--No questions were asked. But Abraham knew their object by the course they took--approaching directly in front of the chief sheik's tent, which is always distinguishable from the rest and thus showing their wish to be his guests.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5. For therefore are ye come to your servant…
5. For therefore are ye come to your servant — Or, for therefore have ye passed over to your servant. That is, Abraham recognises a divine providence in their having passed over to him that they might be comforted in their hearts and refreshed by him.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5. a morsel of bread] Cf. Jdg_19:5. With true…
5. a morsel of bread] Cf. Jdg_19:5. With true Oriental subservience of speech Abraham gives this description of the generous entertainment which he intends to provide. For this modesty of speech as a formula of courtesy, cf. Gen_13:9, Gen_23:11; 2Sa_24:22-23.
comfort ye your heart] As in Jdg_19:5; Jdg_19:8; lit. “support your heart,” Lat. confortate cor vestrum. The English word “comfort,” derived from the Lat., originally had the meaning of “strengthen.” The Heb. word here used is found in Psa_104:15, “bread that strengthened man’s heart.”
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forasmuch as] Marg. for therefore: cf. Gen_19:8, Gen_33:10 (J). Abraham graciously assumes that the strangers have only honoured him with a visit, in order to allow him to provide for their refreshment and entertainment on their journey.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) Comfort ye your hearts.—Heb., strengthen ye, the original…
(5) Comfort ye your hearts.—Heb., strengthen ye, the original meaning of comfort, a word formed from the Latin fortis = strong, brave. The heart in Hebrew is the sum total of all the powers, mental and bodily, of the whole man.
After that ye shall pass on.—Coming at noon, the travellers after rest and refreshment would continue their journey. It is quite plain that Abraham still regarded them as passing wayfarers.
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Therefore . . . —Abraham thus suggests that his tent was pitched near to the route on purpose that he might exercise that hospitality which was and continues to be the sacred duty of an Arab sheik.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And I will fetch a morsel of bread, a…
And I will fetch a morsel of bread, a modest description of what proved a sumptuous repast (vide Vers. 6, 8)and comfort ye your hearts; literally, strengthen or support them, i.e. by eating and drinking (Jud_1:19:5; 1Ki_21:7) after that ye shall pass on: for therefore KeAlAyKi introduces the ground of what has already been stated, something like quando quidem, forasmuch as (Ewald, "Hebrews Synt.," since, or because (Kalisch), and not = yKiA for this cause that (Gesenius, "Gram.," or "because for this purpose" (Keil) are ye come to (literally, have ye passed before) thy servant. The patriarch"s meaning is not that they had come with the design of receiving his gifts (LXX, A.V), but either that, unconsciously to them, God had ordered their journey so as to give him this opportunity (Calvin, Bush, Wordsworth, "Speaker"s Commentary," Keil), or perhaps simply that since they had passed by his tent they should suffer him to accord them entertainment (Kalisch, Rosenm And they said, So do, as thou but said. Therefore we must believe that Abraham washed the men"s feet, and they did eat (Ver. 8). Here is a mystery (Wordsworth).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.