find water

The Hebrew that is translated as “we have found water” or similar in English is translated in Mwera idiomatically as “we have met water.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Genesis 26:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 26:32:

  • Newari: “That very day Isaac’s servants came to him and said — ‘We have found water.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “That day also, the servants of Isaac arrived and told him that there was water in the well that they had-dug.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “That day Isaac’s servants came to him and told him about the well that they had finished digging. They said, ‘We found water in the well!'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 26:32

Verses 32-33 conclude the reports about the wells dug by Isaac’s men.

That same day refers to the day of Abimelech’s departure from Isaac’s camp.

Came and told him: that is, came and told Isaac. It may be more natural to put “We have found water” in indirect speech, and then this verse may be translated, for example, “The same day Abimelech left Isaac’s camp, his servants came and told him that they had found water in a well they had been digging.” If it is more natural to use direct speech, Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation may be followed. In areas where wells and well digging are unknown, there may be no connection in the reader’s mind between finding water and digging the hole. It may help in such cases to say, for example, “… told him, ‘We have reached water in the hole we have dug.’ ”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .