Then Abraham said to his young men: these words are spoken before Abraham and Isaac separate from the two young men to walk to the place where the sacrifice is to be made.

Stay here with the ass: these words addressed to the two young men may fit better following the next sentence.

I and the lad will go yonder and worship: the Revised Standard Version order I and the lad follows the Hebrew. Notice that Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version say “The boy and I.” In English this is a more acceptable style that may also be rendered “My son and I” or “Isaac and I.” In languages that have special pronouns for two people, this is often expressed as “we-two, the boy and I.” Where there is a difference between inclusive and exclusive pronouns, this is the exclusive first person form.

Go yonder: yonder translates what is literally “as far as here,” which suggests that Abraham is pointing to a spot he can see in the distance. We may also say “over there,” “to that place you see.”

And worship: the Hebrew word means to “bow down.” The verb is sometimes used in the literal sense of bowing down before a superior; for example, see Gen 43.28. However, when God is the object (whether this is stated or not) the sense is to “praise,” “pray to,” “worship.” In this context it is to make a sacrifice, and we may translate “and offer a sacrifice to God.”

And come again to you: that is, “we will then come back,” “we will return here,” or “we-two will come back to you-two again.”

A suggested translation model for verse 5 is:

• Then Abraham said to his young men, “My boy and I will go over there and offer a sacrifice to God, and then we will come back to you. So stay here with the donkey until we return.”

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 .