In verses 4-5 Abraham addresses the visitors in the plural.

Let a little water be brought translates a passive form of “to bring.” Good News Translation “Let me bring” shifts to the active, but a causative such as “I will have someone bring” or “I’ll order…” will fit the context better. A typical expression of this is “I will tell a servant to….” Bible en français courant translates with an impersonal subject, “One will bring”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has “I’ll order a little water,” and Revised English Bible “Let me send for some water.”

A little water, like “a morsel of bread,” is an understatement calculated to express the ease with which the host can offer his hospitality, and to show that acceptance of his hospitality does not diminish his abundance.

Wash your feet: this clause must be linked to the previous one, often with a connector such as “in order to wash your feet” or “so you can bathe your feet.” The visitors are invited to wash their feet after their dusty journey. They probably wore sandals, and the bathing of the feet was expected before resting and eating. For other examples of such hospitality in Genesis, see 19.2; 24.32; 43.24. See also Luke 7.44. In some languages it may be necessary to provide a note explaining that washing the feet before entering someone’s place was a common practice in the Middle East.

The visitors are invited to rest yourselves under the tree. This invitation is to rest in the shade of the tree while the food is being prepared. If resting in the shade during the heat of the day is not clearly understood from the expression, it may be necessary to say, for example, “Sit down and rest yourselves in the shade of this tree.”

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 .