The herders reply We cannot [water the animals] until all the flocks are gathered together. This part of the verse repeats the customary events of gathering the sheep and removing the stone, as given in Gen 29.3. In languages that do not use the construction cannot … until, it is possible to say, for example, “We have to wait here for the other shepherds [or, flocks]. When they come we can roll the stone away from the well. We have to water all the sheep together.”

In some languages the reply of the herders will naturally begin with a negative word or expression. Examples from some translations are “No. We can’t do that”; “No. We don’t do it like that.”

For stone is rolled see the comments in Gen 29.3.

Then we water the sheep: that is, “after removing the stone from the well, we water the sheep.”

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 .