And Abraham said, “I will swear”: this is not to be taken as a swearing that Abraham will perform in the future, but rather as something he does immediately. New Jerusalem Bible and Revised English Bible have “I swear it,” Good News Translation simply “I promise” (following the term as translated in the previous verse). We may also say “I give my oath,” “I promise to be loyal to you.” In some languages it is normal to use some term of assent or agreement before these words; for example, “All right. I promise…” or “Very well. Before God I promise that I will not deceive you.”

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 .