Connecting two words in lyrics

In lyrics, is there any way to tie two words together with something like a slur going under or over the space between the two words? This is a useful device to indicate a place where you do NOT want singers to breath or where two words are elided ("The eternal" is often written as, "Th’e-ter-nal," but also, sometimes, as "The__e-ter-nal") I have attached an photograph taken from a piece of choral music.