Genesis 24

1And Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things. 2And Abraham said to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put thy hand, I pray thee, under my thigh, 3and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of the heavens and the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am dwelling; 4but thou shalt go to my land and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. 5And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I, then, bring thy son again in any case to the land from which thou hast removed? 6And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again. 7Jehovah the God#GodHebrew: Elohim of the heavens, who took me out of my father's house, and out of the land of my nativity, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn to me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land — he will send his angel before thee, that thou mayest take a wife for my son thence. 8And if the woman be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be quit of this my oath: only, bring not my son thither again. 9And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore unto him concerning that matter.

10And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; now all the treasure of his master was under his hand; and he arose and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. 11And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water, at the time of the evening, when the women came out to draw water. 12And he said, Jehovah, God#GodHebrew: Elohim of my master Abraham, meet me, I pray thee, with thy blessing this day, and deal kindly with my master Abraham. 13Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. 14And let it come to pass, that the maiden to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and who will say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also, be she whom thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and hereby I shall know that thou hast dealt kindly with my master. 15And it came to pass before he had ended speaking, that behold, Rebecca came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother; and she had her pitcher upon her shoulder. 16And the maiden was very fair in countenance; a virgin, and no man had known her. And she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. 17And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, sip a little water out of thy pitcher. 18And she said, Drink, my lord! And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him to drink. 19And when she had given him enough to drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have drunk enough. 20And she hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw water; and she drew for all his camels. 21And the man was astonished at her, remaining silent, to know whether Jehovah had made his journey prosperous or not. 22And it came to pass when the camels had drunk enough, that the man took a gold ring, of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands, ten shekels weight of gold, 23and said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge? 24And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. 25And she said to him, There is straw, and also much provender with us; also room to lodge. 26And the man stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah, 27and said, Blessed be Jehovah, God#GodHebrew: Elohim of my master Abraham, who has not withdrawn his loving-kindness and his faithfulness from my master; I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master's brethren. 28And the maiden ran and told these things to her mother's house.

29And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, to the well. 30And it came to pass when he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's hand, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me — that he came to the man, and behold, he was standing by the camels, by the well. 31And he said, Come in, blessed of Jehovah! why standest thou outside? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. 32And the man came into the house; and he ungirded the camels, and gave the camels straw and provender, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men who were with him. 33And there was set meat before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat until I have made known my business. And he said, Speak on. 34And he said, I am Abraham's servant. 35And Jehovah has blessed my master greatly, and he is become great; and he has given him sheep and cattle, and silver and gold, and bondmen and bondwomen, and camels and asses. 36And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master after she had grown old; and unto him has he given all that he has. 37And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanite, in whose land I am dwelling; 38but thou shalt by all means go to my father's house and to my family, and take a wife for my son. 39And I said to my master, Perhaps the woman will not follow me? 40And he said to me, Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way, that thou mayest take a wife for my son of my family, and out of my father's house. 41Then shalt thou be quit of my oath, when thou shalt have come to my family. And if they give thee not one, thou shalt be quit of my oath. 42And I came this day to the well, and said, Jehovah, God#GodHebrew: Elohim of my master Abraham, if now thou wilt prosper my way on which I go, 43behold, I stand by the well of water, and let it come to pass that the damsel who cometh forth to draw water, and to whom I shall say, Give me, I pray thee, a little water out of thy pitcher to drink, 44and she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels — that she should be the woman whom Jehovah hath appointed for my master's son. 45Before I ended speaking in my heart, behold, Rebecca came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder, and went down to the well, and drew water; and I said to her, Give me, I pray thee, to drink. 46And she hasted and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also. And I drank; and she gave the camels drink also. 47And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. And I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. 48And I stooped, and bowed down before Jehovah; and I blessed Jehovah, God#GodHebrew: Elohim of my master Abraham, who has led me the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. 49And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; and I will turn to the right hand or to the left. 50And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from Jehovah: we cannot speak to thee bad or good. 51Behold, Rebecca is before thee: take her, and go away; and let her be wife of thy master's son, as Jehovah has said. 52And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he bowed down to the earth before Jehovah. 53And the servant brought forth silver articles, and gold articles, and clothing, and he gave them to Rebecca; and he gave to her brother, and to her mother, precious things.

54And they ate and drank, he and the men that were with him, and lodged. And they rose up in the morning; and he said, Send me away to my master. 55And her brother and her mother said, Let the maiden abide with us some days, or say ten; after that she shall go. 56And he said to them, Do not hinder me, seeing Jehovah has prospered my way: send me away, and I will go to my master. 57And they said, Let us call the maiden and inquire at her mouth. 58And they called Rebecca and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. 59And they sent away Rebecca their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. 60And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, Thou art our sister; mayest thou become thousands of tens of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gate of their enemies! 61And Rebecca arose, and her maids, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man. And the servant took Rebecca, and went away.

62And Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi; for he was dwelling in the south country. 63And Isaac had gone out to meditate in the fields toward the beginning of evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, camels were coming. 64And Rebecca lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and she sprang off the camel. 65And she had said to the servant, Who is the man that is walking in the fields to meet us? And the servant said, That is my master! Then she took the veil, and covered herself. 66And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. 67And Isaac led her into his mother Sarah's tent; and he took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was comforted after the death of his mother.

First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.

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Genesis 24

Isaac and Rebekah

1Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, ‘Put your hand under my thigh. 3I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.’

5The servant asked him, ‘What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?’

6‘Make sure that you do not take my son back there,’ Abraham said. 7‘The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, “To your offspring#24:7 Or seed I will give this land” – he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. 8If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.’ 9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

10Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim#24:10 That is, North-west Mesopotamia and made his way to the town of Nahor. 11He made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was towards evening, the time the women go out to draw water.

12Then he prayed, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14May it be that when I say to a young woman, “Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,” and she says, “Drink, and I’ll water your camels too” – let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.’

15Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. 16The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

17The servant hurried to meet her and said, ‘Please give me a little water from your jar.’

18‘Drink, my lord,’ she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

19After she had given him a drink, she said, ‘I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.’ 20So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. 21Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka#24:22 That is, about 5.7 grams and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.#24:22 That is, about 115 grams 23Then he asked, ‘Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?’

24She answered him, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.’ 25And she added, ‘We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night.’

26Then the man bowed down and worshipped the Lord, 27saying, ‘Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.’

28The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he hurried out to the man at the spring. 30As soon as he had seen the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man said to her, he went out to the man and found him standing by the camels near the spring. 31‘Come, you who are blessed by the Lord,’ he said. ‘Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.’

32So the man went to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and fodder were brought for the camels, and water for him and his men to wash their feet. 33Then food was set before him, but he said, ‘I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.’

‘Then tell us,’ Laban said.

34So he said, ‘I am Abraham’s servant. 35The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and he has given him everything he owns. 37And my master made me swear an oath, and said, “You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live, 38but go to my father’s family and to my own clan, and get a wife for my son.”

39‘Then I asked my master, “What if the woman will not come back with me?”

40‘He replied, “The Lord, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you can get a wife for my son from my own clan and from my father’s family. 41You will be released from my oath if, when you go to my clan, they refuse to give her to you – then you will be released from my oath.”

42‘When I came to the spring today, I said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. 43See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jar,’ 44and if she says to me, ‘Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,’ let her be the one the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.”

45‘Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, “Please give me a drink.”

46‘She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, “Drink, and I’ll water your camels too.” So I drank, and she watered the camels also.

47‘I asked her, “Whose daughter are you?”

‘She said, “The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milkah bore to him.”

‘Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48and I bowed down and worshipped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so I may know which way to turn.’

50Laban and Bethuel answered, ‘This is from the Lord; we can say nothing to you one way or the other. 51Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.’

52When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewellery and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night there.

When they got up the next morning, he said, ‘Send me on my way to my master.’

55But her brother and her mother replied, ‘Let the young woman remain with us ten days or so; then you#24:55 Or she may go.’

56But he said to them, ‘Do not detain me, now that the Lord has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master.’

57Then they said, ‘Let’s call the young woman and ask her about it.’ 58So they called Rebekah and asked her, ‘Will you go with this man?’

‘I will go,’ she said.

59So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

‘Our sister, may you increase

to thousands upon thousands;

may your offspring possess

the cities of their enemies.’

61Then Rebekah and her attendants got ready and mounted the camels and went back with the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

62Now Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. 63He went out to the field one evening to meditate,#24:63 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching. 64Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac. She got down from her camel 65and asked the servant, ‘Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?’

‘He is my master,’ the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.

66Then the servant told Isaac all he had done. 67Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®

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