Genesis 24
24
A Bride for Isaac
1Now Abraham #Gen. 18:11; 21:5was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord #Gen. 12:2; 13:2; 24:35; Ps. 112:3; Prov. 10:22; (Gal. 3:9)had blessed Abraham in all things. 2So Abraham said #Gen. 15:2to the oldest servant of his house, who #Gen. 24:10; 39:4–6ruled over all that he had, “Please, #Gen. 47:29; 1 Chr. 29:24put your hand under my thigh, 3and I will make you #Gen. 14:19, 22swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that #Gen. 26:35; 28:2; Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:3; 2 Cor. 6:14–17you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4#Gen. 28:2but you shall go #Gen. 12:1; Heb. 11:15to my country and to my family, 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 take your son back to the land from which you came?”
6But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7The Lord God of heaven, who #Gen. 12:1; 24:3took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, #Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:18; 17:8; Ex. 32:13; Deut. 1:8; 34:4; Acts 7:5‘To your descendants I give this land,’ #Gen. 16:7; 21:17; 22:11; Ex. 23:20, 23; 33:2; Heb. 1:4, 14He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then #Josh. 2:17–20you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, #Gen. 24:2, 22for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to #Gen. 11:31, 32; 22:20; 27:43; 29:5the city of Nahor. 11And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time #Ex. 2:16; 1 Sam. 9:11when women go out to draw water. 12Then he #Gen. 24:27, 42, 48; 26:24; 32:9; Ex. 3:6, 15said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please #Gen. 27:20; Neh. 1:11; Ps. 37:5give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13Behold, here #Gen. 24:43I stand by the well of water, and #Ex. 2:16the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And #Judg. 6:17, 37; 1 Sam. 14:10; 16:7; 20:7; 2 Kin. 20:9; Prov. 16:33; Acts 1:26by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
15And it happened, #Is. 65:24before he had finished speaking, that behold, #Gen. 24:45; 25:20Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of #Gen. 22:20, 23Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16Now the young woman #Gen. 12:11; 26:7; 29:17was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
18#Gen. 24:14, 46; (1 Pet. 3:8, 9)So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. 21And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether #Gen. 24:12–14, 27, 52the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden #Gen. 24:47; Ex. 32:2, 3; Is. 3:19–21nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, 23and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?”
24So she said to him, #Gen. 22:23; 24:15“I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”
26Then the man #Gen. 24:48, 52; Ex. 4:31bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27And he said, #Gen. 24:12, 42, 48; Ex. 18:10; Ruth 4:14; 1 Sam. 25:32, 39; 2 Sam. 18:28; Luke 1:68“Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken #Gen. 32:10; Ps. 98:3His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord #Gen. 24:21, 48led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” 28So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.
29Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was #Gen. 29:5, 13Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. 30So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. 31And he said, “Come in, #Gen. 26:29; Judg. 17:2; Ruth 3:10; Ps. 115:15O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”
32Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and #Gen. 43:24; Judg. 19:21provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to #Gen. 19:2; John 13:5, 13–15wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33Food was set before him to eat, but he said, #Job 23:12; John 4:34; Eph. 6:5–7“I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”
And he said, “Speak on.”
34So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35The Lord #Gen. 13:2; 24:1has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36And Sarah my master’s wife #Gen. 21:1–7bore a son to my master when she was old; and #Gen. 21:10; 25:5to him he has given all that he has. 37Now my master #Gen. 24:2–4made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; 38#Gen. 24:4but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ 39#Gen. 24:5And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ 40#Gen. 24:7But he said to me, ‘The Lord, #Gen. 5:22, 24; 17:1; 1 Kin. 8:23before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. 41#Gen. 24:8You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’
42“And this day I came to the well and said, #Gen. 24:12‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, 43#Gen. 24:13behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” 44and she says to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
45#Gen. 24:15“But before I had finished #1 Sam. 1:13speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah, coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also. 47Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48#Gen. 24:26, 52And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to #Gen. 22:23; 24:27; Ps. 32:8; 48:14; Is. 48:17take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49Now if you will #Gen. 47:29; Josh. 2:14deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. And if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
50Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, #Ps. 118:23; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:11“The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot #Gen. 31:24, 29speak to you either bad or good. 51#Gen. 20:15Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”
52And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that #Gen. 24:26, 48he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. 53Then the servant brought out #Gen. 24:10, 22; Ex. 3:22; 11:2; 12:35jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave #2 Chr. 21:3; Ezra 1:6precious things to her brother and to her mother.
54And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, #Gen. 24:56, 59; 30:25“Send me away to my master.”
55But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”
56And he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”
57So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” 58Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”
And she said, “I will go.”
59So they sent away Rebekah their sister #Gen. 35:8and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her:
“Our sister, may you become
#Gen. 17:16The mother of thousands of ten thousands;
#Gen. 22:17; 28:14 And may your descendants possess
The gates of those who hate them.”
61Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.
62Now Isaac came from the way of #Gen. 16:14; 25:11Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. 63And Isaac went out #Josh. 1:8; Ps. 1:2; 77:12; 119:15, 27, 48; 143:5; 145:5to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. 64Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when #Josh. 15:18she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel; 65for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”
The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took a veil and covered herself.
66And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he #Gen. 25:20; 29:20; Prov. 18:22took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac #Gen. 23:1, 2; 38:12was comforted after his mother’s death.
Currently Selected:
Genesis 24: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Genesis 24
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.