Genesis 24
24
A Wife for Isaac
1Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. 3Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 4Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
5The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”
6“No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. 7For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants.#24:7 Hebrew seed; also in 24:60. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son. 8If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.”
9So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions. 10Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled. 11He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.
12“O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. 13See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water. 14This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”
15Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. 16Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. 17Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”
18“Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19When 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 jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels.
21The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission. 22Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets#24:22 Hebrew a gold nose-ring weighing a beka [0.2 ounces or 6 grams] and two gold bracelets weighing 10 [shekels] [4 ounces or 114 grams]. for her wrists.
23“Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”
24“I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. 25Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.”
26The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27“Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”
28The young woman ran home to tell her family everything that had happened. 29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who ran out to meet the man at the spring. 30He had seen the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and had heard Rebekah tell what the man had said. So he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels. 31Laban said to him, “Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the Lord! Why are you standing here outside the town when I have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels?”
32So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw for their bedding, fed them, and provided water for the man and the camel drivers to wash their feet. 33Then food was served. But Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat until I have told you why I have come.”
“All right,” Laban said, “tell us.”
34“I am Abraham’s servant,” he explained. 35“And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The Lord has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many male and female servants and camels and donkeys.
36“When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my master has given him everything he owns. 37And my master made me take an oath. He said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. 38Go instead to my father’s house, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son.’
39“But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’ 40He responded, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 41Then you will have fulfilled your obligation. But if you go to my relatives and they refuse to let her go with you, you will be free from my oath.’
42“So today when I came to the spring, I prayed this prayer: ‘O Lord, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this mission. 43See, I am standing here beside this spring. This is my request. When a young woman comes to draw water, I will say to her, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.” 44If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and I will draw water for your camels, too,” let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master’s son.’
45“Before I had finished praying in my heart, I saw Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’ So I drank, and then she watered the camels.
47“Then I asked, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, and my grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.
48“Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife. 49So tell me—will you or won’t you show unfailing love and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to do next.”
50Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say. 51Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”
52When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. 53Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and presented them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. 54Then they ate their meal, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight.
But early the next morning, Abraham’s servant said, “Send me back to my master.”
55“But we want Rebekah to stay with us at least ten days,” her brother and mother said. “Then she can go.”
56But he said, “Don’t delay me. The Lord has made my mission successful; now send me back so I can return to my master.”
57“Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.” 58So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her.
And she replied, “Yes, I will go.”
59So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham’s servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah’s childhood nurse went along with her. 60They gave her this blessing as she parted:
“Our sister, may you become
the mother of many millions!
May your descendants be strong
and conquer the cities of their enemies.”
61Then Rebekah and her servant girls mounted the camels and followed the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and went on his way.
62Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahai-roi. 63One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields, he looked up and saw the camels coming. 64When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. 65“Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.
And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. 66Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
67And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.
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Genesis 24: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Genesis 24
24
1Nowe Abraham was olde, and striken in yeeres, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2Therefore Abraham saide vnto his eldest seruant of his house, which had the rule ouer all that he had, Put nowe thine hand vnder my thigh, 3And I will make thee sweare by ye Lord God of the heauen, and God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife vnto my sonne of the daughters of the Canaanites among who I dwel. 4But thou shalt go vnto my countrey, and to my kinred, and take a wife vnto my sone Izhak. 5And the seruant saide to him, What if the woman will not come with me to this land? shall I bring thy sonne againe vnto the lande from whence thou camest? 6To whom Abraham answered, Beware that thou bring not my sonne thither againe. 7The Lord God of heauen, who tooke me from my fathers house, and from the land where I was borne, and that spake vnto me, and that sware vnto me, saying, Vnto thy seede wil I giue this land, he shall send his Angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife vnto my sonne from thence. 8Neuertheles if the woman wil not follow thee, then shalt thou bee discharged of this mine othe: onely bring not my sonne thither againe. 9Then the seruant put his hand vnder the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him for this matter. 10So the seruant tooke ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed: (for he had all his masters goods in his hand:) and so he arose, and went to Aram Naharaim, vnto the citie of Nahor. 11And he made his camels to lye downe without the citie by a well of water, at euentide about the time that the women come out to draw water. 12And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I beseech thee, send me good speede this day, and shew mercy vnto my master Abraham. 13Lo, I stand by the well of water, whiles the mens daughters of this citie come out to drawe water. 14Graunt therefore that ye maide, to whom I say, Bowe downe thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drinke: if she say, Drinke, and I will giue thy camels drinke also: may be she that thou hast ordeined for thy seruant Izhak: and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed mercy on my master. 15And nowe yer he had left speaking, beholde, Rebekah came out, the daughter of Bethuel, sonne of Milcah the wife of Nahor Abrahams brother, and her pitcher vpon her shoulder. 16(And the maide was very faire to looke vpon, a virgine and vnknowen of man) and she went downe to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came vp. 17Then the seruant ranne to meete her, and said, Let me drinke, I pray thee, a litle water of thy pitcher. 18And she said, Drinke sir: and she hasted, and let downe her pitcher vpon her hand and gaue him drinke. 19And when she had giuen him drinke, she said, I will drawe water for thy camels also vntill they haue drunken inough. 20And she powred out her pitcher into the trough speedily; and ranne againe vnto the well to drawe water, and she drewe for all his camels. 21So the man wondred at her, and helde his peace, to knowe whether the Lord had made his iourney prosperous or not. 22And when the camels had left drinking, the man tooke a golden abillement of halfe a shekell weight, and two bracelets for her hands, of ten shekels weight of golde: 23And he said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee, Is there roume in thy fathers house for vs to lodge in? 24Then she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the sonne of Milcah whom she bare vnto Nahor. 25Moreouer she said vnto him, We haue litter also and prouender ynough, and roume to lodge in. 26And the man bowed himselfe and worshipped the Lord, 27And said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, which hath not withdrawen his mercie and his trueth from my master: for when I was in the way, the Lord brought me to my masters brethrens house. 28And the maide ranne and tolde them of her mothers house according to these wordes. 29Now Rebekah had a brother called Laban, and Laban ranne vnto the man to the well. 30For when he had seene the earings and the bracelets in his sisters hands, and when he heard the wordes of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus said the man vnto me, then he went to the man, and loe, he stoode by the camels at the well. 31And he saide, Come in thou blessed of the Lord: wherefore standest thou without, seeing I haue prepared the house, and roume for ye camels? 32Then the man came into the house, and he vnsadled the camels, and brought litter and prouender for the camels, and water to wash his feete, and the mens feete that were with him. 33Afterward the meate was set before him: but he saide, I will not eate, vntill I haue saide my message: And he said, Speake on. 34Then he said, I am Abrahams seruant, 35And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, that he is become great: for he hath giuen him sheepe, and beeues, and siluer, and golde, and men seruants, and maide seruants, and camels, and asses. 36And Sarah my masters wife hath borne a sonne to my master, when she was olde, and vnto him hath he giuen all that he hath. 37Now my master made me sweare, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my sonne of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: 38But thou shalt go vnto my fathers house and to my kinred, and take a wife vnto my sonne. 39Then I saide vnto my master, What if the woman will not follow me? 40Who answered me, The Lord, before who I walke, will send his Angel with thee, and prosper thy iourney, and thou shalt take a wife for my sonne of my kinred and my fathers house. 41Then shalt thou be discharged of mine othe, when thou commest to my kinred: and if they giue thee not one, thou shalt be free from mine othe. 42So I came this day to the well, and said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if thou nowe prosper my iourney which I goe, 43Behold, I stand by the well of water: when a virgine commeth forth to drawe water, and I say to her, Giue me, I pray thee, a litle water of thy pitcher to drinke, 44And she say to me, Drinke thou, and I will also drawe for thy camels, let her be ye wife, which the Lord hath prepared for my masters sonne. 45And before I had made an end of speaking in mine heart, beholde, Rebekah came foorth, and her pitcher on her shoulder, and she went downe vnto the well, and drewe water. Then I said vnto her, Giue me drinke, I pray thee. 46And she made haste, and tooke downe her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drinke, and I will giue thy camels drinke also. So I dranke, and she gaue the camels drinke also. 47Then I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she answered, The daughter of Bethuel Nahors sonne, whom Milcah bare vnto him. Then I put the abillement vpon her face, and the bracelets vpon her hands: 48And I bowed downe and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had brought me the right way to take my masters brothers daughter vnto his sone. 49Now therefore, if ye will deale mercifully and truely with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me that I may turne me to the right hand or to the left. 50Then answered Laban and Bethuel, and said, This thing is proceeded of the Lord: we cannot therefore say vnto thee, neither euill nor good. 51Beholde, Rebehak is before thee, take her and goe, that she may be thy masters sonnes wife, euen as the Lord hath said. 52And when Abrahams seruant heard their wordes, he bowed himselfe toward the earth vnto the Lord. 53Then the seruant tooke foorth iewels of siluer, and iewels of golde, and raiment, and gaue to Rebekah: also vnto her brother and to her mother he gaue gifts. 54Afterward they did eate and drinke, both he, and the men that were with him, and taried all night. and when they rose vp in the morning, he said, Let me depart vnto my master. 55Then her brother and her mother answered, Let the maide abide with vs, at the least ten dayes: then shall she goe. 56But he said vnto them, Hinder you me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my iourney: send me away, that I may goe to my master. 57Then they said, We will call the maide, and aske her consent. 58And they called Rebekah, and saide vnto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she answered, I will go. 59So they let Rebekah their sister goe, and her nourse, with Abrahams seruant and his men. 60And they blessed Rebekah, and sayde vnto her, Thou art our sister, growe into thousande thousands, and thy seede possesse the gate of his enemies. 61Then Rebekah arose, and her maydes, and rode vpon the camels, and followed the man. and the seruant tooke Rebekah, and departed. 62Nowe Izhak came from the way of Beer-lahai-roi, (for he dwelt in the South countrey) 63And Izhak went out. to pray in the fielde toward the euening: who lift vp his eyes and looked, and behold, the camels came. 64Also Rebekah lift vp her eyes, and when she saw Izhak, she lighted downe from the camel. 65(For shee had sayde to the seruant, Who is yonder man, that commeth in the fielde to meete vs? and the seruant had said, It is my master) So she tooke a vaile, and couered her. 66And the seruant tolde Izhak all things, that he had done. 67Afterward Izhak brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother, and he tooke Rebekah, and she was his wife, and he loued her: So Izhak was comforted after his mothers death.
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