Genesis 24
1 By now Abraham was old and well along in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.
And Abraham [is] old, he has entered into days, and YHWH has blessed Abraham in all [things];
2 So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,
and Abraham says to his servant, the eldest of his house, who is ruling over all that he has, “Please put your hand under my thigh,
3 and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,
and I cause you to swear by YHWH, God of the heavens and God of the earth, that you do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanite, in the midst of whom I am dwelling;
4 but will go to my country and my kindred to take a wife for my son Isaac.”
but to my land and to my family you go, and have taken a wife for my son, for Isaac.”
5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?”
And the servant says to him, “It may be the woman is not willing to come after me to this land; do I at all cause your son to return to the land from where you came out?”
6 Abraham replied, “Make sure that you do not take my son back there.
And Abraham says to him, “Take heed to yourself lest you cause my son to return there;
7 The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me from my father’s house and my native land, who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—He will send His angel before you so that you can take a wife for my son from there.
YHWH, God of the heavens, who has taken me from the house of my father, and from the land of my birth, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn to me, saying, To your seed I give this land, He sends His messenger before you, and you have taken a wife for my son from there;
8 And if the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”
and if the woman is not willing to come after you, then you have been acquitted from this my oath: only you do not cause my son to return there.”
9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
And the servant puts his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and swears to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor’s hometown in Aram-naharaim.
And the servant takes ten camels of the camels of his lord and goes, also of all the goods of his lord in his hand, and he rises, and goes to Aram-Naharaim, to the city of Nahor;
11 As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town at the time when the women went out to draw water.
and he causes the camels to kneel at the outside of the city, at the well of water, at evening, at the time of the coming out of the women who draw water.
12 “O LORD, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
And he says, “YHWH, God of my lord Abraham, please cause to meet before me this day—(and do kindness with my lord Abraham;
13 Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.
behold, I am standing by the fountain of water, and daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;
14 Now may it happen that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
and it has been, the young person to whom I say, Please incline your pitcher and I drink, and she has said, Drink, and I also water your camels)—her [whom] You have decided for Your servant, for Isaac; and by it I know that You have done kindness with my lord.”
15 Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.
And it comes to pass, before he has finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah (who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, wife of Nahor, brother of Abraham) is coming out, and her pitcher on her shoulder,
16 Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin who had not had relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again.
and the young person [is] of very good appearance, a virgin, and a man has not known her; and she goes down to the fountain, and fills her pitcher, and comes up.
17 So the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jar.”
And the servant runs to meet her and says, “Please let me swallow a little water from your pitcher”;
18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
and she says, “Drink, my lord”; and she hurries, and lets down her pitcher on her hand, and gives him drink.
19 After she had given him a drink, she said, “I will also draw water for your camels, until they have had enough to drink.”
And she finishes giving him drink and says, “Also for your camels I draw until they have finished drinking”;
20 And she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the well to draw water, until she had drawn water for all his camels.
and she hurries, and empties her pitcher into the drinking-trough, and runs again to the well to draw, and draws for all his camels.
21 Meanwhile, the man watched her silently to see whether or not the LORD had made his journey a success.
And the man, wondering at her, remains silent, to know whether YHWH has made his way prosperous or not.
22 And after the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring weighing a beka, and two gold bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels.
And it comes to pass, when the camels have finished drinking, that the man takes a golden ring (whose weight [is] a bekah), and two bracelets for her hands (whose weight [is] ten [bekahs] of gold),
23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
and says, “Whose daughter [are] you? Please declare to me, is the house of your father a place for us to lodge in?”
24 She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milcah bore to Nahor.”
And she says to him, “I [am] daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, whom she has borne to Nahor.”
25 Then she added, “We have plenty of straw and feed, as well as a place for you to spend the night.”
She also says to him, “Both straw and provender [are] abundant with us, also a place to lodge in.”
26 Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD,
And the man bows, and pays respect to YHWH,
27 saying, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
and says, “Blessed [is] YHWH, God of my lord Abraham, who has not left off His kindness and His truth with my lord—I [being] in the way, YHWH has led me to the house of my lord’s brothers.”
28 The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things.
And the young person runs, and declares to the house of her mother according to these words.
29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he rushed out to the man at the spring.
And Rebekah has a brother, and his name [is] Laban, and Laban runs to the man who [is] outside, to the fountain;
30 As soon as he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and heard Rebekah’s words, “The man said this to me,” he went and found the man standing by the camels near the spring.
indeed, it comes to pass, when he sees the ring, and the bracelets on the hands of his sister, and when he hears the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus has the man spoken to me,” that he comes to the man, and behold, he is standing by the camels by the fountain.
31 “Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” said Laban. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
And he says, “Come in, O blessed one of YHWH! Why do you stand outside—and I have prepared the house and place for the camels?”
32 So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded. Straw and feed were brought to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of his companions.
And he brings in the man into the house, and looses the camels, and gives straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men who [are] with him:
33 Then a meal was set before the man, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I came to say.” So Laban said, “Please speak.”
and sets before him to eat; but he says, “I do not eat until I have spoken my word”; and he says, “Speak.”
34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he replied.
And he says, “I [am] Abraham’s servant;
35 “The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys.
and YHWH has blessed my lord exceedingly, and he is great; and He gives to him flock, and herd, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and donkeys;
36 My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and my master has given him everything he owns.
and Sarah, my lord’s wife, bears a son to my lord, after she has been aged, and he gives to him all that he has.
37 My master made me swear an oath and said, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell,
And my lord causes me to swear, saying, You do not take a wife to my son from the daughters of the Canaanite, in whose land I am dwelling.
38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my kindred to take a wife for my son.’
If not—to the house of my father you go, and to my family, and you have taken a wife for my son.
39 Then I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’
And I say to my lord, It may be the woman does not come after me;
40 And he told me, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, so that you may take a wife for my son from my kindred and from my father’s house.
and he says to me, YHWH, before whom I have habitually walked, sends His messenger with you, and has prospered your way, and you have taken a wife for my son from my family, and from the house of my father;
41 And when you go to my kindred, if they refuse to give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’
then you are acquitted from my oath, when you come to my family; and if they do not give [one] to you, then you have been acquitted from my oath.
42 So when I came to the spring today, I prayed: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if only You would make my journey a success!
And I come to the fountain today, and I say, YHWH, God of my lord Abraham, now if You are making prosperous my way in which I am going—
43 Here I am, standing beside this spring. Now if a maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, ‘Please let me drink a little water from your jar,’
(behold, I am standing by the fountain of water), then the virgin is coming out to draw, and I have said to her, Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher,
44 and she replies, ‘Drink, and I will draw water for your camels as well,’ may she be the woman the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.
and she has said to me, Both drink, and I also draw for your camels—she is the woman whom YHWH has decided for my lord’s son.
45 And before I had finished praying in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’
Before I finish speaking to my heart, then behold, Rebekah is coming out, and her pitcher [is] on her shoulder, and she goes down to the fountain and draws; and I say to her, Please let me drink,
46 She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels as well.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
and she hurries and lets down her pitcher from off her and says, Drink, and I also water your camels; and I drink, and she has also watered the camels.
47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.
And I ask her, and say, Whose daughter [are] you? And she says, Daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah has borne to him, and I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands,
48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.
and I bow, and pay respect before YHWH, and I bless YHWH, God of my lord Abraham, who has led me in the true way to receive the daughter of my lord’s brother for his son.
49 Now if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me; but if not, let me know, so that I may go elsewhere.”
And now, if you are dealing kindly and truly with my lord, declare to me; and if not, declare to me; and I turn to the right or to the left.”
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter.
And Laban answers—Bethuel also—and they say, “The thing has gone out from YHWH; we are not able to speak to you bad or good;
51 Rebekah is here before you. Take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, just as the LORD has decreed.”
behold, Rebekah [is] before you, take and go, and she is a wife to your lord’s son, as YHWH has spoken.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.
And it comes to pass, when the servant of Abraham has heard their words, that he bows himself toward the earth before YHWH;
53 Then he brought out jewels of silver and gold, and articles of clothing, and he gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother.
and the servant takes out vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and gives to Rebekah; precious things also he has given to her brother and to her mother.
54 Then he and the men 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.”
And they eat and drink, he and the men who [are] with him, and lodge all night; and they rise in the morning, and he says, “Send me to my lord”;
55 But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl remain with us ten days or so. After that, she may go.”
and her brother says—her mother also, “Let the young person abide with us a week or ten days, afterward she goes.”
56 But he replied, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey a success. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.”
And he says to them, “Do not delay me, seeing YHWH has prospered my way; send me away, and I go to my lord”;
57 So they said, “We will call the girl and ask her opinion.”
and they say, “Let us call for the young person, and inquire of her mouth”;
58 They called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” “I will go,” she replied.
and they call for Rebekah, and say to her, “Do you go with this man?” And she says, “I go.”
59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.
And they send away their sister Rebekah, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men;
60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
and they bless Rebekah, and say to her, “You [are] our sister; become thousands of myriads, and your seed possesses the gate of those hating it.”
61 Then Rebekah and her servant girls got ready, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
And Rebekah and her young women arise, and ride on the camels, and go after the man; and the servant takes Rebekah and goes.
62 Now Isaac had just returned from Beer-lahai-roi, for he was living in the Negev.
And Isaac has come in from the entrance of the Well of the Living One, my Beholder; and he is dwelling in the land of the south,
63 Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to meditate, and looking up, he saw the camels approaching.
and Isaac goes out to meditate in the field, at the turning of the evening, and he lifts up his eyes, and looks, and behold, camels are coming.
64 And when Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel
And Rebekah lifts up her eyes, and sees Isaac, and comes down off the camel;
65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
and she says to the servant, “Who [is] this man who is walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant says, “It [is] my lord”; and she takes the veil, and covers herself.
66 Then the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
And the servant recounts to Isaac all the things that he has done,
67 And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.
and Isaac brings her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he takes Rebekah, and she becomes his wife, and he loves her, and Isaac is comforted after [the death of] his mother.
