Genesis 24
1 And Abraam was old, advanced in days, and the Lord blessed Abraam in all things.
Now Abraham was old and far on in years: and the Lord had given him everything in full measure.
2 And Abraam said to his servant the elder of his house, who had rule over all his possessions, Put your hand under my thigh,
And Abraham said to his chief servant, the manager of all his property, Come now, put your hand under my leg:
3 and I will adjure you by the Lord the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that you take not a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Chananites, with whom I dwell, in the midst of them.
And take an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living;
4 But you shall go instead to my country, where I was born, and to my tribe, and you shall take from thence a wife for my son Isaac.
But that you will go into my country and to my relations and get a wife there for my son Isaac.
5 And the servant said to him, Shall I carry back your son to the land whence you came forth, if haply the woman should not be willing to return with me to this land?
And the servant said, If by chance the woman will not come with me into this land, am I to take your son back again to the land from which you came?
6 And Abraam said to him, Take heed to yourself that you carry not my son back there.
And Abraham said, Take care that you do not let my son go back to that land.
7 The Lord the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, who took me out of my father's house, and out of the land whence I sprang, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, I will give this land to you and to your seed, he shall send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife to my son from thence.
The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and made an oath to me, saying, To your seed I will give this land: he will send his angel before you and give you a wife for my son in that land.
8 And if the woman should not be willing to come with you into this land, you shall be clear from my oath, only carry not my son there again.
And if the woman will not come with you, then you are free from this oath; only do not take my son back there.
9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraam, and swore to him concerning this matter.
And the servant put his hand under Abraham's leg, and gave him his oath about this thing.
10 And the servant took ten camels of his master's camels, and [he took] of all the goods of his master with him, and he arose and went into Mesopotamia to the city of Nachor.
And the servant took ten of his master's camels, and all sorts of good things of his master's, and went to Mesopotamia, to the town of Nahor.
11 And he rested his camels without the city by the well of water towards evening, when damsels go forth to draw water.
And he made the camels take their rest outside the town by the water-spring in the evening, at the time when the women came to get water.
12 And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraam, prosper my way before me to day, and deal mercifully with my master Abraam.
And he said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, let me do well in what I have undertaken this day, and give your mercy to my master Abraham.
13 Behold! I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of them that inhabit the city come forth to draw water.
See, I am waiting here by the water-spring; and the daughters of the town are coming out to get water:
14 And it shall be, the virgin to whoever I shall say, Incline your water-pot, that I may drink, and she shall say, Drink you, and I will give your camels drink, until they shall have done drinking—even this one you have prepared for your servant Isaac, and hereby shall I know that you have dealt mercifully with my master Abraam.
Now, may the girl to whom I say, Let down your vessel and give me a drink, and who says in answer, Here is a drink for you and let me give water to your camels: may she be the one marked out by you for your servant Isaac: so may I be certain that you have been good to my master Abraham.
15 And it came to pass before he had done speaking in his mind, that behold, Rebecca the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, the wife of Nachor, and [the same] the brother of Abraam, came forth, having a water-pot on her shoulders.
And even before his words were ended, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, who was the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water-vessel on her arm.
16 And the virgin was very beautiful in appearance, she was a virgin, a man had not known her; and she went down to the well, and filled her water-pot, and came up.
She was a very beautiful girl, a virgin, who had never been touched by a man: and she went down to the spring to get water in her vessel.
17 And the servant ran up to meet her, and said, Give me a little water to drink out of your pitcher;
And the servant came running to her and said, Give me a little water from your vessel.
18 and she said, Drink, Sir; and she hasted, and let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him to drink, till he ceased drinking.
And she said, Take a drink, my lord: and quickly letting down her vessel onto her hand, she gave him a drink.
19 And she said, I will also draw water for your camels, till they shall all have drunk.
And having done so, she said, I will get water for your camels till they have had enough.
20 And she hasted, and emptied the water-pot into the trough, and ran to the well to draw again, and drew water for all the camels.
And after putting the water from her vessel into the animals' drinking-place, she went quickly back to the spring and got water for all the camels.
21 And the man took great notice of her, and remained silent to know whether the Lord had made his way prosperous or not.
And the man, looking at her, said nothing, waiting to see if the Lord had given his journey a good outcome.
22 And it came to pass when all the camels ceased drinking, that the man took golden ear-rings, each of a drachm weight, and he [put] two bracelets on her hands, their weight was ten pieces of gold.
And when the camels had had enough, the man took a gold nose-ring, half a shekel in weight, and two ornaments for her arms of ten shekels weight of gold;
23 And he asked her, and said, Whose daughter are you? Tell me if there is room for us to lodge with your father.
And said to her, Whose daughter are you? is there room in your father's house for us?
24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bathuel the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.
And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, Nahor's wife.
25 And she said to him, We have both straw and much provender, and a place for resting.
And she said, We have a great store of dry grass and cattle-food, and there is room for you.
26 And the man being well pleased, worshipped the Lord,
And with bent head the man gave worship to the Lord;
27 and said, Blessed be the Lord the God of my master Abraam, who has not suffered his righteousness to fail, nor his truth from my master, and the Lord has brought me prosperously to the house of the brother of my lord.
And said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has given a sign that he is good and true to my master, by guiding me straight to the house of my master's family.
28 And the damsel ran and reported to the house of her mother according to these words.
So the girl went running and took the news of these things to her mother's house
29 And Rebecca had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to meet the man, to the well.
Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he came out quickly to the man at the water-spring.
30 And it came to pass when he saw the ear-rings and the bracelets on the hands of his sister, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, Thus the man spoke to me, that he went to the man, as he stood by the camels at the well.
And when he saw the nose-ring and the ornaments on his sister's hands, and when she gave him word of what the man had said to her, then he went out to the man who was waiting with the camels by the water-spring.
31 And he said to him, Come in hither, you blessed of the Lord, why stand you without, whereas I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?
And he said to him, Come in, you on whom is the blessing of the Lord; why are you waiting outside? for I have made the house ready for you, and a place for the camels.
32 And the man entered into the house, and unloaded the camels, and gave the camels straw and provender, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were with him.
Then the man came into the house, and Laban took their cords off the camels and gave them dry grass and food, and he gave to him and the men who were with him water for washing their feet.
33 And he set before them loaves to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have told my errand. And he said, Speak on.
And meat was put before him, but he said, I will not take food till I have made my business clear to you. And they said, Do so.
34 And he said, I am a servant of Abraam;
And he said, I am Abraham's servant.
35 and the Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he is exalted, and he has given him sheep, and calves, and silver, and gold, servants and servant-maids, camels, and asses.
The Lord has given my master every blessing, and he has become great: he has given him flocks and herds and silver and gold, and men-servants and women-servants and camels and asses.
36 And Sarrha my master's wife bore one son to my master after he had grown old; and he gave him whatever he had.
And when Sarah, my master's wife, was old, she gave birth to a son, to whom he has given all he has.
37 And my master caused me to swear, saying, You shall not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Chananites, amongst whom I sojourn in their land.
And my master made me take an oath, saying, Do not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living;
38 But you shall go to the house of my father, and to my tribe, and you shall take thence a wife for my son.
But go to my father's house and to my relations for a wife for my son.
39 And I said to my master, Haply the woman will not go with me.
And I said to my master, What if the woman will not come with me?
40 And he said to me, The Lord God to whom I have been acceptable in his presence, himself shall send out his angel with you, and shall prosper your journey, and you shall take a wife for my son of my tribe, and of the house of my father.
And he said, The Lord, whom I have ever kept before me, will send his angel with you, who will make it possible for you to get a wife for my son from my relations and my father's house;
41 Then shall you be clear from my curse, for whenever you shall have come to my tribe, and they shall not give her to you, then shall you be clear from my oath.
And you will be free from your oath to me when you come to my people; and if they will not give her to you, you will be free from your oath.
42 And having come this day to the well, I said, Lord God of my master Abraam, if you prosper my journey on which I am now going,
And I came today to the water-spring, and I said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if it is your purpose to give a good outcome to my journey,
43 behold, I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come forth to draw water, and it shall be [that] the damsel to whom I shall say, Give me a little water to drink out of your pitcher,
Let it come about that, while I am waiting here by the water-spring, if a girl comes to get water and I say to her, Give me a little water from your vessel, and she says,
44 and she shall say to me, Both drink you, and I will draw water for your camels, this [shall be] the wife whom the Lord has prepared for his own servant Isaac; and hereby shall I know that you have wrought mercy with my master Abraam.
Take a drink, and I will get water for your camels; let her be the woman marked out by the Lord for my master's son.
45 And it came to pass before I had done speaking in my mind, straightway Rebecca came forth, having her pitcher on her shoulders; and she went down to the well, and drew water; and I said to her, Give me to drink.
And even while I was saying this to myself, Rebekah came out with her vessel on her arm; and she went down to the spring to get water; and I said to her, Give me a drink.
46 And she hasted and let down her pitcher on her arm from her head, and said, Drink you, and I will give your camels drink; and I drank, and she gave the camels drink.
And straight away she took down her vessel from her arm, and said, Take a drink, and I will get water for your camels.
47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter are you? tell me; and she said, I am daughter of Bathuel the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him; and I put on her the ear-rings, and the bracelets on her hands.
And questioning her, I said, Whose daughter are you? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, and Milcah his wife. Then I put the ring on her nose and the ornaments on her hands.
48 And being well-pleased I worshipped the Lord, and I blessed the Lord the God of my master Abraam, who has prospered me in a true way, so that I should take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
And with bent head I gave worship and praise to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, by whom I had been guided in the right way, to get the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
49 If then you [will] deal mercifully and justly with my lord, [tell me], and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.
And now, say if you will do what is good and right for my master or not, in order that it may be clear to me what I have to do.
50 And Laban and Bathuel answered and said, This matter has come forth from the Lord, we shall not be able to answer you bad or good.
Then Laban and Bethuel said in answer, This is the Lord's doing: it is not for us to say Yes or No to you.
51 Behold, Rebecca is before you, take her and go away, and let her be wife to the son of your master, as the Lord has said.
See, here is Rebekah: take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as the Lord has said.
52 And it came to pass when the servant of Abraam heard these words, he bowed himself to the Lord down to the earth.
And at these words, Abraham's servant went down on his face and gave praise to the Lord.
53 And the servant having brought forth jewels of silver and gold and raiment, gave them to Rebecca, and gave gifts to her brother, and to her mother.
Then he took jewels of silver and jewels of gold and fair robes and gave them to Rebekah: and he gave things of value to her mother and her brother.
54 And both he and the men with him ate and drank and went to sleep. And he arose in the morning and said, Send me away, that I may go to my master.
Then he and the men who were with him had food and drink, and took their rest there that night; and in the morning he got up, and said, Let me now go back to my master.
55 And her brethren and her mother said, Let the virgin remain with us about ten days, and after that she shall depart.
But her brother and her mother said, Let the girl be with us a week or ten days, and then she may go.
56 But he said to them, Hinder me not, for the Lord has prospered my journey for me; send me away, that I may depart to my master.
And he said, Do not keep me; the Lord has given a good outcome to my journey; let me now go back to my master.
57 And they said, Let us call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.
And they said, We will send for the girl, and let her make the decision.
58 And they called Rebecca, and said to her, Will you go with this man? and she said, I will go.
And they sent for Rebekah and said to her, Are you ready to go with this man? And she said, I am ready.
59 So they sent forth Rebecca their sister, and her goods, and the servant of Abraam, and his attendants.
So they sent their sister Rebekah and her servant with Abraham's servant and his men.
60 And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, You are our sister; become you thousands of myriads, and let your seed possess the cities of their enemies.
And they gave Rebekah their blessing, saying, O sister, may you be the mother of thousands and ten thousands; and may your seed overcome all those who make war against them.
61 And Rebecca rose up and her maidens, and they mounted the camels and went with the man; and the servant having taken up Rebecca, departed.
So Rebekah and her servant-women went with the man, seated on the camels; and so the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.
62 And Isaac went through the wilderness to the well of the vision, and he lived in the land towards the south.
Now Isaac had come through the waste land to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the South.
63 And Isaac went forth into the plain towards evening to meditate; and having lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming.
And when the evening was near, he went wandering out into the fields, and lifting up his eyes he saw camels coming.
64 And Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and saw Isaac; and she alighted briskly from the camel,
And when Rebekah, looking up, saw Isaac, she got down from her camel,
65 and said to the servant, Who is that man that walks in the plain to meet us? And the servant said, This is my master; and she took her veil and covered herself.
And said to the servant, Who is that man coming to us through the field? And the servant said, It is my master: then she took her veil, covering her face with it.
66 And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.
Then the servant gave Isaac the story of all he had done.
67 And Isaac went into the house of his mother, and took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted for Sarrha his mother.
And Isaac took Rebekah into his tent and she became his wife; and in his love for her, Isaac was comforted after his father's death.
