< Genesis 24 >
1 And Abraham was old, well stricken in years; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
2 And Abraham said unto his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
3 And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
4 But unto my country, and to my birthplace shalt thou go, and take a wife unto my son, unto Isaac.
5 And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I then bring thy son again unto the land from which thou camest?
6 And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou, that thou bring not my son thither again.
7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my birth, and who spoke unto me, and who swore unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from there.
8 But if the woman should not be willing to follow thee, then shalt, thou be clear from this my oath: only my son thou shalt not bring thither again.
9 And the put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed, with all kinds of precious things of his master in his hand; and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nachor.
11 And he made the camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, at the time that the women go out to draw water.
12 And he said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and deal kindly with my master Abraham.
13 Behold, I stand by the well of water: and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water.
14 And 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 she shall say, Drink, and to thy camels also will I give drink, be the one thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shown kindness unto my master.
15 And it came to pass, before he had yet finished speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nachor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.
16 And the maiden was of a very handsome appearance, a virgin, neither had any man known her; and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.
17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water out of thy pitcher.
18 And she said, Drink, my lord; and she hastened, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him to drink.
19 And when she had finished giving him drink, she said, Also for thy camels will I draw water, until they have finished drinking.
20 And she hastened, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
21 And the man was wondering at her; remaining silent, to discover whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.
22 And it came to pass, as the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden earring, half a shekel in weight, and two bracelets for her hands, ten gold shekels in weight;
23 And he said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee; is there room in thy father's house for us to stay this night in?
24 And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore unto Nachor.
25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender in plenty, as also room to lodge in.
26 And the man bowed down his head, and prostrated himself before the Lord.
27 And he said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who hath not withdrawn his mercy and his truth from my master; I being on the way, which the Lord hath led me, to the house of the brethren of my master.
28 And the maiden ran, and told at her mother's house these things.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban; and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
30 And this came to pass, when he saw the earring and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man unto me; and he came unto the man; and, behold, he was standing by the camels at the well.
31 And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? while I have prepared the house and room for the camels.
32 And the man came into the house, and he ungirded the camels; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were with him.
33 And there was set food before him to eat; but he said, I will not eat, until I have spoken my words. And he said, Speak on.
34 And he said, I am Abraham's servant.
35 And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses.
36 And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master after she was become old: and he hath given unto him all that he hath.
37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:
38 But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.
39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.
40 And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I have walked will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; that thou mayest take a wife for my son from my kindred, and from my father's house.
41 Then shalt thou be clear from my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they do not give thee one, [then] shalt thou be clear from my oath.
42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if thou wouldst but prosper my way on which I am going.
43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall be the young woman who cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water out of thy pitcher to drink;
44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and also for thy camels will I draw: this shall be the wife whom the Lord hath destined for my master's son.
45 And before I had yet finished speaking to my own heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water; and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.
46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and also to thy camels I will give drink; and I drank, and she made the camels drink also.
47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nachor's son, whom Milcah bore unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
48 And I bowed down my head, and prostrated myself before the Lord; and I blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
49 And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right, or to the left.
50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing hath proceeded from the Lord; we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.
51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord hath spoken.
52 And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant heard their words, that he prostrated himself to the earth unto the Lord.
53 And the servant brought forth vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; and precious things he gave to her brother and to her mother.
54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried the night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.
55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the maiden abide with us, a year or ten months; after that she shall go.
56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.
57 And they said, We will call the maiden, and inquire her own decision.
58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
59 And thereupon they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.
60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of myriads, and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them.
61 And Rebekah arose with her maidens, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man; and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
62 And Isaac came from a walk to the well Lachai-roi; for he dwelt in the south country;
63 And Isaac was gone out to meditate in the field toward evening; and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, camels were coming.
64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and she saw Isaac; and she alighted off the camel.
65 And she said unto the servant, Who is yonder man that walketh in the field toward us? And the servant said, This is my master; therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.
66 And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
67 And Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
