Genesis 24
1 And Abraham [is] old, he has entered into days, and YHWH has blessed Abraham in all [things];
Abraham by now was old, really old, and the Lord had blessed him in every possible way.
2 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,
At that time Abraham told his oldest servant who was in charge of his whole household, “Put your hand under my thigh,
3 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;
and swear an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you won't arrange for my son to marry any daughter of the these Canaanite people that I'm living among.
4 but to my land and to my family you go, and have taken a wife for my son, for Isaac.”
Instead, go to my homeland where my relatives live, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”
5 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?”
“What if the woman refuses to come back with me to this country?” the servant asked. “Should I take your son back to the country you came from?”
6 And Abraham says to him, “Take heed to yourself lest you cause my son to return there;
“No, you mustn't take my son back there,” Abraham replied.
7 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;
“The Lord, the God of heaven, took me from my family home and my own country. He spoke to me and swore an oath to me in which he promised, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ He is the one who will send his angel ahead of you so that you can find a wife there for my son.
8 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.”
However, if the woman refuses to return here with you, then you are released from this oath. But make sure you don't take my son back there.”
9 And the servant puts his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and swears to him concerning this matter.
The servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to do as he had been told.
10 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;
Then the servant arranged for ten of his master's camels to carry all kinds of valuable gifts from Abraham and left for the town of Nahor in Aram-naharaim.
11 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.
Arriving in the evening, he had the camels kneel down by the spring that was outside the town. This was the time when women went out to fetch water.
12 And he says, “YHWH, God of my lord Abraham, please cause to meet before me this day—(and do kindness with my lord Abraham;
He prayed, “Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please let me be successful today, and please show your faithfulness to my master Abraham.
13 behold, I am standing by the fountain of water, and daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;
Look, I'm standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming to get water.
14 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.”
May it happen like this. The young woman that I ask, ‘Please hold your water jar so I can have a drink,’ and she replies, ‘Please drink, and I'll give your camels water too’ —may she be the one you've chosen as a wife for your servant Isaac. This way I'll know that you've shown your faithfulness to my master.”
15 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,
He hadn't even finished praying when he saw Rebekah coming to get water, carrying her water jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milkah. Milkah was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.
16 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.
She was very beautiful, a virgin—no one had slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came back up.
17 And the servant runs to meet her and says, “Please let me swallow a little water from your pitcher”;
The servant ran over to meet her and asked, “Please let me drink a few sips of water from your jar.”
18 and she says, “Drink, my lord”; and she hurries, and lets down her pitcher on her hand, and gives him drink.
“Please drink, my lord,” she replied. She quickly lifted the jar down from her shoulder and held it for him to drink.
19 And she finishes giving him drink and says, “Also for your camels I draw until they have finished drinking”;
After she finished giving him a drink, she said, “Let me get water for your camels too until they've had enough.”
20 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.
She quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran back to the spring to get more water. She brought enough for all his camels.
21 And the man, wondering at her, remains silent, to know whether YHWH has made his way prosperous or not.
The man observed her in silence to see if the Lord had made his journey successful or not.
22 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),
Once the camels had finished drinking, he gave her a gold nose-ring and two heavy gold bracelets for her wrists.
23 and says, “Whose daughter [are] you? Please declare to me, is the house of your father a place for us to lodge in?”
Then he asked her, “Whose daughter are you? Also could you tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?”
24 And she says to him, “I [am] daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, whom she has borne to Nahor.”
She replied, “I'm the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” Then she added, “We have plenty of straw and food for the camels,
25 She also says to him, “Both straw and provender [are] abundant with us, also a place to lodge in.”
and yes, we have room for you to spend the night.”
26 And the man bows, and pays respect to YHWH,
The man kneeled down and bowed in worship to the Lord.
27 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.”
“Thank you Lord, the God of my master Abraham,” he prayed. “You have not forgotten your commitment and faithfulness to my master. And Lord, you have led me directly to the home of my master's relatives!”
28 And the young person runs, and declares to the house of her mother according to these words.
She ran to her mother's house and told her family what had happened.
29 And Rebekah has a brother, and his name [is] Laban, and Laban runs to the man who [is] outside, to the fountain;
Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he ran out to meet the man who had remained at the spring.
30 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.
He'd noticed the nose-ring and the bracelets she was wearing, and he'd heard his sister Rebekah explaining, “This is what the man told me.” When he arrived the man was still there, standing with his camels beside the spring.
31 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?”
“Please come home with me, you who are blessed by the Lord,” said Laban. “What are you standing out here for? I've got a room at home ready for you, and a place for the camels to stay.”
32 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:
So the man went home with him. Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and food to eat. He also provided water for the man to wash his feet, as well as for the men who were with him.
33 and sets before him to eat; but he says, “I do not eat until I have spoken my word”; and he says, “Speak.”
Then Laban had food brought in. But the man told him, “I'm not going to eat until I've explained why I'm here.” “Please explain,” Laban replied.
34 And he says, “I [am] Abraham’s servant;
“I'm Abraham's servant,” the man began.
35 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;
“The Lord has blessed my master so much, and now he is a wealthy and powerful man. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.
36 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.
His wife Sarah has had a son for my master even in her old age, and my master has given him everything he owns.
37 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.
My master made me swear an oath, saying, ‘You must not arrange for my son to marry any daughter of the Canaanite people in whose land I'm living.
38 If not—to the house of my father you go, and to my family, and you have taken a wife for my son.
Instead, go to my family home where my relatives live, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.’
39 And I say to my lord, It may be the woman does not come after me;
I said to my master, ‘What if the woman refuses to come back with me?’
40 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;
He told me, ‘The Lord, in whose presence I have lived my life, will send his angel with you, and he will make your journey successful—you will find a wife for my son from my relatives, from my father's family.
41 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.
You will be released from the oath you swear to me if, when you go to my family, they refuse to let her return with you.’
42 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—
Today when I arrived at the spring, I prayed, Lord, God of my master Abraham, please let the journey I have taken be successful.
43 (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,
Look, I'm standing here beside this spring. May it happen like this. If a young woman comes to get water, and I say, ‘Please give me a few sips of water to drink,’
44 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.
and she says to me, ‘Please drink, and I'll get water for your camels too’ —may she be the one you've chosen as a wife for your servant Isaac.”
45 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,
“I hadn't even finished praying silently when I saw Rebekah coming to get water, carrying her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring to get water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’
46 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.
She quickly lifted the jar down from her shoulder and she said, ‘Please drink, and I'll get water for your camels too.’ So I drank, and she got water for the camels.
47 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,
I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘I'm the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.’ So I put the ring in her nose, and the bracelets on her wrists.
48 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.
Then I kneeled down and bowed in worship to the Lord. I thanked the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, for he led me directly to find my master's niece for his son.
49 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.”
So please tell me now, will you show commitment and faithfulness to my master? Please tell me yes or no so I can decide what to do next.”
50 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;
Laban and Bethuel replied, “Clearly all this is from the Lord, so we can't argue one way or the other.
51 behold, Rebekah [is] before you, take and go, and she is a wife to your lord’s son, as YHWH has spoken.”
Rebekah's here, you can take her and leave. She can become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has decided.”
52 And it comes to pass, when the servant of Abraham has heard their words, that he bows himself toward the earth before YHWH;
As soon as Abraham's servant heard their decision, he bowed down in worship to the Lord.
53 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.
Then he unpacked silver and gold jewelry and expensive clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable presents to her brother and her mother.
54 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”;
He and the men with him ate and drank, and spent the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now and go home to my master.”
55 and her brother says—her mother also, “Let the young person abide with us a week or ten days, afterward she goes.”
But her brother and her mother said, “Let her stay with us for another ten days or so. She can leave after that.”
56 And he says to them, “Do not delay me, seeing YHWH has prospered my way; send me away, and I go to my lord”;
“Please don't delay me,” he told them. “The Lord has made my journey successful, so let me leave and go back to my master.”
57 and they say, “Let us call for the young person, and inquire of her mouth”;
“Let's call Rebekah and find out what she wants to do,” they suggested.
58 and they call for Rebekah, and say to her, “Do you go with this man?” And she says, “I go.”
They called Rebekah in and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man now?” “Yes, I'll go,” she replied.
59 And they send away their sister Rebekah, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men;
So they let Laban's sister Rebekah leave with Abraham's servant and his men, together with the woman who had nursed her as a child.
60 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.”
They asked a blessing on her, saying, “Our dear sister, may you become the mother to thousands and thousands of descendants, and may they conquer their enemies.”
61 And Rebekah and her young women arise, and ride on the camels, and go after the man; and the servant takes Rebekah and goes.
Then Rebekah and her servant girls got on the camels. They followed Abraham's servant and left.
62 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,
Meanwhile Isaac, who was living in the Negev, had just come back from Beer-lahai-roi.
63 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.
He went out into the fields one evening to think things over. He looked into the distance and saw camels coming.
64 And Rebekah lifts up her eyes, and sees Isaac, and comes down off the camel;
Rebekah was also keeping a look out. When she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel.
65 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.
She asked the servant, “Who is this walking through the fields to meet us?” “He's my master, Isaac,” he replied. So she put on her veil to cover herself.
66 And the servant recounts to Isaac all the things that he has done,
The servant told Isaac everything he'd done.
67 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.
Isaac took Rebekah into his mother Sarah's tent, and he married her. He loved her, and she brought him comfort after his grief over his mother's death.
