Genesis 24
1 Forsothe Abraham was eld, and of many daies, and the Lord hadde blessid hym in alle thingis.
Now Abraham was old and far on in years: and the Lord had given him everything in full measure.
2 And he seide to the eldere seruaunt of his hows, that was souereyn on alle thingis that he hadde, Put thou thin hond vndur myn hipe,
And Abraham said to his chief servant, the manager of all his property, Come now, put your hand under my leg:
3 that Y coniure thee bi the Lord God of heuene and of erthe, that thou take not a wijf to my sone of the douytris of Chanaan, among whiche Y dwelle;
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 that thou go to my lond and kynrede, and therof take a wijf to my sone Ysaac.
But that you will go into my country and to my relations and get a wife there for my son Isaac.
5 The seruaunt aunswerde, If the womman nyle come with me in to this lond, whether Y owe lede ayen thi sone to the place, fro which thou yedist out?
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 Abraham seide, Be war, lest ony tyme thou lede ayen thidur my sone;
And Abraham said, Take care that you do not let my son go back to that land.
7 the Lord of heuene that took me fro the hows of my fadir, and fro the lond of my birthe, which spak to me, and swoor, and seide, Y schal yyue this lond to thi seed, he schal sende his aungel bifore thee, and thou schalt take fro thennus a wijf to my sone; forsothe if the womman nyle sue thee,
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 thou schalt not be holdun bi the ooth; netheles lede not ayen my sone thidur.
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 Therfore the seruaunt puttide his hond vndur the hipe of Abraham, his lord, and swoor to him on this word.
And the servant put his hand under Abraham's leg, and gave him his oath about this thing.
10 And he took ten camels of the floc of his lord, and yede forth, and bar with him of alle the goodis of his lord; and he yede forth, and cam to Mesopotanye, to the citee 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 whanne he hadde maad the camels to reste with out the citee, bisidis the pit of watir, in the euentid, in that tyme in which wymmen ben wont to go out to drawe watir,
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 he seide, Lord God of my lord Abraham, Y biseche, meete with me to dai, and do mersi with my lord Abraham.
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 Lo! Y stonde nyy the welle of watir, and the douytris of enhabiters of this citee schulen go out to drawe watir;
See, I am waiting here by the water-spring; and the daughters of the town are coming out to get water:
14 therfor the damysel to which Y schal seie, Bowe doun thi watir pot that Y drynke, and schal answere, Drynke thou, but also Y schal yyue drynke to thi camels, thilke it is which thou hast maad redi to thi seruaunt Ysaac; and bi this Y schal vndirstonde that thou hast do mersi with my lord Abraham.
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 he hadde not yit fillid the wordis with ynne hym silf, and lo! Rebecca, the douytir of Batuel, sone of Melcha, wijf of Nachor, brothir of Abraham, yede out, hauynge a watir pot in hir schuldre;
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 a damysel ful comeli, and faireste virgyn, and vnknowun of man. Sotheli sche cam doun to the welle, and fillide the watir pot, and turnide ayen.
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 seruaunt mette hir, and seide, Yyue thou to me a litil of the watir of thi pot to drynke.
And the servant came running to her and said, Give me a little water from your vessel.
18 Which answerde, Drynke thou, my lord. And anoon sche dide doun the watir pot on hir schuldre, and yaf drynk to hym.
And she said, Take a drink, my lord: and quickly letting down her vessel onto her hand, she gave him a drink.
19 And whanne he hadde drunke, sche addide, But also Y schal drawe watir to thi camelis, til alle drynken.
And having done so, she said, I will get water for your camels till they have had enough.
20 And sche helde out the watir pot in trouyis, and ran ayen to the pit, to drawe watir, and sche yaf watir drawun to alle 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 Sotheli he bihelde hir priueli, and wolde wite whether the Lord hadde sped his wei, ethir nay.
And the man, looking at her, said nothing, waiting to see if the Lord had given his journey a good outcome.
22 Therfor after that the camels drunken, the man brouyte forth goldun eere ryngis, weiynge twei siclis, and as many bies of the arm, in the weiyte of ten siclis.
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 seide to hir, Whos douyter art thou? schewe thou to me, is ony place in the hows of thi fadir to dwelle?
And said to her, Whose daughter are you? is there room in your father's house for us?
24 Which answerde, Y am the douyter of Batuel, sone of Nachor, whom Melcha childide to him.
And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, Nahor's wife.
25 And sche addide, seiynge, Also ful myche of prouendre and of hey is at vs, and a large place to dwelle.
And she said, We have a great store of dry grass and cattle-food, and there is room for you.
26 The man bowide hym silf,
And with bent head the man gave worship to the Lord;
27 and worschipide the Lord, and seide, Blessid be the Lord God of my lord Abraham, which God took not aweie his mersy and treuthe fro my lord, and ledde me bi riyt weie in to the hous 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 so the damesel ran, and telde in the hous of hir modir alle thingis whiche sche hadde herd.
So the girl went running and took the news of these things to her mother's house
29 Sotheli Rebecca hadde a brothir, Laban bi name, whiche yede out hastili to the man, where he was with out forth.
Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he came out quickly to the man at the water-spring.
30 And whanne he hadde seyn the eere ryngis and byes of the arm in the hondis of his sister, and hadde herd alle the wordis of hir tellynge, the man spak to me these thingis, he cam to the man that stood bisidis the camels, and nyy the welle of watir,
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 seide to him, Entre thou, the blessid of the Lord; whi stondist thou with outforth? I haue maad redi the hows, and a place to thi 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 he brouyte hym in to the ynne, and unsadlide the camels, and yaf prouendre, and hey, and watir to waische the feet of camels, and of men that camen with hym.
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 breed was set forth in his siyt, which seide, Y schal not ete til Y speke my wordis. He answerde to the man, Speke thou.
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 the man seide, Y am the seruaunt of Abraham,
And he said, I am Abraham's servant.
35 and the Lord hath blessid my lord greetli, and he is maad greet; and God yaf to hym scheep, and oxun, siluer, and gold, seruauntis, and handmaides, camels, and assis.
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 Sare, `the wijf of my lord, childide a sone to my lord in his eelde, and he yaf alle thingis that he hadde to that sone.
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 lord chargide me greetli, and seide, Thou schalt not take to my sone a wijf of the douytris of Canaan, in whos lond Y dwelle,
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 thou schalt go to the hous of my fadir, and of myn kynrede thou schalt take a wijf to my sone.
But go to my father's house and to my relations for a wife for my son.
39 Forsothe Y answerde to my lord, What if the womman nyle come with me?
And I said to my master, What if the woman will not come with me?
40 He seide, The Lord in whose siyt Y go, schal sende his aungel with thee, and he schal dresse thi weie; and thou schalt take a wijf to my sone of my kynrede, and of my fadris hows.
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 Thou schalt be innocent fro my curs, whanne thou comest to my kynesmen, and thei yyuen not `the womman to thee.
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 Therfor Y cam to day to the welle of watir, and Y seide, Lord God of my lord Abraham, if thou hast dressid my weie in which Y go now, lo!
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 Y stonde bisidis the welle of watir, and the maide that schal go out to drawe watir herith me, yyue thou to me a litil of water to drynke of thi pot,
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 seith to me, And thou drynke, and Y schal drawe watir to thi camels, thilke is the womman which the Lord hath maad redi to the sone of my lord.
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 While Y turnede in thouyte these thingis with me, Rebecca apperide, comynge with a pot which sche bare in the schuldre; and sche yede doun to the welle, and drowe watir. And Y seide to hir, Yyue thou a litil to me to drynke; and sche hastide,
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 dide doun the pot of the schuldre, and seide to me, And thou drynke, and Y schal yyue drynke to thi camels; Y drank, and watride the camels.
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 Y axide hir, and seide, Whos douytir art thou? Which answerde, Y am the douytir of Batuel, sone of Nachor, whom Melcha childide to him. And so Y hangide eere ryngis to ourne hir face, and Y puttide bies of the arm in hir hondis,
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 lowliche Y worschipide the Lord, and Y blessid the Lord God of my lord Abraham, which God ledde me bi riyt weie, that Y schulde take the douytir of the brothir of my lord to his sone.
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 Wherfor if ye don mercy and treuthe with `my lord, schewe ye to me; ellis if othir thing plesith, also seie ye this, that Y go to the riyt side ethir to the left side.
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 Laban and Batuel answeriden, The word is gon out of the Lord; we moun not speke ony other thing with thee without his plesaunce.
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 Lo! Rebecca is bifore thee; take thou hir, and go forth, and be sche wijf of the sone of thi lord, as the Lord spak.
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 whanne the child of Abraham hadde herd this, he felde doun, and worschipide the Lord in erthe.
And at these words, Abraham's servant went down on his face and gave praise to the Lord.
53 And whanne vessels of siluer, and of gold, and clothis weren brouyt forth, he yaf tho to Rebecca for yifte, and he yaf yiftis to hir britheren, and modir.
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 whanne a feeste was maad, thei eeten and drunken to gider, and dwelliden there. Forsothe the child roos eerli, and spak, Delyuere ye me, that Y go to my lord.
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 Hir britheren and modir answerden, The damesele dwelle nameli ten daies at vs, and aftirward sche schal go forth.
But her brother and her mother said, Let the girl be with us a week or ten days, and then she may go.
56 The child seide, Nyle ye holde me, for the Lord hath dressid my weie; delyuere ye me, that I go to my lord.
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 thei seiden, Clepe we the damysele, and axe we hir wille.
And they said, We will send for the girl, and let her make the decision.
58 And whanne sche was clepid, and cam, thei axiden, Wolt thou go with this man?
And they sent for Rebekah and said to her, Are you ready to go with this man? And she said, I am ready.
59 And sche seide, Y schal go. Therfor they delyueriden hir, and hir nurse, and the seruaunt of Abraham, and hise felowis, and wischiden prosperitees to her sister,
So they sent their sister Rebekah and her servant with Abraham's servant and his men.
60 and seiden, Thou art oure sister, encreesse thou in to a thousand thousandis, and thi seed gete the yatis of hise enemyes.
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 Therfor Rebecca and hir damesels stieden on the camels, and sueden the man, which turnede ayen hasteli to his lord.
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 In that tyme Ysaac walkide bi the weie that ledith to the pit, whos name is of hym that lyueth and seeth; for he dwellide in the south lond.
Now Isaac had come through the waste land to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the South.
63 And he yede out to thenke in the feeld, for the dai was `bowid thanne; and whanne he hadde reisid the iyen, he seiy camels comynge afer.
And when the evening was near, he went wandering out into the fields, and lifting up his eyes he saw camels coming.
64 And whanne Ysaac was seyn, Rebecca liyte doun of the camel,
And when Rebekah, looking up, saw Isaac, she got down from her camel,
65 and seide to the child, Who is that man that cometh bi the feeld in to the metyng of vs? And the child seide to hir, He is my lord. And sche took soone a mentil, and hilide hir.
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 Forsothe the seruaunt tolde to his lord Ysaac alle thingis whiche he hadde do;
Then the servant gave Isaac the story of all he had done.
67 which Ysaac ledde hir in to the tabernacle of Sare, his modir, and took hir to wijf; and so myche he louede hir, that he temperide the sorewe which bifelde of the deeth of the modir.
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.
