Genesis 24
1 Forsothe Abraham was eld, and of many daies, and the Lord hadde blessid hym in alle thingis.
Now Abraham was very old and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things.
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,
Abraham said to his servant, the one who was the oldest of his household and who was in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh
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 I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I make my home.
4 but that thou go to my lond and kynrede, and therof take a wijf to my sone Ysaac.
But you will go to my country, and to my relatives, and get a wife 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?
The servant said to him, “What if the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land? Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”
6 Abraham seide, Be war, lest ony tyme thou lede ayen thidur my sone;
Abraham said to him, “Make sure that you do not take my son back there!
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,
Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my relatives, and who promised me with a solemn oath saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there.
8 thou schalt not be holdun bi the ooth; netheles lede not ayen my sone thidur.
But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine. Only you are not to 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.
So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
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.
The servant took ten of his master's camels and departed. He also took with him all kinds of gifts from his master. He departed and went to the region of Aram Naharaim, to the city 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,
He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water. It was evening, the time that women go out to draw water.
12 he seide, Lord God of my lord Abraham, Y biseche, meete with me to dai, and do mersi with my lord Abraham.
Then he said, “Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, grant me success today and show covenant faithfulness 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;
Look, here I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw 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.
Let it happen like this. When I say to a young woman, 'Please lower your pitcher so that I may drink,' and she says to me, 'Drink, and I will water your camels too,' then let her be the one that you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown covenant faithfulness to my master.”
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;
It came about that even before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah came out with her water pitcher on her shoulder. Rebekah was born to Bethuel son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother.
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.
The young woman was very beautiful and a virgin. No man had slept with her. She went down to the spring and filled her pitcher, and came up.
17 And the seruaunt mette hir, and seide, Yyue thou to me a litil of the watir of thi pot to drynke.
Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your pitcher.”
18 Which answerde, Drynke thou, my lord. And anoon sche dide doun the watir pot on hir schuldre, and yaf drynk to hym.
She said, “Drink, my master,” and she quickly let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him a drink.
19 And whanne he hadde drunke, sche addide, But also Y schal drawe watir to thi camelis, til alle drynken.
When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
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.
So she hurried and emptied her pitcher into the trough, then ran again to the well to draw water, and drew water for all his camels.
21 Sotheli he bihelde hir priueli, and wolde wite whether the Lord hadde sped his wei, ethir nay.
The man watched her in silence to see whether Yahweh had prospered his journey or not.
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.
As the camels finished drinking, the man brought out a gold nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two gold bracelets for her arms weighing ten shekels,
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 asked, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me please, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?”
24 Which answerde, Y am the douyter of Batuel, sone of Nachor, whom Melcha childide to him.
She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor.”
25 And sche addide, seiynge, Also ful myche of prouendre and of hey is at vs, and a large place to dwelle.
She also said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and also room for you to spend the night.”
26 The man bowide hym silf,
Then the man bowed down and worshiped Yahweh.
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.
He said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his covenant faithfulness and his trustworthiness toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me directly to the house of my master's relatives.”
28 And so the damesel ran, and telde in the hous of hir modir alle thingis whiche sche hadde herd.
Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about all of these things.
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, and his name was Laban. Laban ran to the man who was out at the road by the 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,
When he had seen the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he had heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man, and, behold, he was standing by the camels at the 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.
Then Laban said, “Come, you blessed of Yahweh. Why are you standing outside? I have prepared the house, 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.
So the man came to the house and he unloaded the camels. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was provided to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
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.
They set food before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” So Laban said, “Speak on.”
34 And the man seide, Y am the seruaunt of Abraham,
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.
Yahweh has blessed my master very much and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys.
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.
Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given everything that he owns to him.
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,
My master made me swear, saying, 'You must not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I make my home.
38 but thou schalt go to the hous of my fadir, and of myn kynrede thou schalt take a wijf to my sone.
Instead, you must go to my father's family, and to my relatives, and get a wife for my son.'
39 Forsothe Y answerde to my lord, What if the womman nyle come with me?
I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow 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.
But he said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and he will prosper your way, so that you will get a wife for my son from among my relatives and from my father's family line.
41 Thou schalt be innocent fro my curs, whanne thou comest to my kynesmen, and thei yyuen not `the womman to thee.
But you will be free from my oath if you come to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from my 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!
So I arrived today at the spring, and said, 'O Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, please, if you do indeed intend to make my journey successful—
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,
here I am, standing by the spring of water—let the young woman who comes out to draw water, the woman to whom I say, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,”
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.
the woman who says to me, “Drink, and I will also draw water for your camels”—let her be the woman whom you, Yahweh, have chosen 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,
Even before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, 'Please 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.
She quickly lowered her pitcher from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will give your camels water also.' So I drank, and she watered the camels also.
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,
I asked her and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milkah bore to him.' Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms.
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.
Then I bowed down and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to find the daughter of my master's relative 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.
Now therefore, if you are prepared to show covenant faithfulness and trustworthiness to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”
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 answered and said, “The thing has come from Yahweh; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.
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.
Look, Rebekah is before you. Take her and go, so she may be the wife of your master's son, as Yahweh has spoken.”
52 And whanne the child of Abraham hadde herd this, he felde doun, and worschipide the Lord in erthe.
When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the ground to Yahweh.
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.
The servant brought out articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and to her mother.
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 ate and drank. They stayed there overnight, and when they arose in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my master.”
55 Hir britheren and modir answerden, The damesele dwelle nameli ten daies at vs, and aftirward sche schal go forth.
Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us for a few more days, at least ten. After that 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.
But he said to them, “Do not hinder me, since Yahweh has prospered my way. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.”
57 And thei seiden, Clepe we the damysele, and axe we hir wille.
They said, “We will call the young woman and ask her.”
58 And whanne sche was clepid, and cam, thei axiden, Wolt thou go with this man?
So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” She replied, “I will go.”
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, along with her female servant, on her journey 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.
They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, “Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and may your descendants possess the gate of those who hate them.”
61 Therfor Rebecca and hir damesels stieden on the camels, and sueden the man, which turnede ayen hasteli to his lord.
Then Rebekah arose, and she and her servant girls mounted the camels, and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah, and went 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 was living in the Negev, and had just returned from Beer Lahai Roi.
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.
Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening. When he looked up and saw, behold, there were camels coming!
64 And whanne Ysaac was seyn, Rebecca liyte doun of the camel,
Rebekah looked, and when she saw Isaac, she jumped down from the 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.
She said to the servant, “Who is that man who is walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil, and covered herself.
66 Forsothe the seruaunt tolde to his lord Ysaac alle thingis whiche he hadde do;
The servant recounted to Isaac all the things that 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.
Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.
