Genesis 24:1-67
24 And when Abraham was an old man, far gone in years, and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in everything,
2 Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who was in authority over everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh
3 and let me swear you by Jehovah, God of the heavens and of the earth, that you will not marry my son to any of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living,
4 but will go to my own native country and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 And the servant said to him “The woman may not be willing to follow me to this country; am I to take your son back to the country you came out from?”
6 And Abraham said to him “See that you do not.
7 Jehovah, God of the heavens, who took me out of my family and my native country and promised me and swore to me ‘To your descendants I will give this country,’ he will send his Angel before you, and you shall marry my son to a woman from there.
8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, you shall be clear of this oath to me; only do not take my son back there.”
9 And the servant put his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore to him to this effect.
10 * And the servant took ten of his master’s camels and went, having with him the best of everything his master had; and he went off to Nahor’s city in Aram-Naharaim.
11 And he couched the camels outside the city by the water-well at the evening hour, at the hour when the women that drew the water came out;
12 and he said “Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, make it happen right for me today, and befriend my master Abraham.
13 Here I am taking my stand by the spring, and the girls of the city are coming out to draw water;
14 and let the girl to whom I say ‘Let down your jar and let me drink,’ and she says ‘Drink, and I will water your camels too,’ be the one you have decided on for your servant Isaac, and thereby I shall know you befriend my master.”
15 And before he had finished speaking there was Rebekah coming out, the daughter that Bethuel the son of Abraham’s brother Nabor’s wife Milcah had had, with her jar on her shoulder;
16 and she was a very handsome girl, a maiden whom no man had known. And she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up,
17 and the servant ran to meet her and said “Let me have a swallow of water out of your jar”;
18 and she said “Drink, sir,” and brought her jar right down to her arm and gave him a drink.
19 * And when she had finished letting him drink she said “I will draw for your camels too till they are done drinking,”
20 and poured her jar right into the watering-trough and ran to the well again to draw, and drew for all his camels,
21 while the man gazed at her waiting to find out whether Jehovah had made his errand successful or not.
22 And when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring that weighed a quarter of an ounce, and two bracelets for her arms that weighed five ounces of gold,
23 and said “Whose daughter are you? tell me. Is there room at your home for us to lodge for the night?”
24 And she said to him “I am daughter to Bethuel, Milcah’s son by Nahor.”
25 And she said to him “We have at our house plenty of both straw and feed, and room for lodging too.”
26 And the man bowed down and did reverence to Jehovah
27 and said “Blessed be my master Abraham’s God Jehovah who has not left off his friendship and loyalty toward my master: I am on the course, Jehovah has guided me to the home of my master’s brother.”
28 And the girl ran and told her mother’s family every word.
29 * And Rebekah had a brother named Laban; and Laban ran out to the man at the spring.
30 And when he saw the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and when he heard his sister Rebekah’s words “That was the way the man spoke to me,” he came to the man and found him standing by the camels by the spring,
31 and said “Come in, man blessed by Jehovah; why are you standing outside when I have cleared up the house and there is room for the camels?”
32 and brought the man into the house and loosened the camels’ girths and gave straw and feed for the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men he had with him,
33 and set out food for him to eat. But he said “I will not eat till I have told my business.” And he said “Tell it.”
34 And he said “I am Abraham’s servant;
35 and Jehovah has blessed my master greatly so that he grew wealthy, and has given him sheep and cattle and silver and gold and slaves and camels and donkeys.
36 * And my master’s wife Sarah bore my master a son after she had grown old, and he has given him everything he had.
37 And my master swore me to be faithful to his charge ‘You shall not marry my son to any of the daughters of the Canaanites in whose country I am living,
38 but go to my family and clan and get a wife for my son.’
39 And I said to my master ‘Maybe the woman will not follow me’;
40 and he said to me ‘Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send his Angel with you and make your errand successful, and you shall get my son a wife out of my clan and family.
41 The condition on which you shall be immune from my curse is that you come to my clan, and if they do not give you any, you shall be immune from my curse.’
42 And I came to the spring today and said ‘Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, if you are making my errand that I am going on successful,
43 here I take my stand by the spring of water; and let the lass that comes out to draw, and I say to her “Give me a little drink of water out of your jar,”
44 and she says to me “Drink yourself, and I will draw for your camels too,” be the wife you have decided on for my master’s son.’
45 Before I had finished speaking to myself, there was Rebekah coming out with her jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring and drew, and I said to her ‘Give me a drink,’
46 and she brought her jar right down off her shoulder and said ‘Drink, and I will water your camels too’; and I drank, and she watered the camels too.
47 And I asked her ‘Whose daughter are you?’ and she said ‘Daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son whom Milcah bore to him.’ And I put the ring in her nose and the bracelet on her arm;
48 and I bowed down and did reverence to Jehovah and blessed my master Abraham’s God Jehovah who had guided me on the right road to get my master’s brother’s daughter for his son.
49 And now, if you befriend my master loyally, tell me; and if not, tell me and I will turn to the right or to the left.”
50 * And Laban and Bethuel answered “The thing comes from Jehovah; we have nothing to say about it.
51 Here you have Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be wife to your master’s son as Jehovah says.”
52 And when Abraham’s servant heard these words he bent to the ground to do reverence to Jehovah.
53 And the servant brought out articles of silver and gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah; and he gave rich objects to her brother and her mother.
54 And he and the men he had with him ate and drank and lodged for the night, and rose in the morning, and he said “Send me off to my master.”
55 * And her brother and mother said “Let the girl stay with us a few days, ten or so; afterward she shall go”;
56 but he said to them “Do not delay me when Jehovah has made my errand successful; send me off to go to my master.”
57 And they said “Let the girl be called and let us ask her voice”;
58 and they called Rebekah and said to her “Will you go with this man?” and she said “Yes.”
59 And they sent off their sister Rebekah, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men,
60 and blessed Rebekah and said to her “Sister, grow to millions, and may your descendants occupy the gate of those who hate them.”
61 And Rebekah and her maids set out, riding on the camels, and followed the man.And the servant took Rebekah and went.
62 * And Isaac had gone into the wilderness of Beer-Lahai-Roi (his residence being in the South country);
63 and Isaac went out for a stroll on the range as evening drew on, and he raised his eyes and saw there were camels coming.
64 And Rebekah raised her eyes and saw Isaac; and she dropped down from the camel
65 and said to the servant “Who is yonder man walking out on the range to meet us?” and the servant said “That is my master,” and she took a muffler and covered herself.
66 And the servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done,
67 ** and Isaac had her go into the tent; and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her, and Isaac recovered his spirits after his mother.
Footnotes
^ 24:10 Var. camels and took with him some of the best
^ 24:19 Lit. And she finished letting him drink and said
^ 24:29 Lit. ran to the man, outside, to the spring
^ 24:36 Var.* after he had
^ 24:50 Conj. Laban the son of Bethuel answered
^ 24:55 Var. stay with us a month or ten days; afterward
^ 24:62 (had gone into the wilderness) Susp.
^ 24:67 Codd. ungrammatically the his mother Sarah’s tent
^ 24:67 Conj. after his father’s death
