Genesis 24
1
And Abraham [is] old, he hath entered into days, and Jehovah hath blessed
Abraham in all [things]; 2 and Abraham saith unto his
servant, the eldest of his house, who is ruling over all that he hath, `Put, I
pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, 3 and I cause thee to swear by Jehovah, God
of the heavens, and God of the earth, that thou dost not take a wife for my son
from the daughters of the Canaanite, in the midst of whom I am dwelling; 4 but
unto my land and unto my kindred dost thou go, and hast taken a wife for my
son, for Isaac.' 5 And the servant saith unto him,
`It may be the woman is not willing to come after me unto this land; do I at
all cause thy son to turn back unto the land from whence thou camest out?' 6 And Abraham saith
unto him, `Take heed to thyself, lest thou cause my son to turn back thither; 7
Jehovah, God of the heavens, who hath taken me from the house of my father, and
from the land of my birth, and who hath spoken to me, and who hath sworn to me,
saying, To thy seed I give this land, He doth send His messenger before thee,
and thou hast taken a wife for my son from thence; 8 and if the woman be not
willing to come after thee, then thou hast been acquitted from this mine oath:
only my son thou dost not cause to turn back thither.' 9 And the servant putteth his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and sweareth to him concerning this matter. 10 And the servant
taketh ten camels of the camels of his lord and goeth,
also of all the goods of his lord in his hand, and he riseth,
and goeth unto *Aram-Naharaim, unto the city of Nahor;
11 and he causeth the camels to kneel at the outside
of the city, at the well of water, at even-time, at the time of the coming out
of the women who draw water. 12 And he saith,
`Jehovah, God of my lord Abraham, cause to meet, I pray Thee, before me this
day--(and do kindness with my lord Abraham; 13 lo, I am standing by the
fountain of water, and daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw
water; 14 and it hath been, the young person unto whom I say, Incline, I pray
thee, thy pitcher, and I drink, and she hath said, Drink, and I water also thy
camels)--her Thou hast decided for Thy servant, for Isaac; and by it I know
that Thou hast done kindness with my lord.' 15 And it cometh to pass, before he
hath finished speaking, that lo, *Rebekah (who
was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah,
wife of Nahor, brother of Abraham) is coming out, and
her pitcher on her shoulder, 16 and the young person [is] of very good
appearance, a virgin, and a man hath not known her; and she goeth
down to the fountain, and filleth her pitcher, and
cometh up. 17 And the servant runneth to meet her,
and saith, `Let me swallow, I pray thee, a little
water from thy pitcher;' 18 and she saith, `Drink, my
lord;' and she hasteth, and letteth
down her pitcher upon her hand, and giveth him drink. 19 And she finisheth giving him drink, and saith,
`Also for thy camels I draw till they have finished drinking;' 20 and she hasteth, and emptieth her pitcher
into the drinking-trough, and runneth again unto the
well to draw, and draweth for all his camels. 21 And
the man, wondering at her, remaineth silent, to know
whether Jehovah hath made his way prosperous or not. 22 And it cometh to pass
when the camels have finished drinking, that the man taketh a *golden ring
(whose weight [is] a bekah), and two bracelets for her hands (whose weight [is]
ten [bekahs] of gold), 23 and saith, `Whose daughter
[art] thou? declare to me, I pray thee, is the house of thy father a place for
us to lodge in?' 24 And she saith unto him, `I [am]
daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah,
whom she hath borne to Nahor.' 25 She saith also unto him, `Both straw and provender [are]
abundant with us, also a place to lodge in.' 26 And the man boweth,
and doth obeisance to Jehovah, 27 and saith, `Blessed
[is] Jehovah, God of my lord Abraham, who hath not left off His kindness and
His truth with my lord;--I [being] in the way, Jehovah hath led me to the house
of my lord's brethren.' 28 And the young person runneth,
and declareth to the house of her mother according to
these words. 29 And Rebekah hath a brother, and his name [is] Laban, and Laban runneth unto the man who [is] without, unto the fountain;
30 yea, it cometh to pass, when he seeth the ring,
and the bracelets on the hands of his sister, and when he heareth
the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, `Thus hath the man spoken unto me,'
that he cometh in unto the man, and lo, he is standing by the camels by the
fountain. 31 And he saith, `Come in, O blessed one of
Jehovah, why standest thou without, and I--I have prepared the house and place for the camels!' 32 And
he bringeth in the man into the house, and looseth the camels, and giveth straw and provender for the
camels, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men who [are] with him:
33 and setteth before him to eat; but he saith, `I do not eat till I have spoken my word;' and he saith, `Speak.' 34 And he saith,
`I [am] Abraham's servant; 35 and Jehovah hath blessed my lord exceedingly, and
he is great; and He giveth to him flock, and herd, and silver, and gold, and
men-servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses; 36 and Sarah, my lord's
wife, beareth a son to my lord, after she hath been
aged, and he giveth to him all that he hath. 37 `And my lord causeth me to swear, saying, Thou dost not take a wife to
my son from the daughters of the Canaanite, in whose land I am dwelling. 38 If
not--unto the house of my father thou dost go, and unto my family, and thou
hast taken a wife for my son. 39 `And I say unto my lord, It may be the woman
doth not come after me; 40 and he saith unto me,
Jehovah, before whom I have walked habitually, doth send His messenger with
thee, and hath prospered thy way, and thou hast taken a wife for my son from my
family, and from the house of my father; 41 then art thou acquitted from my
oath, when thou comest unto my family, and if they
give not [one] to thee; then thou hast been acquitted from my oath. 42 `And I
come to-day unto the fountain, and I say, Jehovah, God of my lord Abraham, if
Thou art, I pray Thee, making prosperous my way in which I am going--43 (lo, I
am standing by the fountain of water), then the virgin who is coming out to
draw, and I have said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee, a little water from
thy pitcher, 44 and she hath said unto me, Both drink thou, and also for thy
camels I draw--she is the woman whom Jehovah hath decided for my lord's son. 45
`Before I finish speaking unto my heart, then lo, Rebekah is coming out, and
her pitcher on her shoulder, and she goeth down to
the fountain, and draweth; and I say unto her, Let me
drink, I pray thee, 46 and she hasteth and letteth down her pitcher from off her and saith, Drink, and thy camels also I water; and I drink, and
the camels also she hath watered. 47 `And I ask her, and say, Whose daughter
[art] thou? and she saith, Daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah hath borne to him, and I put the ring on her nose,
and the bracelets on her hands, 48 and I bow, and do obeisance before Jehovah,
and I bless Jehovah, God of my lord Abraham, who hath led me in the true way to
receive the daughter of my lord's brother for his son. 49 `And now, if ye are
dealing kindly and truly with my lord, declare to me; and if not, declare to
me; and I turn unto the right or unto the left.' 50 And Laban answereth--Bethuel also--and they
say, `The thing hath gone out from Jehovah; we are not able to speak unto thee
bad or good; 51 lo, Rebekah [is] before thee, take and go, and she is a wife to
thy lord's son, as Jehovah hath spoken.' 52 And it cometh to pass, when the
servant of Abraham hath heard their words, that he boweth
himself towards the earth before Jehovah; 53 and the servant taketh out vessels
of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and giveth to Rebekah; precious
things also he hath given to her brother and to 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 saith, `Send me to my lord;' 55
and her brother saith--her mother also--`Let the
young person abide with us a week or ten days, afterwards doth she go.' 56 And
he saith unto them, `Do not delay me, seeing Jehovah
hath prospered my way; send me away, and I go to my lord;' 57 and they say,
`Let us call for the young person, and ask at her mouth;' 58 and they call for
Rebekah, and say unto her, `Dost thou go with this
man?' and she saith, `I go.' 59 And they send away
Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men; 60 and
they bless Rebekah, and say to her, `Thou [art] our sister; become thou
thousands of myriads, and thy seed doth possess the gate of those hating it.'
61 And Rebekah and her young women arise, and ride on the camels, and go after
the man; and the servant taketh Rebekah and goeth. 62
And Isaac hath come in from the entrance of the Well of the Living One, my
Beholder; and he is dwelling in the land of the south, 63 and Isaac goeth out to meditate in the field, at the turning of the
evening, and he lifteth up his eyes, and looketh, and lo, camels are coming. 64 And Rebekah lifteth up her eyes, and seeth
Isaac, and alighteth from off the camel; 65 and she saith unto the servant, `Who [is] this man who is walking
in the field to meet us?' and the servant saith, `It
[is] my lord;' and she taketh the *veil, and covereth herself. 66 And the servant recounteth
to Isaac all the things that he hath done, 67 and Isaac bringeth
her in unto the tent of Sarah his mother, and he taketh Rebekah, and she becometh his wife, and he loveth
her, and Isaac is comforted after [the death of] his mother.