Genesis 24

¹Now Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed him in all things.

²And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was ruler over all he had: Put thy hand under my thigh,

³That I may make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that thou take not a wife for my son, of the daughters of the Chanaanites, among whom I dwell:

⁴But that thou go to my own country and kindred, and take a wife from thence for my son Isaac.

⁵The servant answered: If the woman will not come with me into this land, must I bring thy son back again to the place from whence thou camest out?

⁶And Abraham said: Beware thou never bring my son back again thither.

⁷The Lord God of heaven, who took me out of my father's house, and out of my native country, who spoke to me, and swore to me, saying: To thy seed will I give this land: he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son.

⁸But if the woman will not follow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath: only bring not my son back thither again.

⁹The servant, therefore, put his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his lord, and swore to him upon his word.

¹⁰And he took ten camels of his master's herd, and departed, carrying something of all his goods with him, and he set forward and went on to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nachor.

¹¹And when he had made the camels lie down without the town, near a well of water, in the evening, at the time when women are wont to come out to draw water, he said:

¹²O Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, meet me today, I beseech thee, and shew kindness to my master, Abraham.

¹³Behold, I stand nigh the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will come out to draw water:

¹⁴Now, therefore, the maid to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher that I may drink: and she shall answer, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let it be the same whom thou hast provided for thy servant Isaac: and by this, I shall understand that thou hast shewn kindness to my master.

¹⁵He had not yet ended these words within himself, and behold Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bathuel, son of Melcha, wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder:

¹⁶An exceeding comely maid, and a most beautiful virgin, and not known to man: and she went down to the spring, and filled her pitcher, and was coming back.

¹⁷And the servant ran to meet her, and said: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher.

¹⁸And she answered: Drink, my lord. And quickly she let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him drink.

¹⁹And when he had drunk, she said: I will draw water for thy camels also, till they all drink.

²⁰And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water; and having drawn, she gave to all the camels.

²¹But he musing, beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

²²And after that the camels had drunk, the man took out golden earrings, weighing two sicles; and as many bracelets, of ten sicles weight.

²³And he said to her: Whose daughter art thou? tell me: is there any place in thy father's house to lodge?

²⁴And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Melcha, whom she bore to Nachor.

²⁵And she said, moreover, to him: We have good store of both straw and hay, and a large place to lodge in.

²⁶The man bowed himself down, and adored the Lord,

²⁷Saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not taken away his mercy and truth from my master, and hath brought me the straight way into the house of my master's brother.

²⁸Then the maid ran, and told in her mother's house all that she had heard.

²⁹And Rebecca had a brother, named Laban, who went out in haste to the man, to the well.

³⁰And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister's hands, and had heard all that she related, saying, Thus and thus the man spoke to me: he came to the man who stood by the camels, and near to the spring of water,

³¹And said to him: Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; why standest thou without? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.

³²And he brought him into his lodging; and he unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and hay, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were come with him.

³³And bread was set before him. But he said: I will not eat, till I tell my message. He answered him: Speak.

³⁴And he said: I am the servant of Abraham:

³⁵And the Lord hath blessed my master wonderfully, and he is become great: and he hath given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, men servants and women servants, camels and asses.

³⁶And Sara, my master's wife, hath borne my master a son in her old age, and he hath given him all that he had.

³⁷And my master made me swear, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the Chanaanites, in whose land I dwell:

³⁸But thou shalt go to my father's house, and shalt take a wife of my own kindred for my son:

³⁹But I answered my master: What if the woman will not come with me?

⁴⁰The Lord, said he, in whose sight I walk, will send his angel with thee, and will direct thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my own kindred, and of my father's house.

⁴¹But thou shalt be clear from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kindred, if they will not give thee one.

⁴²And I came today to the well of water, and said: O Lord God of my master, Abraham, if thou hast prospered my way, wherein I now walk,

⁴³Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the virgin, that shall come out to draw water, who shall hear me say: Give me a little water to drink of thy pitcher:

⁴⁴And shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman, whom the Lord hath prepared for my master's son.

⁴⁵And whilst I pondered these things secretly with myself, Rebecca appeared, coming with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder: and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her: Give me a little to drink.

⁴⁶And she speedily let down the pitcher from her shoulder, and said to me: Both drink thou, and to thy camels I will give drink. I drank, and she watered the camels.

⁴⁷And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? And she answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the son of Nachor, whom Melcha bore to him. So I put earrings on her to adorn her face, and I put bracelets on her hands.

⁴⁸And falling down, I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord God of my master, Abraham, who hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

⁴⁹Wherefore, if you do according to mercy and truth with my master, tell me: but if it please you otherwise, tell me that also, that I may go to the right hand, or to the left.

⁵⁰And Laban and Bathuel answered: The word hath proceeded from the Lord: we cannot speak any other thing to thee but his pleasure.

⁵¹Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take her and go thy way, and let her be the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord hath spoken.

⁵²Which when Abraham's servant heard, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord.

⁵³And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, and garments, he gave them to Rebecca, for a present. He offered gifts also to her brothers, and to her mother.

⁵⁴And a banquet was made, and they ate and drank together, and lodged there. And in the morning, the servant arose, and said: Let me depart, that I may go to my master.

⁵⁵And her brother and mother answered: Let the maid stay, at least, ten days with us, and afterwards she shall depart.

⁵⁶Stay me not, said he, because the Lord hath prospered my way: send me away, that I may go to my master.

⁵⁷And they said: Let us call the maid, and ask her will.

⁵⁸And they called her, and when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou go with this man? She said: I will go.

⁵⁹So they sent her away, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his company.

⁶⁰Wishing prosperity to their sister, and saying: Thou art our sister, mayst thou increase to thousands of thousands; and may thy seed possess the gates of their enemies.

⁶¹So Rebecca and her maids, being set upon camels, followed the man: who with speed returned to his master.

⁶²At the same time, Isaac was walking along the way to the well which is called Of the living and the seeing: for he dwelt in the south country:

⁶³And he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day being now well spent: and when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming afar off.

⁶⁴Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted off the camel,

⁶⁵And said to the servant: Who is that man who cometh towards us along the field? And he said to her: That man is my master. But she quickly took her cloak, and covered herself.

⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

⁶⁷Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and took her to wife: and he loved her so much, that it moderated the sorrow which was occasioned by his mother's death.

Genesis 24

¹And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

²And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

³And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

⁴But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

⁵And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

⁶And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

⁷The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

⁸And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

⁹And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

¹⁰And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

¹¹And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

¹²And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

¹³Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:

¹⁴And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.

¹⁵And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.

¹⁶And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

¹⁷And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

¹⁸And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

¹⁹And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.

²⁰And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.

²¹And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

²²And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

²³And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in?

²⁴And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.

²⁵She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.

²⁶And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord.

²⁷And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.

²⁸And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother’s house these things.

²⁹And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.

³⁰And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.

³¹And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.

³²And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.

³³And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.

³⁴And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.

³⁵And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

³⁶And Sarah my master’s wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.

³⁷And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:

³⁸But thou shalt go unto my father’s house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.

³⁹And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.

⁴⁰And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father’s house:

⁴¹Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.

⁴²And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:

⁴³Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;

⁴⁴And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for my master’s son.

⁴⁵And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

⁴⁶And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

⁴⁷And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.

⁴⁸And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son.

⁴⁹And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.

⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.

⁵¹Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the Lord hath spoken.

⁵²And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth.

⁵³And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.

⁵⁴And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.

⁵⁵And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.

⁵⁶And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.

⁵⁷And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.

⁵⁸And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

⁵⁹And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.

⁶⁰And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.

⁶¹And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

⁶²And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahai–roi; for he dwelt in the south country.

⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.

⁶⁴And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

⁶⁵For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.

⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.

⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.