Genesis 24

¹Forsothe Abraham was eld, and of many daies, and the Lord hadde blessid hym in alle thingis.

²And 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,

³that 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;

⁴but that thou go to my lond and kynrede, and therof take a wijf to my sone Ysaac.

⁵The 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?

⁶Abraham seide, Be war, lest ony tyme thou lede ayen thidur my sone;

⁷the 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,

⁸thou schalt not be holdun bi the ooth; netheles lede not ayen my sone thidur.

⁹Therfore the seruaunt puttide his hond vndur the hipe of Abraham, his lord, and swoor to him on this word.

¹⁰And 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.

¹¹And 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,

¹²he seide, Lord God of my lord Abraham, Y biseche, meete with me to dai, and do mersi with my lord Abraham.

¹³Lo! Y stonde nyy the welle of watir, and the douytris of enhabiters of this citee schulen go out to drawe watir;

¹⁴therfor 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.

¹⁵And 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;

¹⁶a 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.

¹⁷And the seruaunt mette hir, and seide, Yyue thou to me a litil of the watir of thi pot to drynke.

¹⁸Which answerde, Drynke thou, my lord. And anoon sche dide doun the watir pot on hir schuldre, and yaf drynk to hym.

¹⁹And whanne he hadde drunke, sche addide, But also Y schal drawe watir to thi camelis, til alle drynken.

²⁰And 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.

²¹Sotheli he bihelde hir priueli, and wolde wite whether the Lord hadde sped his wei, ethir nay.

²²Therfor 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.

²³And he seide to hir, Whos douyter art thou? schewe thou to me, is ony place in the hows of thi fadir to dwelle?

²⁴Which answerde, Y am the douyter of Batuel, sone of Nachor, whom Melcha childide to him.

²⁵And sche addide, seiynge, Also ful myche of prouendre and of hey is at vs, and a large place to dwelle.

²⁶The man bowide hym silf,

²⁷and 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.

²⁸And so the damesel ran, and telde in the hous of hir modir alle thingis whiche sche hadde herd.

²⁹Sotheli Rebecca hadde a brothir, Laban bi name, whiche yede out hastili to the man, where he was with out forth.

³⁰And 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,

³¹and 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.

³²And 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.

³³And 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.

³⁴And the man seide, Y am the seruaunt of Abraham,

³⁵and 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.

³⁶And 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.

³⁷And 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,

³⁸but thou schalt go to the hous of my fadir, and of myn kynrede thou schalt take a wijf to my sone.

³⁹Forsothe Y answerde to my lord, What if the womman nyle come with me?

⁴⁰He 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.

⁴¹Thou schalt be innocent fro my curs, whanne thou comest to my kynesmen, and thei yyuen not `the womman to thee.

⁴²Therfor 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!

⁴³Y 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,

⁴⁴and 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.

⁴⁵While 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,

⁴⁶and 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.

⁴⁷And 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,

⁴⁸and 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.

⁴⁹Wherfor 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.

⁵⁰Laban and Batuel answeriden, The word is gon out of the Lord; we moun not speke ony other thing with thee without his plesaunce.

⁵¹Lo! Rebecca is bifore thee; take thou hir, and go forth, and be sche wijf of the sone of thi lord, as the Lord spak.

⁵²And whanne the child of Abraham hadde herd this, he felde doun, and worschipide the Lord in erthe.

⁵³And 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.

⁵⁴And 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.

⁵⁵Hir britheren and modir answerden, The damesele dwelle nameli ten daies at vs, and aftirward sche schal go forth.

⁵⁶The child seide, Nyle ye holde me, for the Lord hath dressid my weie; delyuere ye me, that I go to my lord.

⁵⁷And thei seiden, Clepe we the damysele, and axe we hir wille.

⁵⁸And whanne sche was clepid, and cam, thei axiden, Wolt thou go with this man?

⁵⁹And 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,

⁶⁰and seiden, Thou art oure sister, encreesse thou in to a thousand thousandis, and thi seed gete the yatis of hise enemyes.

⁶¹Therfor Rebecca and hir damesels stieden on the camels, and sueden the man, which turnede ayen hasteli to his lord.

⁶²In 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.

⁶³And 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.

⁶⁴And whanne Ysaac was seyn, Rebecca liyte doun of the camel,

⁶⁵and 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.

⁶⁶Forsothe the seruaunt tolde to his lord Ysaac alle thingis whiche he hadde do;

⁶⁷which 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.

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.