A Wife for Isaac

24 Abraham was now very old, ·along in years [^Lgoing in days], and the Lord had blessed him in every way. ² Abraham said to his oldest servant [^Lin his house], who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my ·leg [^Lthigh; ^Ca euphemism for male genitalia, expressing commitment to keep a promise]. ³ ·Make a promise to me before [Swear to me by] the Lord, the God of heaven and [^Lthe God of] earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the ·Canaanite girls [^Ldaughters of the Canaanites] who live around here. ⁴ Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵ The servant said to him, “·What if [Perhaps] this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?”

⁶ Abraham said to him, “No! ·Don’t take [^LBe careful not to take] my son back there. ⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he ·promised [swore to] me, ‘I will give this land to your ·descendants [^Lseed].’ The Lord will send his ·angel [messenger] before you to help you get a wife for my son there. ⁸ If the ·girl [woman] won’t come back with you, you will be ·free [declared innocent] from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under his master’s ·leg [^Lthigh; 24:2] and ·made a promise [swore] to Abraham about this.

¹⁰ The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left, carrying with him many ·different kinds of beautiful gifts [^Lgoods of his master]. He went to ·northwestern Mesopotamia [^LAram-Naharaim; ^Ca region near the Habor and Euphrates rivers, about a month’s journey away] to ·Nahor’s city [or the city of Nahor]. ¹¹ In the evening, when the women come out to get water [^Cmost ancient towns had a single source of water for the community], he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city.

¹² The servant said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, ·allow me to find a wife for his son [^Lgrant me good fortune] today. Please show this ·kindness [loyalty] to my master Abraham. ¹³ Here I am, standing by the spring, and the ·girls [^Ldaughters of the men] from the city are coming out to get water. ¹⁴ ·I will say to one of them [^LLet the girl to whom I will say…], ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.’ Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.’ If that happens, I will know she is the ·right one [the one appointed/selected] for your servant Isaac and that you have shown ·kindness [loyalty] to my master.”

¹⁵ Before the servant had finished ·praying [^Lspeaking], Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, came out of the city. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother [11:27–30].) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ She was ·very pretty [extremely beautiful], a virgin; she had never ·had sexual relations with [^Lknown] a man. She went down to the spring and filled her jar, then came back up. ¹⁷ The servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little ·water [sip] from your jar.”

¹⁸ Rebekah said, “Drink, ·sir [my master].” She quickly lowered the jar ·from her shoulder [^Lon her hand] and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ After ·he finished drinking [^Lshe let him drink all he wanted], Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels [^Luntil they have finished drinking].” ²⁰ So she quickly ·poured [emptied] all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she kept running to the well until she had given all the camels enough to drink.

²¹ The ·servant [^Lman] quietly ·watched [stared at] her. He wanted to ·be sure [^Llearn whether or not] the Lord had made his trip successful. ²² After the camels had finished drinking, he gave Rebekah a gold ·ring [^Lnose-ring; or earring] weighing ·one-fifth of an ounce [^Lone half shekel] and two gold arm bracelets weighing about ·four ounces [^Lten shekels] each. ²³ He asked, “·Who is your father [^LTell me whose daughter you are]? Is there a place in his house for me and my men to spend the night?”

²⁴ Rebekah answered, “·My father is [^LThe daughter of] Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” ²⁵ Then she said, “And, yes, we have ·straw for your camels [^Lplenty of straw and feed] and a place for you to spend the night.”

²⁶ The servant bowed and worshiped the Lord ²⁷ and said, “Blessed is the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord ·has been kind and truthful to him [^Lhas not abandoned his kindness/loyalty and truthfulness/faithfulness to my master] and has led me to my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ Then Rebekah ran and told her mother’s family about all these things. ²⁹ She had a brother named Laban, who ran out to Abraham’s servant, who was still at the spring. ³⁰ Laban had heard what she had said and had seen the ·ring [^Lnose-ring; or earring] and the bracelets on his sister’s arms. So he ran out to the well, and there was the man standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ Laban said, “·Sir [^LO blessed one], ·you are welcome to come in [^Lcome]; ·you don’t have to stand [^Lwhy are standing…?] outside. I have ·prepared [^Lcleared out] the house for you and also a place for your camels.”

³² So Abraham’s servant went into the house. After Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and ·food [fodder], he gave water to Abraham’s servant so he and the men with him could wash their feet. ³³ Then ·Laban gave the servant food [^Lthe food was set before him], but the servant said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I came.”

So Laban said, “Then tell us.”

³⁴ He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything [12:3], and he has become a rich man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels, and horses. ³⁶ Sarah, my master’s wife, gave birth to a son when she was old [21:1–7], and my master has given everything he owns to that son. ³⁷ My master had me ·make a promise to him [swear] and said, ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite ·girls [^Ldaughters] ·who live around here [^Lin whose land I live]. ³⁸ Instead, you must go to my father’s ·people [house] and to my family. There you must ·get [take] a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ ⁴⁰ But he said, ‘I ·serve [^Lwalk before] the Lord, who will send his ·angel [or messenger] with you and will ·help you [^Lmake your way successful]. You will ·get [take] a wife for my son from my family and my father’s ·people [^Lhouse]. ⁴¹ Then you will be ·free [innocent] from ·the promise [^Lmy oath]. But if they will not give you a wife for my son, you will be ·free [innocent] from ·this promise [^Lmy oath].’

⁴² “Today I came to this spring. I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make my ·trip [way] successful. ⁴³ I am standing by this spring. I will wait for a young woman to come out to ·get [draw] water, and I will say, “Please give me water from your jar to drink.” ⁴⁴ Then let her say, “Drink this water, and I will also draw water for your camels.” By this I will know the Lord has chosen her for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I finished ·my silent prayer [^Lspeaking in my heart/mind], Rebekah came out of the city with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink this. I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she watered my camels too. ⁴⁷ When I asked her, ‘·Who is your father [^LWhose daughter are you]?’ she answered, ‘·My father is [^LThe daughter of] Bethuel son of Milcah and Nahor.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, ⁴⁸ and I bowed my head and ·thanked [worshipped] the Lord. I ·praised [blessed] the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, because he ·led [guided] me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now, tell me, will you be ·kind [loyal] and ·truthful [faithful] to my master? And if not, tell me so. Then I will ·know what I should do [^Lturn to the right hand or to the left].”

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This ·is clearly [^Lhas come out] from the Lord, and we cannot ·change what must happen [^Lspeak to you good or evil]. ⁵¹ Rebekah is ·yours [^Lbefore you]. Take her and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Lord has ·commanded [spoken].”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard these words, he bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord. ⁵³ Then he gave Rebekah gold and silver jewelry and clothes. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and mother. ⁵⁴ The servant and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, the servant said, “·Now let me go [^LSend me] back to my master.”

⁵⁵ Rebekah’s mother and her brother said, “Let ·Rebekah [^Lthe girl] stay with us at least ten days. After that she may go.”

⁵⁶ But the servant said to them, “Do not ·make me wait [delay/hinder], because the Lord has made my ·trip [way] successful. Now ·let me go [^Lsend me] back to my master.”

⁵⁷ Rebekah’s brother and mother said, “We will call Rebekah and ask her ·what she wants to do [^Lat her mouth].” ⁵⁸ They called her and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man now?”

She said, “·Yes, I do [^LI will go].”

⁵⁹ So they ·allowed Rebekah and her nurse to go [^Lsent Rebekah their sister and her nurse] with Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah and said,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her servant girls ·got on [^Lrose up and mounted] the camels and followed the servant and his men. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² At this time Isaac had left Beer Lahai Roi [16:14] and was living in ·southern Canaan [^LNegev]. ⁶³ One evening when he went out to the field to ·think [meditate; reflect; or walk], he ·looked up [^Lraised his eyes] and saw camels coming. ⁶⁴ Rebekah also ·looked [^Lraised her eyes] and saw Isaac. Then she ·jumped down [^Lfell] from the camel ⁶⁵ and asked the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?”

The servant answered, “That is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil.

⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, his mother, and she became his wife. Isaac loved her very much, and so he was comforted after his mother’s death.