Genesis 24

Modern English Version

Isaac and Rebekah

24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. ² So Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who was in charge over all that he had, “Please, place your hand under my thigh, ³ and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live. ⁴ But you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵ Then the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”

⁶ Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s family and from the land of my relatives, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He shall send His angel before you and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from my oath. Only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all the goods of his master were in his hand. And he arose and went to the city of Nahor in Aram Naharaim. ¹¹ He made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water in the evening when the women came out to draw water.

¹² Then he said, “O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please let me have success this day and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ See, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let it be that the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please lower your pitcher, that I may drink,’ and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels water also’—let her be the one that You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. Then I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milkah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with a pitcher on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The young woman was very beautiful to look at, a virgin, and no man had ever been with her. She went down to the well and filled her pitcher and came up.

¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

¹⁸ So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let down her pitcher to her hand and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough and ran to the well to draw water and drew for all his camels. ²¹ The man, gazing at her, remained silent, trying to discern whether the Lord had made his journey a success or not.

²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose ring of half a shekel weight^[a] and two bracelets for her wrists of ten shekels weight^[b] in gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to lodge?”

²⁴ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Again she said to him, “We have both straw and provision enough, and room in which to lodge.”

²⁶ Then the man bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord. ²⁷ And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household of these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man at the well. ³⁰ When he saw the nose ring and bracelets on his sister’s hands and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man who stood by the camels at the well. ³¹ And he said, “Come in, blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”

³² So the man came to the house. Then he unloaded his camels and gave straw and provision to the camels and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ He then set food before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told about my errand.”

And he said, “Speak on.”

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy. He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and he has given to him all that he has. ³⁷ My master made me swear, saying, ‘You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live. ³⁸ But you shall go to my father’s house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’

³⁹ “So I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’

⁴⁰ “Then he said to me, ‘The Lord, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house. ⁴¹ You will be free from my oath, when you come to my family, if they will not give her to you; then you will be released from my oath.’

⁴² “So today I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if You will now give me success in my task; ⁴³ I am standing by the well of water, and let it be that when the virgin comes forth to draw water, and I say to her, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” ⁴⁴ and she says to me, “Drink, and I will also draw for your camels,” let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵ “Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down to the well and drew water. Then I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’

⁴⁶ “She then quickly let down her pitcher from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels a drink also.

⁴⁷ “Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milkah bore for him.’

“So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. ⁴⁸ And I bowed down my head and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “This thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. ⁵³ Then the servant brought out jewels of silver and gold, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then they ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night.

The next morning they arose, and he said, “Send me away to my master.”

⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a few days, at least ten; after that she may go.”

⁵⁶ So he said to them, “Do not delay me, seeing the Lord has given me success. Let me go that I may go to my master.”

⁵⁷ They said, “We will call the girl and ask her.” ⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”

And she said, “I will go.”

⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah and said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her maids arose and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

⁶² Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he lived in the Negev. ⁶³ Isaac went out in the evening to meditate in the field; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and surely the camels were coming. ⁶⁴ And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel ⁶⁵ and said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”

The servant said, “It is my master.” Therefore she took a veil and covered herself.

⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac all the things he had done. ⁶⁷ So Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.