Gen 24 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now Abraham was old , advanced in age ; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way .

Genesis 24

A Bride for Isaac

1 Now ^aAbraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had ^bblessed Abraham in every way. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had ^ccharge of all that he owned, ^d“Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, ^ethe God of heaven and the God of earth, that you ^fshall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of ^gthe Canaanites, among whom I live, 4 but you will go to ^hmy country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” 6 Then Abraham said to him, ⁱ“Beware that you do not take my son back there! 7 ^j“The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘ ^kTo your ^{▼▼ Lit seed}descendants I will give this land,’ He will send ^mHis angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. 8 “But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will ⁿbe free from this my oath; ^oonly do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant ^pplaced his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of ^qgood things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to ^{▼▼ Heb Aram-naharaim, Aram of the two rivers}Mesopotamia, to ^sthe city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by ^tthe well of water at evening time, ^uthe time when women go out to draw water. 12 He said, ^v“O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please ^{▼▼ Lit cause to occur for me
,} ^xgrant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. 13 “Behold, ^yI am standing by the ^{▼▼ Lit fountain of water}spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14 now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and ^{▼▼ Lit she will say}who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’— may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”

Rebekah Is Chosen

15 ^abBefore he had finished speaking, behold, ^acRebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of ^adMilcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16 The girl was ^aevery beautiful, a virgin, and no man had ^{▼▼ Lit known}had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, ^ag“Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” 18 ^ahShe said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 Now when she had finished giving him a drink, ^aishe said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 ^ajMeanwhile, the man was gazing at her ^{▼▼ Lit keeping silent}in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a ^algold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her ^{▼▼ Lit hands}wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to lodge in your father’s house?” 24 She said to him, ^an“I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in.” 26 Then the man ^aobowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 He said, ^ap“Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^aqHis lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, ^arthe Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

28 Then ^asthe girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^atLaban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. 30 When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s ^{▼▼ Lit hands}wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, ^{▼▼ Lit Thus the man}“This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 And he said, ^aw“Come in, ^axblessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside since ^ayI have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?” 32 So the man entered the house. Then ^{▼▼ Lit he
,} ^baLaban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. 33 But when food was set before him to eat, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my business.” And he said, “Speak on.” 34 So he said, “I am ^bbAbraham’s servant. 35 “The Lord has greatly ^bcblessed my master, so that he has become ^{▼▼ Lit great}rich; and He has given him ^beflocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys. 36 “Now ^bfSarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master ^{▼▼ Lit after she was old}in her old age, and ^bhhe has given him all that he has. 37 ^bi“My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I ^{▼▼ Lit dwell}live; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 ^bk“I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ 40 “He said to me, ‘ ^blThe Lord, before whom I have ^bmwalked, will send ^bnHis angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; 41 ^bothen you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

42 “So ^bpI came today to the spring, and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go ^bqsuccessful; 43 behold, ^brI am standing by the ^{▼▼ Lit fountain of water}spring, and may it be that the maiden who comes out to draw, and to whom I say, ^bt“Please let me drink a little water from your jar”; 44 and she will say to me, “You drink, and I will draw for your camels also”; let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

45 “Before I had finished ^buspeaking in my heart, behold, ^bvRebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew, and ^bwI said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 “She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘ ^bxDrink, and I will water your camels also’; so I drank, and she watered the camels also. 47 ^by“Then I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ^bzring on her nose, and the bracelets on her ^{▼▼ Lit hands}wrists. 48 “And I ^cbbowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, ^ccwho had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s ^{▼▼ Lit brother}kinsman for his son. 49 “So now if you are going to ^{▼▼ Lit show lovingkindness and truth
,} ^cfdeal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, let me know, that I may turn to the right hand or the left.”

50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, ^cg“The matter comes from the Lord; ^ch so 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 ^cibowed himself to the ground ^{▼▼ Lit to}before the Lord. 53 The servant brought out ^ckarticles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. 54 Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they arose in the morning, he said, ^cl“Send me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, ^cm“Let the girl stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” 56 He said to them, “Do not delay me, since ^cnthe Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” 57 And they said, “We will call the girl and ^{▼▼ Lit ask her mouth}consult her wishes.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” 59 Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and ^cpher nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and said to her, “May you, our sister,
^cqBecome thousands of ten thousands,
And may ^cryour ^{▼▼ Lit seed}descendants possess
The gate of those who hate them.”

61 Then Rebekah arose with her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

Isaac Marries Rebekah

62 Now Isaac had come from going to ^ctBeer-lahai-roi; for he ^{▼▼ Lit was dwelling}was living in ^cvthe ^{▼▼ I.e. South country}Negev. 63 Isaac went out ^cxto ^{▼▼ Or stroll; meaning uncertain}meditate in the field toward evening; and ^czhe lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel. 65 She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her ^{▼▼ Or shawl}veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and ^dbhe took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and ^dche loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after ^ddhis mother’s death.