The Genesis
Chapter
24
1 By then, AbraHam was very old, and Jehovah had blest AbraHam in everything. 2 So AbraHam said to his servant (the elder of his house who was in charge of all his possessions): 'Put your hand under my thigh, 3 because I want you to swear by Jehovah the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you won't take a woman for my son IsaAc from the daughters of the CanaAnites… these [people] among whom I am living. 4 Rather, I want you to go to my country – to the place where I was born and to my people – to find a woman for my son IsaAc.'
5 And his servant replied: 'But if the woman isn't happy and willing to return with me to this land, should I carry your son back to that land from which you came?'
6 And AbraHam said to him: 'Make sure that you don't carry my son back there. 7 For Jehovah (the God of heaven and the God of earth) who took me out of my father's house and out of the land where I was born… who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, I will give this land to you and to your seed, will send His messenger ahead of you… and you must take a woman for my son from there. 8 However, if the woman isn't willing to come with you into this land, you will be free from this oath. Just don't carry my son back there.'
9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master AbraHam, and swore to him. 10 Then the servant took ten camels from his master's herd and [some of] his master's valuables, and traveled through MesoPotamia to the city of NaHor.
11 It was toward evening that he [stopped and] rested his camels outside of the city, by the well where the young women went to draw water. 12 And he [prayed]: 'O Jehovah, the God of my master AbraHam; Bless what I'm doing today, and be merciful to my master AbraHam. 13 {Look!} Here I am standing by the well where the daughters of those who live in this city come to draw water. 14 And may it be that, whichever virgin to whom I say, Bring down the water jar so that I may have a drink, and she replies, Take a drink, and I will also [pour water] for your camels to drink until they are satisfied, so I'll know which one You've prepared for Your servant IsaAc and that You've been merciful to my master, AbraHam.'
15 Well, before he was even done speaking in his mind, {Look!} RebecKa, the daughter of BathuEl (who was the son of Melcha, the woman of NaHor, AbraHam's brother) came there carrying a water jug on her shoulders. 16 This virgin was very beautiful, and she was in fact a virgin… no man ever had sexual relations with her. She went down to the well, filled her water jug, and [walked back] up.
17 Then [AbraHam's] servant ran to meet her, and said, 'Give me a little water to drink from your pitcher.'
18 And she said, 'Have a drink, sir.' So she quickly removed the pitcher [from her head] and allowed him to drink until he was finished. 19 Then she said, 'I'll also draw water for your camels, until they've all have enough to drink.' 20 And she quickly emptied the water jug into the trough, and then she kept running to the well to draw, until she had drawn enough water for all the camels.
21 Well, the man paid attention to this, but he didn't say anything, because he wanted to know whether this was Jehovah blessing. 22 Then, after all the camels were finished drinking, he gave her [two] gold earrings (each weighing about an eighth of an ounce), and he [put] two bracelets on her hands (they weighed about the same as ten gold coins), 23 and he asked her, 'Whose daughter are you… tell me! And is there room for us to lodge with your father?'
24 Then she replied: 'I'm the daughter of BathuEl, who is the son of Melcha and whose father was NaHor.' 25 And she added: 'We have straw, a lot of fodder, and a place for [you to] rest.'
26 Well at that, the man (who was very happy) bowed low to Jehovah 27 and said: 'May Jehovah the God of my master AbraHam be praised, [because He] hasn't allowed His righteousness or His truth to fail my master, since the Lord has led me right to the house of my lord's brother!'
28 Then the young maiden ran and reported what he said to the household of her mother.
29 Now, RebecKa had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to meet the man (all the way to the well). 30 And when he saw the earrings and the bracelets on his sister's hands; and when he heard what his sister RebecKa said about what the man had told her, he went to the man, as he was standing by the well with his camels, 31 and said to him: 'Come on in, you who are blest by Jehovah! Why are you standing outside? I've prepared the house and I've also made a place for your camels!'
32 So the man went into the house, and [Laban] unloaded the camels, gave them straw and fodder, got water to wash the feet [of AbraHam's servant] as well as the feet of the men who were with him; 33 then he set loaves of bread before them to eat. However, [AbraHam's servant] said: 'I'm not going to eat until I've told you the reason why I've come.' And [Laban] said, 'Go ahead and speak.'
34 And he said, 'I'm a servant of AbraHam; 35 and Jehovah has greatly blest my master. He is highly respected and has been given sheep, cattle, silver, gold, male and female servants, camels, and burros. 36 And SarAh, my master's woman, bore one son to my master after he had grown old, to whom he has given everything that he owns.
37 'Now, my master made me swear [an oath], saying, You must not take a woman for my son from the daughters of the CanaAnites… these [people] among whom I am living. 38 But you should go to the house of my father and to my tribe, and take a woman for my son from there.
39 'Then I asked my master: What if the woman is unhappy about coming along?
40 'And he replied: Jehovah God, who has found me to be acceptable in His presence, will send His messenger along with you, and your journey will be blest. You should take a woman for my son from among my tribe and from the house of my father. 41 Then you will be free from the curse [of your oath]. And if they won't give her to you when you get to my tribe, you will be freed from your oath.
42 'So today I came to this well, and I [prayed]: Jehovah, the God of my master AbraHam; If you would bless this journey that I'm now on, 43 {Look!} I will stand by this well where the daughters of the people of this city come to draw water. And whichever young woman to whom I will say, Give me a little water to drink out of your pitcher, 44 and she replies, Take a drink, and I will also [pour water] for your camels to drink until they are satisfied; this is the woman that Jehovah has prepared for His servant IsaAc, and that's how I'll know that You've been merciful to my master, AbraHam.
45 'Well, before I had even finished speaking in my mind, RebecKa arrived with her pitcher on her shoulders. And [after] she went down to the well and drew water, I said to her, Give me a drink. 46 Then she quickly took the pitcher from her head, and said, Take a drink, and I will also give your camels [something to] drink. So I drank, and then she watered the camels.
47 'So I asked her: Whose daughter are you… tell me! And she replied: I'm the daughter of BathuEl, who is the son of Melcha and whose father was NaHor. And that's when I gave her the earrings and put the bracelets on her hands.
48 'Well, all of this made me so happy that I bowed low and praised Jehovah, the God of my master AbraHam, who has truly blest me in such a way that I might take the daughter of my master's own brother for his son. 49 Now, tell me whether you will be merciful and just with my lord, so I will know which way to turn.'
50 And at this, Laban and BathuEl answered, saying: 'Since this thing has come from Jehovah, we can't answer you in either a bad way or a good way. 51 Look! There's RebecKa standing before you… take her and go! Let her be the woman of your master's son, just as Jehovah has said.'
52 And when AbraHam's servant heard these words, he bowed to the ground to Jehovah. 53 Then he brought out jewelry of silver and gold, as well as clothing, and gave it to RebecKa. He also gave gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 And afterward, both he and the men who were with him ate and drank; then they went to sleep. Well, when he got up in the morning, he said to them: 'Now allow me to leave, so I can return to my master.'
55 And her brothers and mother said: 'Let the virgin stay here with us for ten more days, and then she can go.'
56 But he replied to them: 'Don't hold me back, because Jehovah has blest my journey. Send me away, so I can return to my master!'
57 And they said: 'Let's call the girl and ask [what she wants to do].
58 So they called RebecKa and asked, 'Will you go with this man?' And she replied, 'I'll go.'
59 So they [agreed to] send their sister RebecKa and all her possessions along with AbraHam's servant and his attendants. 60 Then they [gave] RebecKa a blessing, saying to her, 'You are our sister; now, become ten thousands of thousands, and may your seed own the cities of their enemies.'
61 Thereafter, RebecKa and her female attendants mounted the camels and went along with the man. And the servant, on having received RebecKa, departed.
62 Now, IsaAc had traveled through the desert toward the Well of the Vision, and he took up living in the southern portion of that land. 63 It was toward evening that IsaAc had gone out into the plains to think (because he was discouraged). And when he looked up, he saw camels coming. 64 Meanwhile, RebecKa looked up and saw IsaAc. So she quickly dismounted the camel 65 and asked the servant: 'Who is the man that is walking across the plains to meet us?' And the servant said: 'This is my master.' So she took her veil and covered herself.
66 Thereafter, the servant told IsaAc everything that he had done. 67 And IsaAc went to the house of his mother and took RebecKa, so she became his woman… and he loved her… and IsaAc was given comfort for [the death of] his mother, SarAh.
5 And his servant replied: 'But if the woman isn't happy and willing to return with me to this land, should I carry your son back to that land from which you came?'
6 And AbraHam said to him: 'Make sure that you don't carry my son back there. 7 For Jehovah (the God of heaven and the God of earth) who took me out of my father's house and out of the land where I was born… who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, I will give this land to you and to your seed, will send His messenger ahead of you… and you must take a woman for my son from there. 8 However, if the woman isn't willing to come with you into this land, you will be free from this oath. Just don't carry my son back there.'
9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master AbraHam, and swore to him. 10 Then the servant took ten camels from his master's herd and [some of] his master's valuables, and traveled through MesoPotamia to the city of NaHor.
11 It was toward evening that he [stopped and] rested his camels outside of the city, by the well where the young women went to draw water. 12 And he [prayed]: 'O Jehovah, the God of my master AbraHam; Bless what I'm doing today, and be merciful to my master AbraHam. 13 {Look!} Here I am standing by the well where the daughters of those who live in this city come to draw water. 14 And may it be that, whichever virgin to whom I say, Bring down the water jar so that I may have a drink, and she replies, Take a drink, and I will also [pour water] for your camels to drink until they are satisfied, so I'll know which one You've prepared for Your servant IsaAc and that You've been merciful to my master, AbraHam.'
15 Well, before he was even done speaking in his mind, {Look!} RebecKa, the daughter of BathuEl (who was the son of Melcha, the woman of NaHor, AbraHam's brother) came there carrying a water jug on her shoulders. 16 This virgin was very beautiful, and she was in fact a virgin… no man ever had sexual relations with her. She went down to the well, filled her water jug, and [walked back] up.
17 Then [AbraHam's] servant ran to meet her, and said, 'Give me a little water to drink from your pitcher.'
18 And she said, 'Have a drink, sir.' So she quickly removed the pitcher [from her head] and allowed him to drink until he was finished. 19 Then she said, 'I'll also draw water for your camels, until they've all have enough to drink.' 20 And she quickly emptied the water jug into the trough, and then she kept running to the well to draw, until she had drawn enough water for all the camels.
21 Well, the man paid attention to this, but he didn't say anything, because he wanted to know whether this was Jehovah blessing. 22 Then, after all the camels were finished drinking, he gave her [two] gold earrings (each weighing about an eighth of an ounce), and he [put] two bracelets on her hands (they weighed about the same as ten gold coins), 23 and he asked her, 'Whose daughter are you… tell me! And is there room for us to lodge with your father?'
24 Then she replied: 'I'm the daughter of BathuEl, who is the son of Melcha and whose father was NaHor.' 25 And she added: 'We have straw, a lot of fodder, and a place for [you to] rest.'
26 Well at that, the man (who was very happy) bowed low to Jehovah 27 and said: 'May Jehovah the God of my master AbraHam be praised, [because He] hasn't allowed His righteousness or His truth to fail my master, since the Lord has led me right to the house of my lord's brother!'
28 Then the young maiden ran and reported what he said to the household of her mother.
29 Now, RebecKa had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to meet the man (all the way to the well). 30 And when he saw the earrings and the bracelets on his sister's hands; and when he heard what his sister RebecKa said about what the man had told her, he went to the man, as he was standing by the well with his camels, 31 and said to him: 'Come on in, you who are blest by Jehovah! Why are you standing outside? I've prepared the house and I've also made a place for your camels!'
32 So the man went into the house, and [Laban] unloaded the camels, gave them straw and fodder, got water to wash the feet [of AbraHam's servant] as well as the feet of the men who were with him; 33 then he set loaves of bread before them to eat. However, [AbraHam's servant] said: 'I'm not going to eat until I've told you the reason why I've come.' And [Laban] said, 'Go ahead and speak.'
34 And he said, 'I'm a servant of AbraHam; 35 and Jehovah has greatly blest my master. He is highly respected and has been given sheep, cattle, silver, gold, male and female servants, camels, and burros. 36 And SarAh, my master's woman, bore one son to my master after he had grown old, to whom he has given everything that he owns.
37 'Now, my master made me swear [an oath], saying, You must not take a woman for my son from the daughters of the CanaAnites… these [people] among whom I am living. 38 But you should go to the house of my father and to my tribe, and take a woman for my son from there.
39 'Then I asked my master: What if the woman is unhappy about coming along?
40 'And he replied: Jehovah God, who has found me to be acceptable in His presence, will send His messenger along with you, and your journey will be blest. You should take a woman for my son from among my tribe and from the house of my father. 41 Then you will be free from the curse [of your oath]. And if they won't give her to you when you get to my tribe, you will be freed from your oath.
42 'So today I came to this well, and I [prayed]: Jehovah, the God of my master AbraHam; If you would bless this journey that I'm now on, 43 {Look!} I will stand by this well where the daughters of the people of this city come to draw water. And whichever young woman to whom I will say, Give me a little water to drink out of your pitcher, 44 and she replies, Take a drink, and I will also [pour water] for your camels to drink until they are satisfied; this is the woman that Jehovah has prepared for His servant IsaAc, and that's how I'll know that You've been merciful to my master, AbraHam.
45 'Well, before I had even finished speaking in my mind, RebecKa arrived with her pitcher on her shoulders. And [after] she went down to the well and drew water, I said to her, Give me a drink. 46 Then she quickly took the pitcher from her head, and said, Take a drink, and I will also give your camels [something to] drink. So I drank, and then she watered the camels.
47 'So I asked her: Whose daughter are you… tell me! And she replied: I'm the daughter of BathuEl, who is the son of Melcha and whose father was NaHor. And that's when I gave her the earrings and put the bracelets on her hands.
48 'Well, all of this made me so happy that I bowed low and praised Jehovah, the God of my master AbraHam, who has truly blest me in such a way that I might take the daughter of my master's own brother for his son. 49 Now, tell me whether you will be merciful and just with my lord, so I will know which way to turn.'
50 And at this, Laban and BathuEl answered, saying: 'Since this thing has come from Jehovah, we can't answer you in either a bad way or a good way. 51 Look! There's RebecKa standing before you… take her and go! Let her be the woman of your master's son, just as Jehovah has said.'
52 And when AbraHam's servant heard these words, he bowed to the ground to Jehovah. 53 Then he brought out jewelry of silver and gold, as well as clothing, and gave it to RebecKa. He also gave gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 And afterward, both he and the men who were with him ate and drank; then they went to sleep. Well, when he got up in the morning, he said to them: 'Now allow me to leave, so I can return to my master.'
55 And her brothers and mother said: 'Let the virgin stay here with us for ten more days, and then she can go.'
56 But he replied to them: 'Don't hold me back, because Jehovah has blest my journey. Send me away, so I can return to my master!'
57 And they said: 'Let's call the girl and ask [what she wants to do].
58 So they called RebecKa and asked, 'Will you go with this man?' And she replied, 'I'll go.'
59 So they [agreed to] send their sister RebecKa and all her possessions along with AbraHam's servant and his attendants. 60 Then they [gave] RebecKa a blessing, saying to her, 'You are our sister; now, become ten thousands of thousands, and may your seed own the cities of their enemies.'
61 Thereafter, RebecKa and her female attendants mounted the camels and went along with the man. And the servant, on having received RebecKa, departed.
62 Now, IsaAc had traveled through the desert toward the Well of the Vision, and he took up living in the southern portion of that land. 63 It was toward evening that IsaAc had gone out into the plains to think (because he was discouraged). And when he looked up, he saw camels coming. 64 Meanwhile, RebecKa looked up and saw IsaAc. So she quickly dismounted the camel 65 and asked the servant: 'Who is the man that is walking across the plains to meet us?' And the servant said: 'This is my master.' So she took her veil and covered herself.
66 Thereafter, the servant told IsaAc everything that he had done. 67 And IsaAc went to the house of his mother and took RebecKa, so she became his woman… and he loved her… and IsaAc was given comfort for [the death of] his mother, SarAh.
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