Genesis 24:6-35
English Standard Version
Chapter 24
6Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father 's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there." 9So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.
10Then the servant took ten of his master 's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.
11And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
12And he said, "O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham.
13Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
14Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’ — let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master."
15Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham 's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder.
16The young woman was very attractive in appearance, a maiden whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up.
17Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar."
18She said, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.
19When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking."
20So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels.
21The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.
22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels,
23and said, "Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father 's house for us to spend the night?"
24She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor."
25She added, "We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night."
26The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord
27and said, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master 's kinsmen."
28Then the young woman ran and told her mother 's household about these things.
29Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring.
30As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister 's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, "Thus the man spoke to me," he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.
31He said, "Come in, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels."
32So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave straw and fodder to the camels, and there was water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
33Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to say." He said, "Speak on."
