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Chapter 24 |
1 | And Abraham was old, and well stricken in
age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. |
2 | And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of
his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand
under my thigh: |
3 | And I
will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the
earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of
the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: |
4 |
But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife
unto my son Isaac. |
5 | And
the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to
follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land
from whence thou camest? |
6 | And
Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither
again. |
7 |
The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from
the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying,
Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and
thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence. |
8 | And if
the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear
from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again. |
9 | And the servant put his hand under the
thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter. |
10 | And the servant took ten camels of the
camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were
in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of
Nahor. |
11 |
And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water
at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. |
12 |
And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good
speed this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham. |
13 |
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men
of the city come out to draw water: |
14 | And let it come
to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I
pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give
thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for
thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed
kindness unto my master. |
15 |
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah
came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's
brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. |
16 | And
the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man
known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and
came up. |
17 |
And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little
water of thy pitcher. |
18 |
And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her
hand, and gave him drink. |
19 |
And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for
thy camels also, until they have done drinking. |
20 | And
she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto
the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. |
21 | And the man wondering at her held his
peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not. |
22 |
And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden
earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels
weight of gold; |
23 |
And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in
thy father's house for us to lodge in? |
24 | And
she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which
she bare unto Nahor. |
25 | She
said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and
room to lodge in. |
26 | And
the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. |
27 | And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my
master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and
his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my
master's brethren. |
28
| And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these
things. |
29 | And Rebekah had a brother, and his name
was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well. |
30 | And it came to pass, when he saw the
earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the
words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he
came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. |
31 |
And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou
without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. |
32 | And the man
came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and
provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet
that were with him. |
33
| And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will
not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on. |
34 |
And he said, I am Abraham's servant. |
35 | And the LORD hath blessed my master
greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and
herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and
camels, and asses. |
36 |
And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto
him hath he given all that he hath. |
37 | And my master
made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the
daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell: |
38 |
But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife
unto my son. |
39 |
And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. |
40 | And he
said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with
thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my
kindred, and of my father's house: |
41 |
Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my
kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my
oath. |
42 | And I came this day unto the well, and
said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way
which I go: |
43 | Behold, I stand
by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin
cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a
little water of thy pitcher to drink; |
44 | And
she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let
the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's
son. |
45 | And before I
had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her
pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew
water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. |
46 |
And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink,
and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink
also. |
47 |
And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, the
daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put
the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. |
48 | And I bowed down my head, and worshipped
the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led
me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son. |
49 |
And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if
not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. |
50 |
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we
cannot speak unto thee bad or good. |
51 | Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her,
and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken. |
52 |
And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he
worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. |
53 | And
the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and
raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to
her mother precious things. |
54 | And
they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried
all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away
unto my master. |
55
| And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with
us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. |
56 |
And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my
way; send me away that I may go to my master. |
57 | And they said, We will call the damsel,
and inquire at her mouth. |
58 |
And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man?
And she said, I will go. |
59 |
And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's
servant, and his men. |
60 |
And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be
thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the
gate of those which hate them. |
61 |
And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and
followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. |
62
| And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt
in the south country. |
63 | And Isaac went out to meditate in the
field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold,
the camels were coming. |
64 | And
Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the
camel. |
65 | For she had
said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to
meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a
vail, and covered herself. |
66 | And
the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. |
67 | And Isaac brought her into his mother
Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved
her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. |