A Bride for Isaac

24 Now Abraham ^(A)was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord ^(B)had blessed Abraham in all things. ² So Abraham said ^(C)to the oldest servant of his house, who ^(D)ruled over all that he had, “Please, ^(E)put your hand under my thigh, ³ and I will make you ^(F)swear^[a] by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that ^(G)you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; ^4 (H)but you shall go ^(I)to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵ And 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 But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord God of heaven, who ^(J)took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ^(K)‘To your ^[b]descendants I give this land,’ ^(L)He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then ^(M)you will be released from this 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, ^(N)for all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to ^(O)the city of Nahor. ¹¹ And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time ^(P)when women go out to draw water. ¹² Then he ^(Q)said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please ^(R)give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, here ^(S)I stand by the well of water, and ^(T)the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And ^(U)by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ And it happened, ^(V)before he had finished speaking, that behold, ^(W)Rebekah,^[c] who was born to Bethuel, son of ^(X)Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. ¹⁶ Now the young woman ^(Y)was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

^18 (Z)So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ And 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, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. ²¹ And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether ^(AA)the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

²² So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden ^(AB)nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us ^[d]to lodge?”

²⁴ So she said to him, ^(AC)“I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

²⁶ Then the man ^(AD)bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ And he said, ^(AE)“Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^(AF)His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord ^(AG)led me to the house of my master’s brethren.” ²⁸ So the young woman ran and told her mother’s household these things.

²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^(AH)Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well. ³⁰ So it came to pass, when he saw the nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man. And there he stood by the camels at the well. ³¹ And he said, “Come in, ^(AI)O blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.”

³² Then the man came to the house. And he unloaded the camels, and ^(AJ)provided straw and feed for the camels, and water to ^(AK)wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ Food was set before him to eat, but he said, ^(AL)“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 ^(AM)has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ And Sarah my master’s wife ^(AN)bore a son to my master when she was old; and ^(AO)to him he has given all that he has. ³⁷ Now my master ^(AP)made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; ^38 (AQ)but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.’ ^39 (AR)And I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ ^40 (AS)But he said to me, ‘The Lord, ^(AT)before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and ^[e]prosper your way; and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house. ^41 (AU)You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family; for if they will not give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.’

⁴² “And this day I came to the well and said, ^(AV)‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, ^43 (AW)behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out 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 draw for your camels also,”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’

^45 (AX)“But before I had finished ^(AY)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. And I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ And she made haste and let her pitcher down 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, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. ^48 (AZ)And I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of truth to ^(BA)take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will ^(BB)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, ^(BC)“The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot ^(BD)speak to you either bad or good. ^51 (BE)Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² And it came to pass, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that ^(BF)he worshiped the Lord, bowing himself to the earth. ⁵³ Then the servant brought out ^(BG)jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave ^(BH)precious things to her brother and to her mother.

⁵⁴ And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night. Then they arose in the morning, and he said, ^(BI)“Send me away to my master.”

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

⁵⁶ And he said to them, “Do not ^[f]hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master.”

⁵⁷ So they said, “We will call the young woman and ask her personally.” 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 ^(BJ)and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And 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 departed.

⁶² Now Isaac came from the way of ^(BM)Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South. ⁶³ And Isaac went out ^(BN)to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming. ⁶⁴ Then Rebekah lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac ^(BO)she dismounted from her camel; ⁶⁵ for she had said to the servant, “Who is this man walking in the field to meet us?”

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

⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he ^(BP)took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac ^(BQ)was comforted after his mother’s death.

Abraham and Keturah^(BR)

25 Abraham again took a wife, and her name was ^(BS)Keturah. ² And ^(BT)she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³ Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. ⁴ And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

⁵ And ^(BU)Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. ⁶ But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he ^(BV)sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to ^(BW)the country of the east.

Abraham’s Death and Burial

⁷ This is the sum of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years. ⁸ Then Abraham breathed his last and ^(BX)died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and ^(BY)was gathered to his people. ⁹ And ^(BZ)his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of ^(CA)Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, ^10 (CB)the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. ^(CC)There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. ¹¹ And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at ^(CD)Beer Lahai Roi.

The Families of Ishmael and Isaac^(CE)

¹² Now this is the ^(CF)genealogy of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham. ¹³ And ^(CG)these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ^15 [g]Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶ These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their ^[h]settlements, ^(CH)twelve princes according to their nations. ¹⁷ These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and ^(CI)he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people. ^18 (CJ)(They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He ^[i]died ^(CK)in the presence of all his brethren.

¹⁹ This is the ^(CL)genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. ^(CM)Abraham begot Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, ^(CN)the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, ^(CO)the sister of Laban the Syrian. ²¹ Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; ^(CP)and the Lord granted his plea, ^(CQ)and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²² But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” ^(CR)So she went to inquire of the Lord.

²³ And the Lord said to her:

²⁴ So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ And the first came out red. He was ^(CV)like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name ^[j]Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out, and ^(CW)his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so ^(CX)his name was called ^[k]Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ So the boys grew. And Esau was ^(CY)a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was ^(CZ)a ^[l]mild man, ^(DA)dwelling in tents. ²⁸ And Isaac loved Esau because he ^(DB)ate of his game, ^(DC)but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright^(DD)

²⁹ Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. ³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called ^[m]Edom.

³¹ But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

³² And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so ^(DE)what is this birthright to me?”

³³ Then Jacob said, ^[n]“Swear to me as of this day.”

So he swore to him, and ^(DF)sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then ^(DG)he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau ^(DH)despised his birthright.

Isaac and Abimelech

26 There was a famine in the land, besides ^(DI)the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to ^(DJ)Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

² Then the Lord appeared to him and said: ^(DK)“Do not go down to Egypt; live in ^(DL)the land of which I shall tell you. ^3 (DM)Dwell in this land, and ^(DN)I will be with you and ^(DO)bless you; for to you and your descendants ^(DP)I give all these lands, and I will perform ^(DQ)the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴ And ^(DR)I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; ^(DS)and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; ^5 (DT)because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

⁶ So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. ⁷ And the men of the place asked about his wife. And ^(DU)he said, “She is my sister”; for ^(DV)he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is ^(DW)beautiful to behold.” ⁸ Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, ^[o]showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ”

¹⁰ And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and ^(DX)you would have brought guilt on us.” ¹¹ So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who ^(DY)touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

¹² Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year ^(DZ)a hundredfold; and the Lord ^(EA)blessed him. ¹³ The man ^(EB)began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; ¹⁴ for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines ^(EC)envied him. ¹⁵ Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells ^(ED)which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for ^(EE)you are much mightier than we.”

¹⁷ Then Isaac departed from there and ^[p]pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. ¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. ^(EF)He called them by the names which his father had called them.

¹⁹ Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. ²⁰ But the herdsmen of Gerar ^(EG)quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well ^[q]Esek, because they quarreled with him. ²¹ Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name ^[r]Sitnah. ²² And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name ^[s]Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall ^(EH)be fruitful in the land.”

²³ Then he went up from there to Beersheba. ²⁴ And the Lord ^(EI)appeared to him the same night and said, ^(EJ)“I am the God of your father Abraham; ^(EK)do not fear, for ^(EL)I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” ²⁵ So he ^(EM)built an altar there and ^(EN)called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

²⁶ Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, ^(EO)and Phichol the commander of his army. ²⁷ And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, ^(EP)since you hate me and have ^(EQ)sent me away from you?”

²⁸ But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord ^(ER)is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a ^[t]covenant with you, ²⁹ that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. ^(ES)You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”

^30 (ET)So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. ³¹ Then they arose early in the morning and ^(EU)swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

³² It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” ³³ So he called it ^[u]Shebah. ^(EV)Therefore the name of the city is ^[v]Beersheba to this day.

^34 (EW)When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵ And ^(EX)they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was ^(EY)old and ^(EZ)his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered him, “Here I am.”

² Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I ^(FA)do not know the day of my death. ^3 (FB)Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. ⁴ And make me ^[w]savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul ^(FC)may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. ⁶ So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and make ^[x]savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ ⁸ Now therefore, my son, ^(FD)obey my voice according to what I command you. ⁹ Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make ^(FE)savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he ^(FF)may bless you before his death.”

¹¹ And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, ^(FG)Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. ¹² Perhaps my father will ^(FH)feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring ^(FI)a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

¹³ But his mother said to him, ^(FJ)“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” ¹⁴ And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother ^(FK)made ^[y]savory food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took ^(FL)the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went to his father and said, “My father.”

And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, ^(FM)that your soul may bless me.”

²⁰ But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”

And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I ^(FN)may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ And he did not recognize him, because ^(FO)his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

²⁴ Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

He said, “I am.”

²⁵ He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so ^(FP)that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. ²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ And he came near and ^(FQ)kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

Esau’s Lost Hope^(FZ)

³⁰ Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also had made ^[z]savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and ^(GA)eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”

³² And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

³³ Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—^(GB)and indeed he shall be blessed.”

³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, ^(GC)he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

³⁶ And Esau said, ^(GD)“Is he not rightly named ^[aa]Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

³⁷ Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, ^(GE)“Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with ^(GF)grain and wine I have ^[ab]sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

³⁸ And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice ^(GG)and wept.

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

Jacob Escapes from Esau

⁴¹ So Esau ^(GK)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, ^(GL)“The days of mourning for my father ^[ad]are at hand; ^(GM)then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴² And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau ^(GN)comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. ⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban ^(GO)in Haran. ⁴⁴ And stay with him a ^(GP)few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, ⁴⁵ until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ And Rebekah said to Isaac, ^(GQ)“I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; ^(GR)if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”