Genesis 22-24 (Amplified Bible)

Genesis 22

 ¹AFTER THESE events, God tested and proved Abraham and said to him, Abraham! And he said, Here I am.

    ²[God] said, Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I will tell you.

    ³So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then began the trip to the place of which God had told him.

    ⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

    ⁵And Abraham said to his servants, Settle down and stay here with the donkey, and I and the young man will go yonder and worship and ^[a]come again to you.

    ⁶Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on [the shoulders of ] Isaac his son, and he took the fire (the firepot) in his own hand, and a knife; and the two of them went on together.

    ⁷And Isaac said to Abraham, My father! And he said, Here I am, my son. [Isaac] said, See, here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt sacrifice?

    ⁸Abraham said, My son, ^[b]God Himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering. So the two went on together.

    ⁹When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there; then he laid the wood in order and ^[c]bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar on the wood.^(A)

    ¹⁰And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took hold of the knife to slay his son.^(B)

    ¹¹But the ^[d]Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! He answered, Here I am.

    ¹²And He said, Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear and revere God, since you have not held back from Me or begrudged giving Me your son, your only son.

    ¹³Then Abraham looked up and glanced around, and behold, behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering and an ascending sacrifice instead of his son!

    ¹⁴So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide. And it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it will be provided.

    ¹⁵The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time

    ¹⁶And said, I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that since you have done this and have not withheld [from Me] or begrudged [giving Me] your son, your only son,

    ¹⁷In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (Heir) will possess the gate of His enemies,^(C)

    ¹⁸And in your Seed [^[e]Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.^(D)

    ¹⁹So Abraham returned to his servants, and they rose up and went with him to Beersheba; there Abraham lived.

    ²⁰Now after these things, it was told Abraham, Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor:

    ²¹Uz the firstborn, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

    ²²Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.

    ²³Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

    ²⁴And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

   

Genesis 23

 ¹SARAH LIVED 127 years; this was the length of the life of Sarah.

    ²And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba, ^[f]that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

    ³And Abraham stood up from before his dead and said to the sons of Heth,

    ⁴I am a stranger and a sojourner with you; give me property for a burial place among you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

    ⁵And the Hittites replied to Abraham,

    ⁶Listen to us, my lord; you are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in any tomb or grave of ours that you choose; none of us will withhold from you his tomb or hinder you from burying your dead.

    ⁷And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the Hittites.

    ⁸And he said to them, If you are willing to grant my dead a burial out of my sight, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar for me,

    ⁹That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he owns--it is at the end of his field. For the full price let him give it to me here in your presence as a burial place to which I may hold fast among you.

    ¹⁰Now Ephron was present there among the sons of Heth; so, in the hearing of all who went in at the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, saying,

    ¹¹No, my lord, hear me; I give you the field, and the cave that is in it I give you. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you. Bury your dead.

    ¹²Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land.

    ¹³And he said to Ephron in the presence of the people of the land, But if you will give it, I beg of you, hear me. I will give you the price of the field; accept it from me, and I will bury my dead there.

    ¹⁴Ephron replied to Abraham, saying,

    ¹⁵My lord, listen to me. The land is worth 400 shekels of silver; what is that between you and me? So bury your dead.

    ¹⁶So Abraham listened to what Ephron said and acted upon it. He weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: 400 shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

    ¹⁷So the field of Ephron in Machpelah, which was to the east of Mamre [Hebron]--the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field and in all its borders round about--was made over

    ¹⁸As a possession to Abraham in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at his city gate.

    ¹⁹After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of ^[g]Machpelah to the east of Mamre, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan.

    ²⁰The field and the cave in it were conveyed to Abraham for a permanent burial place by the sons of Heth.

   

Genesis 24

 ¹NOW ABRAHAM was old, well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

    ²And Abraham said to the eldest servant of his house [Eliezer of Damascus], who ruled over all that he had, I beg of you, put your hand under my thigh;^(E)

    ³And you shall swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I have settled,

    ⁴But you shall go to my country and to my relatives and take ^[h]a wife for my son Isaac.

    ⁵The servant said to him, But perhaps the woman will not be willing to come along after me to this country. Must I take your son to the country from which you came?

    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, from the land of my family and my birth, Who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, To your offspring I will give this land--He will send His ^[i]Angel before you, and you will take a wife from there for my son.

    ⁸And if the woman should ^[j]not be willing to go along after you, then you will be clear from this oath; 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.

    ¹⁰And the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking some of all his master's treasures with him; thus he journeyed to Mesopotamia [between the Tigris and the Euphrates], to the city of Nahor [Abraham's brother].

    ¹¹And he made his camels to kneel down outside the city by a well of water at the time of the evening when women go out to draw water.

    ¹²And he said, O Lord, God of my master Abraham, I pray You, cause me to meet with good success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

    ¹³See, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming to draw water.

    ¹⁴And let it so be that the girl to whom I say, I pray you, let down your jar that I may drink, and she replies, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also--let her be the one whom You have selected and appointed and indicated for Your servant Isaac [to be a wife to him]; and by it I shall know that You have shown kindness and faithfulness to my master.

    ¹⁵Before he had finished speaking, behold, out came Rebekah, who was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Nahor the brother of Abraham, with her water jar on her shoulder.

    ¹⁶And the girl was very beautiful and attractive, chaste and modest, and unmarried. And she went down to the well, filled her water jar, and came up.

    ¹⁷And the servant ran to meet her, and said, I pray you, let me drink a little water from your water jar.

    ¹⁸And she said, Drink, my lord; and she quickly let down her jar onto her hand and gave him a drink.

    ¹⁹When she had given him a drink, she said, I will draw water for your camels also, until they finish drinking.

    ²⁰So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well and drew water for all his camels.

    ²¹The man stood gazing at her in silence, waiting to know if the Lord had made his trip prosperous.

    ²²And when the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold earring or nose ring of half a shekel in weight, and for her hands two bracelets of ten shekels in weight in gold,

    ²³And said, Whose daughter are you? I pray you, tell me: Is there room in your father's house for us to lodge there?

    ²⁴And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah and [her husband] Nahor.

    ²⁵She said also to him, We have both straw and provender (fodder) enough, and also room in which to lodge.

    ²⁶The man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord

    ²⁷And said, Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, Who has not left my master bereft and destitute of His loving-kindness and steadfastness. As for me, going on the way [of obedience and faith] the Lord led me to the house of my master's kinsmen.

    ²⁸The girl related to her mother's household what had happened.

    ²⁹Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man at the well.

    ³⁰For when he saw the earring or nose ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he heard Rebekah his sister saying, The man said this to me, he went to the man and found him standing by the camels at the well.

    ³¹He cried, Come in, you blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside? For I have made the house ready and have prepared a place for the camels.

    ³²So the man came into the house; and [Laban] ungirded his camels and gave straw and provender for the camels and water to bathe his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

    ³³A meal was set before him, but he said, ^[k]I will not eat until I have told of my errand. And [Laban] said, Speak on.

    ³⁴And he said, I am Abraham's servant.

    ³⁵And the Lord has blessed my master mightily, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks, herds, silver, gold, menservants, maidservants, camels, and asses.

    ³⁶And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he has given all that he has.

    ³⁷And my master made me swear, saying, You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell,

    ³⁸But you shall go to my father's house and to my family and take a wife for my son.

    ³⁹And I said to my master, But suppose the woman will not follow me.

    ⁴⁰And he said to me, The Lord, in Whose presence I walk [habitually], will send His ^[l]Angel with you and prosper your way, and you will take a wife for my son from my kindred and from my father's house.

    ⁴¹Then you shall be clear from my oath, when you come to my kindred; and if they do not give her to you, you shall be free and innocent of my oath.

    ⁴²I came today to the well and said, O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if You are now causing me to go on my way prosperously--

    ⁴³See, I am standing by the well of water; now let it be that when the maiden comes out to draw water and I say to her, I pray you, give me a little water from your [water] jar to drink,

    ⁴⁴And if she says to me, You drink, and I will draw water for your camels also, let that same woman be the one whom the Lord has selected and indicated for my master's son.

    ⁴⁵And before I had finished praying in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her [water] jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the well and drew water. And I said to her, I pray you, let me have a drink.

    ⁴⁶And she quickly let down her [water] jar from her shoulder and said, Drink, and I will water your camels also. So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also.

    ⁴⁷I asked her, Whose daughter are you? She said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him. And I put the earring or nose ring on her face and the bracelets on her arms.

    ⁴⁸And I bowed down my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, Who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter to his son.

    ⁴⁹And now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master [showing faithfulness to him], tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right or to the left.

    ⁵⁰Then Laban and Bethuel answered, The thing comes forth from the Lord; we cannot speak bad or good to you.

    ⁵¹Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has said.

    ⁵²And when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the Lord.

    ⁵³And the servant brought out jewels of silver, jewels of gold, and garments and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and her mother.

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

    ⁵⁵But [Rebekah's] brother and mother said, Let the girl stay with us a few days--at least ten; then she may go.

    ⁵⁶But [the servant] said to them, Do not hinder and delay me, seeing that the Lord has caused me to go prosperously on my way. Send me away, that I may go to my master.

    ⁵⁷And they said, We will call the girl and ask her [what is] her desire.

    ⁵⁸So they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go.

    ⁵⁹So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse [Deborah] and Abraham's servant and his men.

    ⁶⁰And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, You are our sister; may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your posterity possess the gate of their enemies.

    ⁶¹And Rebekah and her maids arose and followed the man upon their camels. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.

    ⁶²Now Isaac had returned from going to the well Beer-lahai-roi [A well to the Living One Who sees me], for he [now] dwelt in the South country (the Negeb).

    ⁶³And Isaac went out to meditate and bow down [in prayer] in the open country in the evening; and he looked up and saw that, behold, the camels were coming.

    ⁶⁴And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel.

    ⁶⁵For she [had] said to the servant, Who is that man walking across the field to meet us? And the servant [had] said, He is my master. So she took a veil and concealed herself with it.

    ⁶⁶And the servant told Isaac everything that he had done.

    ⁶⁷And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.