Isaac and Rebekah

24 Abraham was now very old,^(A) and the Lord had blessed^(B) him in every way.^{(C) 2} He said to the senior servant^(D) in his household, the one in charge of all that he had,^(E) “Put your hand under my thigh.^{(F) 3} I want you to swear^(G) by the Lord, the God of heaven^(H) and the God of earth,^(I) that you will not get a wife for my son^(J) from the daughters of the Canaanites,^(K) among whom I am living,^{(L) 4} but will go to my country and my own relatives^(M) and get a wife for my son Isaac.^(N)”

⁵ The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?^(O) Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?^(P)”

⁶ “Make sure that you do not take my son back there,”^(Q) Abraham said. ⁷ “The Lord, the God of heaven,^(R) who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land^(S) and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring^[a](T) I will give this land’^(U)—he will send his angel before you^(V) so that you can get a wife for my son from there. ⁸ If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath^(W) of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”^{(X) 9} So the servant put his hand under the thigh^(Y) of his master^(Z) Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels^(AA) loaded with all kinds of good things^(AB) from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim^[b](AC) and made his way to the town of Nahor.^{(AD) 11} He had the camels kneel down near the well^(AE) outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.^(AF)

¹² Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham,^(AG) make me successful^(AH) today, and show kindness^(AI) to my master Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.^{(AJ) 14} May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink,^(AK) and I’ll water your camels too’^(AL)—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.^(AM) By this I will know^(AN) that you have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying,^(AO) Rebekah^(AP) came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel^(AQ) son of Milkah,^(AR) who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.^{(AS) 16} The woman was very beautiful,^(AT) a virgin;^(AU) no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”^(AV)

¹⁸ “Drink,^(AW) my lord,” she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink.

¹⁹ After she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels^(AX) too,^(AY) until they have had enough to drink.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels.^{(AZ) 21} Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.^(BA)

²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring^(BB) weighing a beka^[c] and two gold bracelets^(BC) weighing ten shekels.^{[d] 23} Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you?^(BD) Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?^(BE)”

²⁴ She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor.^(BF)” ²⁵ And she added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder,^(BG) as well as room for you to spend the night.”

²⁶ Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord,^{(BH) 27} saying, “Praise be to the Lord,^(BI) the God of my master Abraham,^(BJ) who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness^(BK) to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey^(BL) to the house of my master’s relatives.”^(BM)

Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

2 Now Naomi had a relative^(A) on her husband’s side, a man of standing^(B) from the clan of Elimelek,^(C) whose name was Boaz.^(D)

² And Ruth the Moabite^(E) said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain^(F) behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.^(G)”

Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” ³ So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters.^(H) As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.^(I)

⁴ Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!^(J)”

“The Lord bless you!^(K)” they answered.

⁵ Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

⁶ The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite^(L) who came back from Moab with Naomi. ⁷ She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves^(M) behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest^(N) in the shelter.”

⁸ So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. ⁹ Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”

¹⁰ At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground.^(O) She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me^(P)—a foreigner?^(Q)”

¹¹ Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law^(R) since the death of your husband^(S)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know^(T) before.^{(U) 12} May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,^(V) the God of Israel,^(W) under whose wings^(X) you have come to take refuge.^(Y)”

¹³ “May I continue to find favor in your eyes,^(Z) my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”

¹⁴ At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread^(AA) and dip it in the wine vinegar.”

When she sat down with the harvesters,^(AB) he offered her some roasted grain.^(AC) She ate all she wanted and had some left over.^{(AD) 15} As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves^(AE) and don’t reprimand her. ¹⁶ Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke^(AF) her.”

Concerning Married Life

7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”^{(A) 2} But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. ³ The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife,^(B) and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. ⁵ Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time,^(C) so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan^(D) will not tempt you^(E) because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ I say this as a concession, not as a command.^{(F) 7} I wish that all of you were as I am.^(G) But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.^(H)

⁸ Now to the unmarried^[a] and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.^{(I) 9} But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry,^(J) for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised;^(A) they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,^(B) admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.^{(C) 14} People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.^{(D) 16} Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one.^(E) Therefore God is not ashamed^(F) to be called their God,^(G) for he has prepared a city^(H) for them.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.^(I) He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^{[a](J) 19} Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead,^(K) and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.^(L)

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons,^(M) and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.^(N)