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.

The Safety of the Faithful

To the ^[a]Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, ^(B)Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ^2 [a]while ^(C)Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to ^(D)John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. ^3 (E)And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance ^(F)for the remission of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

John Preaches to the People^(I)

⁷ Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ^(J)“Brood^[b] of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits ^(K)worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ⁹ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore ^(L)every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ So the people asked him, saying, ^(M)“What shall we do then?”

¹¹ He answered and said to them, ^(N)“He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, ^(O)let him do likewise.”

¹² Then ^(P)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?”

¹³ And he said to them, ^(Q)“Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”

¹⁴ Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?”

So he said to them, “Do not ^[c]intimidate anyone ^(R)or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, ¹⁶ John answered, saying to all, ^(S)“I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will ^(T)baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and ^(U)gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ And with many other exhortations he preached to the people. ^19 (V)But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his ^[d]brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, ²⁰ also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

John Baptizes Jesus^(W)

²¹ When all the people were baptized, ^(X)it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. ²² And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am ^(Y)well pleased.”

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ^(Z)

²³ Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at ^(AA)about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) ^(AB)the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, ²⁷ the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of ^(AC)Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of ^(AD)Nathan, ^(AE)the son of David, ^32 (AF)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, ^(AG)the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ^36 (AH)the son of Cainan, the son of ^(AI)Arphaxad, ^(AJ)the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, ^(AK)the son of God.