Isaac and Rebekah

24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord ^(A)had blessed Abraham in all things. ² And Abraham said to his servant, ^(B)the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, ^(C)“Put your hand under my thigh, ³ that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that ^(D)you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, ^4 (E)but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” ⁵ The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” ⁶ Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, ^(F)who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ^(G)‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ ^(H)he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then ^(I)you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant ^(J)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, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to ^(K)Mesopotamia^[a] to the city of Nahor. ¹¹ And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when ^(L)women go out to draw water. ¹² And he said, “O Lord, ^(M)God of my master Abraham, ^(N)please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, ^(O)I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. ^(P)By this^[b] I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of ^(Q)Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The young woman ^(R)was very attractive in appearance, a maiden^[c] whom no man had known. She went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water to drink from your jar.” ¹⁸ She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all his camels. ²¹ The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the Lord had prospered his journey or not.

²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel,^[d] and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, ²³ and said, “Please tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?” ²⁴ She said to him, ^(S)“I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ She added, “We have plenty of both straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.” ^26 (T)The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord ²⁷ and said, “Blessed be the Lord, ^(U)the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^(V)his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord ^(W)has led me in the way to the house of my master's kinsmen.” ²⁸ Then the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things.

²⁹ Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^(X)Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. ³⁰ As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ He said, “Come in, ^(Y)O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” ³² So the man came to the house and unharnessed the camels, and gave ^(Z)straw and fodder to the camels, and there was ^(AA)water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ Then food was set before him to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” He said, “Speak on.”

³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵ The Lord ^(AB)has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ And Sarah my master's wife ^(AC)bore a son to my master when she was old, and ^(AD)to him he has given all that he has. ^37 (AE)My master 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 but you shall go to my father's house and to my clan and take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’ ⁴⁰ But he said to me, ‘The Lord, ^(AF)before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and ^(AG)prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father's house. ⁴¹ Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my clan. And if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

⁴² “I came today to the spring and said, ^(AH)‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you ^(AI)are prospering the way that I go, ⁴³ behold, I am standing ^(AJ)by the spring of water. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,” ^44 (AK)and who will say 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 “Before I had finished ^(AL)speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels drink also.’ So I drank, and she gave the camels drink also. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ ^(AM)So I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her arms. ^48 (AN)Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord and blessed the Lord, ^(AO)the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way^[e] to take ^(AP)the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son. ⁴⁹ Now then, if you are going to ^(AQ)show steadfast love and faithfulness to 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 has come from the Lord; we cannot ^(AR)speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, ^(AS)as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² When Abraham's servant heard their words, ^(AT)he bowed himself to the earth before the Lord. ⁵³ And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments. ⁵⁴ And he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they arose in the morning, he said, ^(AU)“Send me away to my master.” ⁵⁵ Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go.” ⁵⁶ But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” ⁵⁷ They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.” ⁵⁸ And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah their sister and ^(AV)her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her young women arose and rode on the camels and followed the man. Thus the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

⁶² Now Isaac had returned from ^(AY)Beer-lahai-roi and was dwelling in the Negeb. ⁶³ And Isaac went out ^(AZ)to meditate in the field toward evening. And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. ⁶⁴ And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel ⁶⁵ and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was ^(BA)comforted after his mother's ^(BB)death.

The Birth of Esau and Jacob

¹⁹ These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: ^(A)Abraham fathered Isaac, ²⁰ and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, ^(B)the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of ^(C)Paddan-aram, ^(D)the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. ²¹ And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And ^(E)the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²² The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”^[a] So she went ^(F)to inquire of the Lord. ²³ And the Lord said to her,

²⁴ When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first came out red, ^(J)all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out with ^(K)his hand holding Esau's heel, so ^(L)his name was called Jacob.^[c] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau was ^(M)a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, ^(N)dwelling in tents. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau because ^(O)he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. ³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.^[d]) ³¹ Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” ³² Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” ³³ Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and ^(P)sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

God's Promise to Isaac

26 Now there was a famine in the land, besides ^(A)the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to ^(B)Abimelech king of the ^(C)Philistines. ² And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell ^(D)in the land of which I shall tell you. ^3 (E)Sojourn in this land, and ^(F)I will be with you and will bless you, for ^(G)to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish ^(H)the oath that I swore to Abraham your father. ^4 (I)I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And ^(J)in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, ⁵ because ^(K)Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 When Isaac was old and ^(A)his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. ^3 (B)Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, ⁴ and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul ^(C)may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, ⁷ ‘Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.’ ⁸ Now therefore, my son, ^(D)obey my voice as I command you. ⁹ Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. ¹⁰ And you shall bring it to your father to eat, ^(E)so that he may bless you before he dies.” ¹¹ But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Behold, ^(F)my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. ¹² Perhaps my father ^(G)will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring ^(H)a curse upon myself and not a blessing.” ¹³ His mother said to him, ^(I)“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.”

¹⁴ So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took the ^(J)best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ So he went in 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 as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, 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?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” ²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I ^(K)may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who 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 ^(L)his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. ^(M)So he blessed him. ²⁴ He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” ²⁵ Then he said, “Bring it near to me, ^(N)that I may eat of my son's game and 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 and kiss me, my son.” ²⁷ So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments ^(O)and blessed him and said,

³⁰ As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. ³¹ He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me.” ³² His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” ³⁴ As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, ^(V)he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” ³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” ³⁶ Esau said, ^(W)“Is he not rightly named Jacob?^[a] For he has cheated me these two times. ^(X)He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, ^(Y)I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and ^(Z)with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” ³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And ^(AA)Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

⁴¹ Now Esau ^(AE)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ^(AF)“The days of mourning for my father are approaching; ^(AG)then I will kill my brother Jacob.” ⁴² But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. ⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran ⁴⁴ and stay with him a while, 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 bereft of you both in one day?”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, ^(AH)“I loathe my life because of the Hittite women.^{[d] (AI)}If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”