Genesis 24:1-14

New American Standard Bible

A Bride for Isaac

24 Now ^(A)Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had ^(B)blessed Abraham in every way. ² Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in ^(C)charge of all that he owned, “^(D)Please place your hand under my thigh, ³ and I will make you swear by the Lord, ^(E)the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you ^(F)shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of ^(G)the Canaanites, among whom I live; ⁴ but you will go to ^(H)my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” ⁵ The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” ⁶ Then Abraham said to him, “^(I)Beware that you do not take my son back there! ^7 (J)The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘^(K)To your ^[a]descendants I will give this land’—He will send ^(L)His angel ahead of you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will ^(M)be free of this oath of mine; ^(N)only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant ^(O)placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and went out with a variety of ^(P)good things of his master’s in his hand; so he set out and went to ^[b]Mesopotamia, to ^(Q)the city of Nahor. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by ^(R)the well of water ^[c]when it was evening, ^(S)the time when women go out to draw water. ¹² And he said, “^(T)Lord, God of my master Abraham, please ^[d](U)grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, ^(V)I am standing by the ^[e]spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; ¹⁴ now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and ^[f]who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”