Genesis 24
Holman Christian Standard Bible
A Wife for Isaac
24 Abraham was now old, getting on in years,[a](A) and the Lord had blessed him in everything. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh,(B) 3 and I will have you swear by the Lord, God of heaven and God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,(C) 4 but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I have your son go back to the land you came from?”
6 Abraham answered him, “Make sure that you don’t take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven,(D) who took me from my father’s house and from my native land,(E) who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring’(F)—He will send His angel before you,(G) and you can take a wife for my son from there. 8 If the woman is unwilling to follow you, then you are free from this oath to me,(H) but don’t let my son go back there.” 9 So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham’s thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
10 The servant took 10 of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of his master’s goods in hand. Then he set out for Nahor’s town Aram-naharaim. 11 He made the camels kneel beside a well of water outside the town at evening. This was the time when the women went out to draw water.
12 “Lord, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “give me success today,(I) and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 I am standing here(J) at the spring where the daughters of the men of the town are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the girl to whom I say, ‘Please lower your water jug so that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
15 Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah—daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah,(K) the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor—coming with a jug on her shoulder. 16 Now the girl was very beautiful,(L) a young woman who had not known a man intimately. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me have a little water from your jug.”
18 She replied, “Drink, my lord.” She quickly lowered her jug to her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I’ll also draw water for your camels until they have had enough to drink.”[b] 20 She quickly emptied her jug into the trough and hurried to the well again to draw water. She drew water for all his camels 21 while the man silently watched her to see whether or not the Lord had made his journey a success.
22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing 10 shekels of gold. 23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”
24 She answered him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She also said to him, “We have plenty of straw and feed and a place to spend the night.”
26 Then the man bowed down, worshiped the Lord,(M) 27 and said, “Praise the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master.(N) As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”
28 The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban,(O) and Laban ran out to the man at the spring. 30 As soon as he had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he had heard his sister Rebekah’s words—“The man said this to me!”—he went to the man. He was standing there by the camels at the spring.
31 Laban said, “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord.(P) Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.” 32 So the man came to the house, and the camels were unloaded.(Q) Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was brought to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.
33 A meal was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.”
So Laban said, “Please speak.”
34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. 35 “The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. 36 Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master in her[c] old age,(R) and he has given him everything he owns.(S) 37 My master put me under this oath: ‘You will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I live 38 but will go to my father’s household and to my family to take a wife for my son.’ 39 But I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman will not come back with me?’ 40 He said to me, ‘The Lord before whom I have walked(T) will send His angel with you and make your journey a success, and you will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s household. 41 Then you will be free from my oath if you go to my family and they do not give her to you—you will be free from my oath.’
42 “Today when I came to the spring, I prayed: Lord, God of my master Abraham, if only You will make my journey successful! 43 I am standing here at a spring. Let the virgin who comes out to draw water, and I say to her: Please let me drink a little water from your jug, 44 and who responds to me, ‘Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels also’—let her be the woman the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.
45 “Before I had finished praying silently,(U) there was Rebekah coming with her jug on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her: Please let me have a drink. 46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. 47 Then I asked her: Whose daughter are you? She responded, ‘The daughter of Bethuel son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose(V) and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 Then I bowed down, worshiped the Lord, and praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who guided me on the right way to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now, if you are going to show kindness and faithfulness to my master,(W) tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.”[d]
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter.[e](X) 51 Rebekah is here in front of you. Take her and go, and let her be a wife for your master’s son, just as the Lord has spoken.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then he brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother. 54 Then he and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night.
When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me to my master.”
55 But her brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us for about 10 days.[f] Then she[g] can go.”
56 But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”
57 So they said, “Let’s call the girl and ask her opinion.”[h]
58 They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?”
She replied, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah with the one who had nursed and raised her,[i](Y) and Abraham’s servant and his men.
60 They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:
Our sister, may you become
thousands upon ten thousands.(Z)
May your offspring possess
the gates of their[j] enemies.(AA)
61 Then Rebekah and her female servants got up, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
62 Now Isaac was returning from Beer-lahai-roi,[k](AB) for he was living in the Negev region. 63 In the early evening Isaac went out to walk[l] in the field, and looking up he saw camels coming. 64 Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she got down from her camel 65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?”
The servant answered, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
67 And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother’s death.(AC)
Footnotes
- Genesis 24:1 Lit days
- Genesis 24:19 Lit they are finished drinking
- Genesis 24:36 Sam, LXX read his
- Genesis 24:49 Lit go to the right or to the left
- Genesis 24:50 Lit we cannot say to you anything bad or good
- Genesis 24:55 Lit us a few days or 10
- Genesis 24:55 Or you
- Genesis 24:57 Lit mouth
- Genesis 24:59 Lit with her wet nurse; Gn 35:8
- Genesis 24:60 Lit his
- Genesis 24:62 = A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me
- Genesis 24:63 Or pray, or meditate; Hb obscure
Genesis 24
New Century Version
A Wife for Isaac
24 Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. 2 Abraham said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my leg.[a] 3 Make a promise to me before the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. 4 Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.”
5 The servant said to him, “What if this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?”
6 Abraham said to him, “No! Don’t take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he promised me, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ The Lord will send his angel before you to help you get a wife for my son there. 8 If the girl won’t come back with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under his master’s leg and made a promise to Abraham about this.
10 The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left, carrying with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Northwest Mesopotamia to Nahor’s city. 11 In the evening, when the women come out to get water, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city.
12 The servant said, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, allow me to find a wife for his son today. Please show this kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring, and the girls from the city are coming out to get water. 14 I will say to one of them, ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.’ Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.’ If that happens, I will know she is the right one for your servant Isaac and that you have shown kindness to my master.”
15 Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, came out of the city. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham’s brother.) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder. 16 She was very pretty, a virgin; she had never had sexual relations with a man. She went down to the spring and filled her jar, then came back up. 17 The servant ran to her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”
18 Rebekah said, “Drink, sir.” She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and gave him a drink. 19 After he finished drinking, Rebekah said, “I will also pour some water for your camels.” 20 So she quickly poured all the water from her jar into the drinking trough for the camels. Then she kept running to the well until she had given all the camels enough to drink.
21 The servant quietly watched her. He wanted to be sure the Lord had made his trip successful. 22 After the camels had finished drinking, he gave Rebekah a gold ring weighing one-fifth of an ounce and two gold arm bracelets weighing about four ounces each. 23 He asked, “Who is your father? Is there a place in his house for me and my men to spend the night?”
24 Rebekah answered, “My father is Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” 25 Then she said, “And, yes, we have straw for your camels and a place for you to spend the night.”
26 The servant bowed and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed is the Lord, the God of my master Abraham. The Lord has been kind and truthful to him and has led me to my master’s relatives.”
28 Then Rebekah ran and told her mother’s family about all these things. 29 She had a brother named Laban, who ran out to Abraham’s servant, who was still at the spring. 30 Laban had heard what she had said and had seen the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms. So he ran out to the well, and there was the man standing by the camels at the spring. 31 Laban said, “Sir, you are welcome to come in; you don’t have to stand outside. I have prepared the house for you and also a place for your camels.”
32 So Abraham’s servant went into the house. After Laban unloaded the camels and gave them straw and food, he gave water to Abraham’s servant so he and the men with him could wash their feet. 33 Then Laban gave the servant food, but the servant said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I came.”
So Laban said, “Then tell us.”
34 He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly blessed my master in everything, and he has become a rich man. The Lord has given him many flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels, and horses. 36 Sarah, my master’s wife, gave birth to a son when she was old, and my master has given everything he owns to that son. 37 My master had me make a promise to him and said, ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. 38 Instead, you must go to my father’s people and to my family. There you must get a wife for my son.’ 39 I said to my master, ‘What if the woman will not come back with me?’ 40 But he said, ‘I serve the Lord, who will send his angel with you and will help you. You will get a wife for my son from my family and my father’s people. 41 Then you will be free from the promise. But if they will not give you a wife for my son, you will be free from this promise.’
42 “Today I came to this spring. I said, ‘Lord, God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful. 43 I am standing by this spring. I will wait for a young woman to come out to get water, and I will say, “Please give me water from your jar to drink.” 44 Then let her say, “Drink this water, and I will also get water for your camels.” By this I will know the Lord has chosen her for my master’s son.’
45 “Before I finished my silent prayer, Rebekah came out of the city with her water jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and got water. I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered the jar from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink this. I will also get water for your camels.’ So I drank, and she gave water to my camels too. 47 When I asked her, ‘Who is your father?’ she answered, ‘My father is Bethuel son of Milcah and Nahor.’ Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms, 48 and I bowed my head and thanked the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, because he led me on the right road to get the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 Now, tell me, will you be kind and truthful to my master? And if not, tell me so. Then I will know what I should do.”
50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is clearly from the Lord, and we cannot change what must happen. 51 Rebekah is yours. Take her and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Lord has commanded.”
52 When Abraham’s servant heard these words, he bowed facedown on the ground before the Lord. 53 Then he gave Rebekah gold and silver jewelry and clothes. He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and mother. 54 The servant and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night there. When they got up the next morning, the servant said, “Now let me go back to my master.”
55 Rebekah’s mother and her brother said, “Let Rebekah stay with us at least ten days. After that she may go.”
56 But the servant said to them, “Do not make me wait, because the Lord has made my trip successful. Now let me go back to my master.”
57 Rebekah’s brother and mother said, “We will call Rebekah and ask her what she wants to do.” 58 They called her and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man now?”
She said, “Yes, I do.”
59 So they allowed Rebekah and her nurse to go with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah and said,
“Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of people,
and may your descendants capture the cities of their enemies.”
61 Then Rebekah and her servant girls got on the camels and followed the servant and his men. So the servant took Rebekah and left.
62 At this time Isaac had left Beer Lahai Roi and was living in southern Canaan. 63 One evening when he went out to the field to think, he looked up and saw camels coming. 64 Rebekah also looked and saw Isaac. Then she jumped down from the camel 65 and asked the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?”
The servant answered, “That is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil.
66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, his mother, and she became his wife. Isaac loved her very much, and so he was comforted after his mother’s death.
Footnotes
- 24:2 Put . . . leg This showed that a person would keep the promise.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
