Genesis 21-24

Christian Standard Bible

The Birth of Isaac

21 The Lord came to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised.^{(A) 2} Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him.^{(B) 3} Abraham named his son who was born to him—the one Sarah bore to him—Isaac.^{(C) 4} When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.^{(D) 5} Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.^(E)

⁶ Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”^{[a](F) 7} She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him^[b] in his old age.”

Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away

⁸ The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. ⁹ But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.^{(G) 10} So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!” ^(H)

¹¹ This was very distressing to^[c] Abraham because of his son. ¹² But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed^[d] about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac,^{(I) 13} and I will also make a nation of the slave’s son^(J) because he is your offspring.”

¹⁴ Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. ¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes ¹⁶ and went and sat at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” While she sat at a distance, she^[e] wept loudly.^(K)

¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and the^[f] angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. ¹⁸ Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes,^(L) and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. ²⁰ God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer. ²¹ He settled in the Wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

Abraham’s Covenant with Abimelech

²² At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol the commander of his army,^(M) said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.^{(N) 23} Swear to me by God here and now, that you will not break an agreement with me or with my children and descendants. As I have been loyal to you, so you will be loyal to me and to the country where you are a resident alien.”

²⁴ And Abraham said, “I swear it.” ²⁵ But Abraham complained to Abimelech because of the well that Abimelech’s servants had seized.^(O)

²⁶ Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this thing. You didn’t report anything to me, so I hadn’t heard about it until today.”

²⁷ Abraham took flocks and herds and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.^{(P) 28} Abraham separated seven ewe lambs from the flock. ²⁹ And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Why have you separated these seven ewe lambs?”

³⁰ He replied, “You are to accept the seven ewe lambs from me so that this act^[g] will serve as my witness that I dug this well.” ³¹ Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba^[h](Q) because it was there that the two of them swore an oath. ³² After they had made a covenant at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and returned to the land of the Philistines.

³³ Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and there he called on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.^{(R) 34} And Abraham lived as an alien in the land of the Philistines for many days.

The Sacrifice of Isaac

22 After these things God tested Abraham^(S) and said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

² “Take your son,” he said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love,^(T) go to the land of Moriah,^(U) and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

³ So Abraham got up early in the morning,^(V) saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He split wood for a burnt offering and set out to go to the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day^(W) Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship; then we’ll come back to you.” ⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac.^(X) In his hand he took the fire and the knife,^(Y) and the two of them walked on together.

⁷ Then Isaac spoke to his father Abraham and said, “My father.”

And he replied, “Here I am, my son.”

Isaac said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide^[i](Z) the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Then the two of them walked on together.

⁹ When they arrived at the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac^[j] and placed him on the altar^(AA) on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He replied, “Here I am.”

¹² Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”^{(AB) 13} Abraham looked up and saw a ram^[k] caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide,^[l] so today it is said, “It will be provided^[m] on the Lord’s mountain.”

¹⁵ Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven ¹⁶ and said, “By myself I have sworn,”^(AC) this is the Lord’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, ¹⁷ I will indeed bless you^(AD) and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky^(AE) and the sand on the seashore.^(AF) Your offspring will possess the city gates of their^[n] enemies.^{(AG) 18} And all the nations of the earth will be blessed^[o] by your offspring^(AH) because you have obeyed my command.”

¹⁹ Abraham went back to his young men, and they got up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham settled in Beer-sheba.

Rebekah’s Family

²⁰ Now after these things Abraham was told, “Milcah also has borne sons to your brother Nahor:^{(AI) 21} Uz his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel the father of Aram, ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ And Bethuel fathered Rebekah.^(AJ) Milcah bore these eight to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

Sarah’s Burial

23 Now Sarah lived 127 years; these were all the years of her life. ² Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron^(AK)) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

³ When Abraham got up from beside his dead wife, he spoke to the Hethites: ⁴ “I am an alien residing among you.^(AL) Give me burial property among you so that I can bury my dead.”^[p](AM)

⁵ The Hethites replied to Abraham,^{[q] 6} “Listen to us, my lord. You are a prince of God^[r] among us. Bury your dead in our finest burial place.^[s] None of us will withhold from you his burial place for burying your dead.”

⁷ Then Abraham rose and bowed down to the Hethites, the people of the land. ⁸ He said to them, “If you are willing for me to bury my dead, listen to me and ask Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf ⁹ to give me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me in your presence, for the full price, as burial property.”

¹⁰ Ephron was sitting among the Hethites. So in the hearing^[t] of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city,^(AN) Ephron the Hethite answered Abraham: ¹¹ “No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. I give it to you in the sight^[u] of my people. Bury your dead.”

¹² Abraham bowed down to the people of the land ¹³ and said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, “Listen to me, if you please. Let me pay the price of the field. Accept it from me, and let me bury my dead there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham and said to him, ¹⁵ “My lord, listen to me. Land worth four hundred shekels of silver^(AO)—what is that between you and me? Bury your dead.” ¹⁶ Abraham agreed with Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver that he had agreed to in the hearing of the Hethites: four hundred standard shekels^[v] of silver.^{(AP) 17} So Ephron’s field^(AQ) at Machpelah near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the boundaries of the field—became ¹⁸ Abraham’s possession in the sight of all the Hethites who came to the gate of his city. ¹⁹ After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ The field with its cave passed from the Hethites to Abraham^(AR) as burial property.

A Wife for Isaac

24 Abraham was now old, getting on in years,^[w](AS) 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,^{(AT) 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,^{(AU) 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,^(AV) who took me from my father’s house and from my native land,^(AW) who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your offspring’^[x](AX)—he will send his angel before you,^(AY) 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,^(AZ) 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 ten of his master’s camels, and with all kinds of his master’s goods in hand, he went to Aram-naharaim, to Nahor’s town. ¹¹ At evening, the time when women went out to draw water, he made the camels kneel beside a well outside the town.

¹² “Lord, God of my master Abraham,” he prayed, “make this happen for me today,^(BA) and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ I am standing here^(BB) 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,^(BC) the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor—coming with a jug on her shoulder. ¹⁶ Now the girl was very beautiful,^(BD) a virgin—no man had been intimate with her. 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.”^{[y] 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 As the camels finished drinking, the man took a gold ring weighing half a shekel, and for her wrists two bracelets weighing ten 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 knelt low, worshiped the Lord,^{(BE) 27} and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld his kindness and faithfulness from my master.^(BF) 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,^(BG) 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.^(BH) 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.^(BI) 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 flocks and herds, 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^[z] old age,^(BJ) and he has given him everything he owns.^{(BK) 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 family and to my clan 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^(BL) will send his angel with you and make your journey a success, and you will take a wife for my son from my clan and from my father’s family. 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 young woman^[aa] 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,^(BM) 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^(BN) and the bracelets on her wrists. ⁴⁸ Then I knelt low, worshiped the Lord, and blessed 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,^(BO) tell me; if not, tell me, and I will go elsewhere.”^[ab]

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the Lord; we have no choice in the matter.^{[ac](BP) 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 ten days. Then she^[ad] 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.”^[ae]

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,^[af](BQ) and Abraham’s servant and his men.

⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:

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,^[ah](BT) for he was living in the Negev region. ⁶³ In the early evening Isaac went out to walk^[ai] 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.^(BU)