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 had ^(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 before 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 from this my oath; ^(N)only do not take my son back there.” ⁹ So the servant ^(O)placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of ^(P)good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose 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 at evening time, ^(S)the time when women go out to draw water. ¹² He said, “^(T)O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please ^[c](U)grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, ^(V)I am standing by the ^[d]spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; ¹⁴ now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and ^[e]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 lovingkindness to my master.”

Rebekah Is Chosen

^15 (W)Before he had finished speaking, behold, ^(X)Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of ^(Y)Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The girl was ^(Z)very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had ^[f]had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “^(AA)Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” ^18 (AB)She said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ Now when she had finished giving him a drink, ^(AC)she said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. ^21 (AD)Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her ^[g]in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.

²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a ^(AE)gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her ^[h]wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to lodge in your father’s house?” ²⁴ She said to him, “^(AF)I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in.” ²⁶ Then the man ^(AG)bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ He said, “^(AH)Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^(AI)His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, ^(AJ)the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

²⁸ Then ^(AK)the girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. ²⁹ Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^(AL)Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. ³⁰ When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s ^[i]wrists, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “^[j]This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ And he said, “^(AM)Come in, ^(AN)blessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside since ^(AO)I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?” ³² So the man entered the house. Then ^[k](AP)Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ But when food was set before him to eat, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my business.” And he said, “Speak on.” ³⁴ So he said, “I am ^(AQ)Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ The Lord has greatly ^(AR)blessed my master, so that he has become ^[l]rich; and He has given him ^(AS)flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Now ^(AT)Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master ^[m]in her old age, and ^(AU)he has given him all that he has. ^37 (AV)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 ^[n]live; ³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ ^39 (AW)I said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ ⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘^(AX)The Lord, before whom I have ^(AY)walked, will send ^(AZ)His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; ^41 (BA)then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’

⁴² “So ^(BB)I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go ^(BC)successful; ⁴³ behold, ^(BD)I am standing by the ^[o]spring, and may it be that the maiden who comes out to draw, and to whom I say, “^(BE)Please let me drink a little water from your jar”; ⁴⁴ and she will say to me, “You 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 ^(BF)speaking in my heart, behold, ^(BG)Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew, and ^(BH)I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘^(BI)Drink, and I will water your camels also’; so I drank, and she watered the camels also. ^47 (BJ)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’; and I put the ^(BK)ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her ^[p]wrists. ⁴⁸ And I ^(BL)bowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, ^(BM)who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s ^[q]kinsman for his son. ⁴⁹ So now if you are going to ^[r](BN)deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, let me know, that I may turn to the right hand or the left.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “^(BO)The matter comes from the Lord; ^(BP)so we cannot speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he ^(BQ)bowed himself to the ground ^[s]before the Lord. ⁵³ The servant brought out ^(BR)articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they arose in the morning, he said, “^(BS)Send me away to my master.” ⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “^(BT)Let the girl stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” ⁵⁶ He said to them, “Do not delay me, since ^(BU)the Lord has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master.” ⁵⁷ And they said, “We will call the girl and ^[t]consult her wishes.” ⁵⁸ Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ Thus they sent away their sister Rebekah and ^(BV)her nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah and said to her,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah arose with her maids, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

Isaac Marries Rebekah

⁶² Now Isaac had come from going to ^(BY)Beer-lahai-roi; for he ^[v]was living in ^(BZ)the ^[w]Negev. ⁶³ Isaac went out ^(CA)to ^[x]meditate in the field toward evening; and ^(CB)he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. ⁶⁴ Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from the camel. ⁶⁵ She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her ^[y]veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and ^(CC)he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and ^(CD)he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after ^(CE)his mother’s death.

Pharisaism Exposed

23 ^(A)Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “^(B)The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ^4 (C)They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. ⁵ But they do all their deeds ^(D)to be noticed by men; for they ^(E)broaden their ^[a]phylacteries and lengthen ^(F)the tassels of their garments. ⁶ They ^(G)love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, ⁷ and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called ^(H)Rabbi by men. ⁸ But ^(I)do not be called ^(J)Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for ^(K)One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Do not be called ^[b]leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. ^11 (L)But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ^12 (M)Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Eight Woes

¹³ “^(N)But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ^(O)because you shut off the kingdom of heaven ^[c]from ^[d]people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. ¹⁴ [^[e]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because ^(P)you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one ^[f](Q)proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of ^[g](R)hell as yourselves.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, ^(S)blind guides, who say, ‘^(T)Whoever swears by the ^[h]temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the ^[i]temple is obligated.’ ¹⁷ You fools and blind men! ^(U)Which is ^[j]more important, the gold or the ^[k]temple that sanctified the gold? ¹⁸ And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the ^[l]offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ You blind men, ^(V)which is ^[m]more important, the ^[n]offering, or the altar that sanctifies the ^[o]offering? ²⁰ Therefore, ^[p]whoever swears by the altar, swears both by ^[q]the altar and by everything on it. ²¹ And ^[r]whoever swears by the ^[s]temple, swears both by ^[t]the temple and by Him who ^(W)dwells within it. ²² And ^[u]whoever swears by heaven, ^(X)swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

²³ “^(Y)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and ^[v]cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. ²⁴ You ^(Z)blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^(AA)you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full ^[w]of robbery and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee, first ^(AB)clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

²⁷ “^(AC)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

²⁹ “^(AD)Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you ^(AE)are ^[x]sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. ³³ You serpents, ^(AF)you brood of vipers, how ^[y]will you escape the ^[z]sentence of ^[aa](AG)hell?

³⁴ “^(AH)Therefore, behold, ^(AI)I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will ^(AJ)scourge in your synagogues, and ^(AK)persecute from city to city, ³⁵ so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous ^(AL)Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the ^(AM)son of Berechiah, whom ^(AN)you murdered between the ^[ab]temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon ^(AO)this generation.

Lament over Jerusalem

³⁷ “^(AP)Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who ^(AQ)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, ^(AR)the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ³⁸ Behold, ^(AS)your house is being left to you desolate! ³⁹ For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘^(AT)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”