Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁰ The servant took ten of his master’s camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master’s with him. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor. ¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water. ¹² He said, “Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. The daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, ‘Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink,’ then she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink,’—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, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin. No man had known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷ The servant ran to meet her, and said, “Please give me a drink, a little water from your pitcher.”

¹⁸ She said, “Drink, my lord.” She hurried, and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will also draw for your camels, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ She hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

²¹ The man looked steadfastly at her, remaining silent, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey prosperous or not. ²² As the camels had done drinking, the man took a golden ring of half a shekel^[a] weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father’s house for us to stay?”

²⁴ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ She said moreover to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge in.”

²⁶ The man bowed his head, and worshiped Yahweh. ²⁷ He said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me on the way to the house of my master’s relatives.”

²⁸ The young lady ran, and told her mother’s house about these words. ²⁹ Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring. ³⁰ When he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he came to the man. Behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. ³¹ He said, “Come in, you blessed of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.”

³² The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels. He gave straw and feed for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told my message.”

Laban said, “Speak on.”

³⁴ He said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ Yahweh has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. Yahweh has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him. ³⁷ 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 live, ³⁸ but you shall go to my father’s house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ ³⁹ I asked my master, ‘What if the woman will not follow me?’ ⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son from my relatives, and of my father’s house. ⁴¹ Then you will be clear from my oath, when you come to my relatives. If they don’t give her to you, you shall be clear from my oath.’ ⁴² I came today to the spring, and said, ‘Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now you do prosper my way which I go— ⁴³ behold, I am standing by this spring of water. Let it happen, that the maiden who comes out to draw, to whom I will say, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,” ⁴⁴ then she tells me, “Drink, and I will also draw for your camels,”—let her be the woman whom Yahweh has appointed for my master’s son.’ ⁴⁵ Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ She hurried and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels a drink. ⁴⁷ I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands. ⁴⁸ I bowed my head, and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master’s brother’s daughter for his son. ⁴⁹ Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing proceeds from Yahweh. We can’t speak to you bad or good. ⁵¹ Behold, Rebekah is before you. Take her, and go, and let her be your master’s son’s wife, as Yahweh has spoken.”

⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to Yahweh.

7 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem. ² Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews don’t eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴ They don’t eat when they come from the marketplace unless they bathe themselves, and there are many other things which they have received to hold to: washings of cups, pitchers, bronze vessels, and couches.) ⁵ The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”

⁶ He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ “For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.” ⁹ He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’^(B) and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’^{(C) 11} But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban,”’”^[a] that is to say, given to God, ¹² “then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, ¹³ making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”