Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Majesty and Condescension of God

¹¹ And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time ^(A)when women go out to draw water. ¹² Then he ^(B)said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please ^(C)give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, here ^(D)I stand by the well of water, and ^(E)the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴ Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And ^(F)by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ And it happened, ^(G)before he had finished speaking, that behold, ^(H)Rebekah,^[a] who was born to Bethuel, son of ^(I)Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. ¹⁶ Now the young woman ^(J)was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. ¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”

^18 (K)So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels. ²¹ And the man, wondering at her, remained silent so as to know whether ^(L)the Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

²² So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden ^(M)nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold, ²³ and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please, is there room in your father’s house for us ^[b]to lodge?”

²⁴ So she said to him, ^(N)“I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” ²⁵ Moreover she said to him, “We have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.”

²⁶ Then the man ^(O)bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ And he said, ^(P)“Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken ^(Q)His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord ^(R)led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”

⁹ Do not let a widow under sixty years old be taken into the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man, ¹⁰ well reported for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints’ feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.

¹¹ But ^[a]refuse the younger widows; for when they have begun to grow wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, ¹² having condemnation because they have cast off their first ^[b]faith. ¹³ And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not. ¹⁴ Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. ¹⁵ For some have already turned aside after Satan. ¹⁶ If any believing ^[c]man or woman has widows, let them ^[d]relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows.