A Bride for Isaac

24 Now Abraham awas old, well advanced in age; and the Lord bhad blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said cto the oldest servant of his house, who druled over all that he had, “Please, eput your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you fswear 1by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that gyou will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 hbut you shall go ito my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

5 And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?”

6 But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord God of heaven, who jtook me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, k‘To your 2descendants I give this land,’ lHe will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then myou will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, nfor all his master’s goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to othe city of Nahor. 11 And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time, the time pwhen women go out to draw water. 12 Then he qsaid, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please rgive me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here sI stand by the well of water, and tthe 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 uby this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

15 And it happened, vbefore he had finished speaking, that behold, wRebekah, 3who was born to Bethuel, son of xMilcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman ywas 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 zSo 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 athe Lord had made his journey prosperous or not.

22 So it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden bnose 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 4to lodge?”

24 So she said to him, c“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 dbowed down his head and worshiped the Lord.