Loading…

Genesis 24:1–7

A Wife for Isaac

24 Abraham was now old, getting on in years, k l and the Lord had blessed him in everything. Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his household who managed all he owned, “Place your hand under my thigh, m 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, n but will go to my land and my family to take a wife for my son Isaac.”

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?”

Abraham answered him, “Make sure that you don’t take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, o who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, p who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘I will give this land to your * offspring’ q—He will send His angel before you, r and you can take a wife for my son from there.

Read more Explain verse



Genesis 24:1–7 — The New International Version (NIV)

Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?”

“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:1–7 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:1–7 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

Genesis 24:1–7 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Abraham was now a very old man, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh. Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women. Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”

The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”

“No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there. For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.

Genesis 24:1–7 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

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?”

But Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there. The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:1–7 — New Century Version (NCV)

Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. Abraham said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of everything he owned, “Put your hand under my leg. Make a promise to me before the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. Don’t get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here. Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

The servant said to him, “What if this woman does not want to return with me to this land? Then, should I take your son with me back to your homeland?”

Abraham said to him, “No! Don’t take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and the land of my relatives. And he promised me, “I will give this land to your descendants.’ The Lord will send his angel before you to help you get a wife for my son there.

Genesis 24:1–7 — American Standard Version (ASV)

And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh: and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: but thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest? And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again. Jehovah, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my nativity, and who spake unto me, and who sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he will send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my son from thence.

Genesis 24:1–7 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And Abraham was old, and advanced in age; and Jehovah had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put thy hand, I pray thee, under my thigh, and I will make thee swear by Jehovah, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am dwelling; but thou shalt go to my land and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land: must I, then, bring thy son again in any case to the land from which thou hast removed? And Abraham said to him, Beware that thou bring not my son thither again. Jehovah the God of the heavens, who took me out of my father’s house, and out of the land of my nativity, and who has spoken to me, and who has sworn to me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land—he will send his angel before thee, that thou mayest take a wife for my son thence.

Genesis 24:1–7 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

By now Abraham was old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. So Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Take a solemn oath. I want you to swear by the Lord God of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I’m living. Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.” 

The servant asked him, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back to this land with me? Should I take your son all the way back to the land you came from?” 

“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said to him. “The Lord God of heaven took me from my father’s home and the land of my family. He spoke to me and swore this oath: ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ 

“God will send his angel ahead of you, and you will get my son a wife from there.

Genesis 24:1–7 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but will go to my country and to my kindred and get a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 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 swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:1–7 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Now Abraham was old, advanced in age, and Yahweh had blessed Abraham in everything. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh that I may make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling, but that you will go to my land and to my family, and take a wife for my son, for Isaac.” And the servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land—must I then return your son to the land from whence you came?” Abraham said to him, “You must take care that you do not return my son there. Yahweh, the God of heaven who took me from the house of my father and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘to your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:1–7 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

By that time Abraham was very old. The Lord had blessed him in every way. The best servant in his house was in charge of everything he had.

Abraham said to him, “Put your hand under my thigh. The Lord is the God of heaven and the God of earth. I want you to make a promise with an oath in his name.

“I’m living among the people of Canaan. But I want you to promise me that you won’t get a wife for my son from their daughters. Instead, promise me that you will go to my country and to my own relatives. Get a wife for my son Isaac from there.”

The servant asked him, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back with me to this land? Then should I take your son back to the country you came from?”

“Make sure you don’t take my son back there,” Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven, took me away from my father’s family. He brought me out of my own land. And he made me a promise with an oath. He said, ‘I will give this land to your family after you.’ The Lord will send his angel ahead of you. So you will be able to get a wife for my son from there.

Genesis 24:1–7 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way.

Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Please place your hand under my thigh,

and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live,

but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

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?”

Then Abraham said to him, “Beware that you do not take my son back there!

“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, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.


A service of Logos Bible Software