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Chapter 24 |
| 1 | And Abraham
was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all
things. |
| 2 |
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:
|
| 3 | 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: |
| 4 | But thou shalt go unto my
country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac. |
| 5 | 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? |
| 6
| And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring
not my son thither again. |
|
7 | 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. |
| 8 |
And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou
shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.
|
| 9 | And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and
sware to him concerning that matter. |
| 10 | And the servant took ten
camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his
master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city
of Nahor. |
| 11
| And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by
a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to
draw water. |
|
12 | And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray
thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness unto my master
Abraham. |
| 13
| Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the
daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: |
| 14 | And let
it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I
pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy
camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant
Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my
master. |
| 15
| And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that,
behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of
Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder. |
| 16 | And
the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her:
and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up. |
| 17 |
And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little
water of thy pitcher. |
| 18 | And she said, Drink, my lord: and she
hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. |
| 19 |
And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy
camels also, until they have done drinking. |
|
20 | And she hasted, and
emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water,
and drew for all his camels. |
|
21 | And the man wondering at her held his
peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.
|
| 22 | And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took
a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of
ten shekels weight of gold; |
|
23 | And said, Whose daughter art thou?
tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge
in? |
| 24 |
And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of
Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor. |
| 25 | She said moreover unto him,
We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. |
| 26 | And
the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. |
| 27 | And he said,
Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my
master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the
house of my master's brethren. |
| 28 | And the damsel ran, and told
them of her mother's house these things. |
|
29 | And Rebekah had a brother,
and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
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| 30 | And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his
sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus
spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the
camels at the well. |
| 31 | And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the
LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room
for the camels. |
|
32 | And the man came into the house: and he ungirded
his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his
feet, and the men's feet that were with him. |
|
33 | And there was set meat
before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand.
And he said, Speak on. |
| 34 | And he said, I am Abraham's servant.
|
| 35 | And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and
he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and
maidservants, and camels, and asses. |
| 36 | And Sarah my master's wife
bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that
he hath. |
| 37
| And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take
a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I
dwell: |
| 38
| But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my
kindred, and take a wife unto my son. |
| 39 | And I said unto my master,
Peradventure the woman will not follow me. |
|
40 | And he said unto me,
The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy
way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's
house: |
| 41
| Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou
comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from
my oath. |
| 42
| And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God
of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: |
| 43 |
Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the
virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a
little water of thy pitcher to drink; |
| 44 | And she say to me, Both drink
thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the
LORD hath appointed out for my master's son. |
|
45 | And before I had done
speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her
shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her,
Let me drink, I pray thee. |
|
46 | And she made haste, and let down her
pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink
also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also. |
| 47 | And I asked
her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel,
Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face,
and the bracelets upon her hands. |
| 48 | And I bowed down my head, and
worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had
led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his
son. |
| 49 |
And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell
me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the
left. |
| 50 |
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth
from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. |
| 51 | Behold,
Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's
wife, as the LORD hath spoken. |
| 52 | And it came to pass, that,
when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing
himself to the earth. |
| 53 | And the servant brought forth jewels of
silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also
to her brother and to her mother precious things. |
| 54 | And they did
eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and
they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.
|
| 55 | And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few
days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. |
| 56 | And he said
unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away
that I may go to my master. |
|
57 | And they said, We will call the
damsel, and inquire at her mouth. |
| 58 | And they called Rebekah, and
said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. |
| 59 |
And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant,
and his men. |
|
60 | And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou
art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed
possess the gate of those which hate them. |
|
61 | And Rebekah arose, and
her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the
servant took Rebekah, and went his way. |
|
62 | And Isaac came from the
way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country. |
| 63 | And
Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his
eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. |
| 64 | And Rebekah
lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.
|
| 65 | For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the
field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took
a vail, and covered herself. |
|
66 | And the servant told Isaac all things
that he had done. |
| 67 | And Isaac brought her into his mother
Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and
Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. |
