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
fathers 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 shew 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 shewed 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, Abrahams 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 fathers 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
masters brethren.
28 And the damsel ran, and told them of her
mothers house these things.
29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was
Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.
30 And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and
bracelets upon his sisters 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 mens 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 Abrahams 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 masters 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 fathers 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 fathers 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 masters 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, Nahors 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 masters brothers 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 masters sons wife, as the LORD hath
spoken.
52 And it came to pass, that, when Abrahams
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
enquire 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 Abrahams 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 Sarahs
tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and
Isaac was comforted after his mothers death.