GENESIS Chapter 24
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24:1 Abraham was
now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in everything he did. |
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24:2 He said to his
oldest servant, who was in charge of all that he had, "Place your hand
between my thighs and make a vow. |
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24:3 I want you to make a vow in the name of the LORD, the God
of heaven and earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the
people here in Canaan. |
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24:4 You must go
back to the country where I was born and get a wife for my son Isaac from
among my relatives." |
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24:5 But the servant
asked, "What if the young woman will not leave home to come with me to
this land? Shall I send your son back to the land you came from?" |
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24:6 Abraham
answered, "Make sure that you don't send my son back there! |
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24:7
The LORD, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and from the land
of my relatives, and he solemnly promised me that he would give this land to
my descendants. He will send his angel before you, so that you can get a wife
there for my son. |
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24:8 If the young
woman is not willing to come with you, you will be free from this promise.
But you must not under any circumstances take my son back there." |
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24:9 So the servant
put his hand between the thighs of Abraham, his master, and made a vow to do
what Abraham had asked. |
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24:10 The servant,
who was in charge of Abraham's property, took ten of his master's camels and
went to the city where Nahor had lived in northern
Mesopotamia. |
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24:11 When he
arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was
late afternoon, the time when women came out to get water. |
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24:12 He prayed, " LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success
today and keep your promise to my master. |
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24:13 Here I am at
the well where the young women of the city will be coming to get water. |
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24:14 I will say to
one of them, 'Please, lower your jar and let me have a drink.' If she says,
'Drink, and I will also bring water for your camels,' may she be the one that
you have chosen for your servant Isaac. If this happens, I will know that you
have kept your promise to my master." |
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24:15 Before he had
finished praying, Rebecca arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. She was
the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of
Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah. |
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24:16 She was a very
beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled
her jar, and came back. |
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24:17 The servant
ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a drink of water from your
jar." |
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24:18 She said,
"Drink, sir," and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and
held it while he drank. |
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24:19 When he had
finished, she said, "I will also bring water for your camels and let
them have all they want." |
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24:20 She quickly
emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the well to get
more water, until she had watered all his camels. |
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24:21 The man kept
watching her in silence, to see if the LORD had given him success. |
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24:22 When she had
finished, the man took an expensive gold ring and put it in her nose and put
two large gold bracelets on her arms. |
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24:23 He said,
"Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my
men and me to spend the night?" |
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24:24 "My
father is Bethuel son of Nahor
and Milcah," she answered. |
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24:25 "There is
plenty of straw and fodder at our house, and there is a place for you to
stay." |
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24:26 Then the man
knelt down and worshiped the LORD. |
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24:27 He said,
"Praise the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has faithfully kept
his promise to my master. The LORD has led me straight to my master's
relatives." |
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24:28 The young
woman ran to her mother's house and told the whole story. |
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24:29 Now Rebecca
had a brother named Laban, and he ran outside to go to the well where
Abraham's servant was. |
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24:30 Laban had seen
the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms and had heard her say
what the man had told her. He went to Abraham's servant, who was standing by
his camels at the well, |
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24:31 and said,
"Come home with me. You are a man whom the LORD has blessed. Why are you
standing out here? I have a room ready for you in my house, and there is a
place for your camels." |
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24:32 So the man
went into the house, and Laban unloaded the camels
and gave them straw and fodder. Then he brought water for Abraham's servant
and his men to wash their feet. |
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24:33 When food was
brought, the man said, "I will not eat until I have said what I have to
say." Laban said, "Go on and speak." |
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24:34 "I am the
servant of Abraham," he began. |
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24:35 "The LORD
has greatly blessed my master and made him a rich man. He has given him
flocks of sheep and goats, cattle, silver, gold, male and female slaves,
camels, and donkeys. |
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24:36 Sarah, my
master's wife, bore him a son when she was old, and my master has given
everything he owns to him. |
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24:37 My master made
me promise with a vow to obey his command. He said, 'Do not choose a wife for
my son from the young women in the land of Canaan. |
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24:38 Instead, go to
my father's people, to my relatives, and choose a wife for him.' |
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24:39 And I asked my
master, 'What if she will not come with me?' |
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24:40 He answered,
'The LORD, whom I have always obeyed, will send his angel with you and give
you success. You will get for my son a wife from my own people, from my
father's family. |
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24:41 There is only
one way for you to be free from your vow: if you go to my relatives and they
refuse you, then you will be free.' |
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24:42 "When I
came to the well today, I prayed, ' LORD, God of my master Abraham, please
give me success in what I am doing. |
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24:43 Here I am at
the well. When a young woman comes out to get water, I will ask her to give
me a drink of water from her jar. |
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24:44 If she agrees
and also offers to bring water for my camels, may
she be the one that you have chosen as the wife for my master's son.' |
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24:45 Before I had
finished my silent prayer, Rebecca came with a water jar on her shoulder and
went down to the well to get water. I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.' |
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24:46 She quickly
lowered her jar from her shoulder and said, 'Drink, and I will also water
your camels.' So I drank, and she watered the camels. |
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24:47 I asked her,
'Who is your father?' And she answered, 'My father is Bethuel
son of Nahor and Milcah.'
Then I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her arms. |
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24:48 I knelt down
and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who
had led me straight to my master's relative, where I found his daughter for
my master's son. |
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24:49 Now, if you
intend to fulfill your responsibility toward my master and treat him fairly,
please tell me; if not, say so, and I will decide what to do." |
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24:50 Laban and Bethuel answered, "Since this matter comes from the
LORD, it is not for us to make a decision. |
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24:51 Here is
Rebecca; take her and go. Let her become the wife of your master's son, as
the LORD himself has said." |
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24:52 When the
servant of Abraham heard this, he bowed down and worshiped the LORD. |
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24:53 Then he
brought out clothing and silver and gold jewelry, and gave them to Rebecca.
He also gave expensive gifts to her brother and to her mother. |
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24:54 Then Abraham's
servant and the men with him ate and drank, and spent the night there. When
they got up in the morning, he said, "Let me go back to my master."
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24:55 But Rebecca's
brother and her mother said, "Let her stay with us a week or ten days,
and then she may go." |
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24:56 But he said,
"Don't make us stay. The LORD has made my journey a success; let me go
back to my master." |
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24:57 They answered,
"Let's call her and find out what she has to say." |
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24:58 So they called
Rebecca and asked, "Do you want to go with this man?"
"Yes," she answered. |
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24:59 So they let
Rebecca and her old family servant go with Abraham's servant and his men. |
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24:60 And they gave
Rebecca their blessing in these words: "May you, sister, become the
mother of millions! May your descendants conquer the cities of their enemies!" |
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24:61 Then Rebecca
and her young women got ready and mounted the camels to go with Abraham's
servant, and they all started out. |
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24:62 Isaac had come
into the wilderness of "The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me" and
was staying in the southern part of Canaan. |
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24:63 He went out in
the early evening to take a walk in the fields and saw camels coming. |
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24:64 When Rebecca
saw Isaac, she got down from her camel |
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24:65 and asked
Abraham's servant, "Who is that man walking toward us in the
field?" "He is my master," the servant answered. So she took
her scarf and covered her face. |
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24:66 The servant
told Isaac everything he had done. |
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24:67
Then Isaac brought Rebecca into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in, and she became his wife.
Isaac loved Rebecca, and so he was comforted for the loss of his mother. |
CHAPTER ENDS
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