Genesis 24

EasyEnglish Bible

A wife for Isaac

24 Abraham was now a very old man. The Lord had blessed him in every way. ² Abraham had an important servant in his house. He had authority over everything that belonged to Abraham. Abraham said to him, ‘Come here and make a promise to me. Put your hand between my legs to show that I can trust you.^{[a] 3} You must make a serious promise to me in front of the Lord. He is the God who rules both heaven and earth. I am living among the Canaanite people, but you must promise this to me: Do not get a Canaanite woman to be a wife for my son. ⁴ Instead, you must go to my own country. Go to my family there to find a wife for my son Isaac.’

⁵ The servant asked Abraham, ‘What should I do if the woman will not agree? Maybe she will not come back with me to this land? Must I then take your son to the country that you came from?’

⁶ Abraham replied, ‘No! You must never take my son back there. ⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, took me away from there. He took me out of my father's house. He took me away from the land where my family lives. God made a serious promise to me. He said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” Because God has promised this, he will send his angel to go in front of you. When you arrive there, you will find a woman to marry my son. ⁸ But perhaps the woman will not agree to come back here with you. If that happens, you do not have to keep this promise. But do not take my son back to that land.’ ⁹ So the servant put his hand between Abraham's legs. The servant promised that he would do everything that Abraham had told him.

¹⁰ After that, Abraham's servant left to go on his journey. He took with him ten of his master's camels. He also took many different kinds of valuable gifts that Abraham had given to him.^[b] He travelled towards Aram Naharaim. He arrived in the town of Nahor.^[c]

¹¹ Abraham's servant stopped outside the town. He made the camels go down on their knees near a well. It was the evening time, when women came to the well to get water. ¹² The servant prayed to God. He prayed, ‘Lord, God of Abraham, my master, please be my guide today. Be kind to my master Abraham, as you have promised him. ¹³ See, I am standing here near this well. The daughters of the people who live in the town will come to get water from the well. ¹⁴ I will say to one of the young women, “Please let me have a drink of water from your pot.” If she is the right woman for your servant Isaac to marry, please may she say, “Yes, drink. Then I will give water to your camels also”. If that happens, then I will know that you have kept your promise to my master.’

¹⁵ The servant was still praying when Rebekah came to the well. She had her pot on her shoulder. Rebekah was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Milcah. Milcah was the wife of Abraham's brother, Nahor. ¹⁶ The young woman was very beautiful. She had not had sex with any man. She went down to the well. She filled her pot with water and she came back up again. ¹⁷ Abraham's servant hurried to meet her. He said, ‘Please give me a little water to drink from your pot.’ ¹⁸ She replied, ‘Yes sir, please drink.’ She quickly took the pot down from her shoulders. She held the pot with her hands and gave him a drink. ¹⁹ After she had done that, she said, ‘Now I will get some water for your camels too. I will do this until they have drunk as much water as they want.’ ²⁰ So Rebekah quickly poured the water from her pot into the place where the animals drank. She ran back to the well to get more water. She did this until the camels had drunk enough. ²¹ Abraham's servant watched the girl, but he did not say anything. He wanted to know if the Lord had helped him to find a wife for Isaac.

²² The camels finished drinking. Then Abraham's servant took out a valuable gold nose ring. It weighed one half shekel. He also took out two large gold rings for Rebekah's arms. They weighed 10 shekels each.

²³ The servant gave them to Rebekah and he asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there a room in your father's house for me and my men to sleep there tonight?’

²⁴ Rebekah replied ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel. Nahor is his father, and Milcah is his mother. ²⁵ We have plenty of grass and food for the camels. And there is a room for you to stay with us for the night.’

²⁶ Then the man turned his face towards the ground. He worshipped the Lord. ²⁷ He said, ‘I praise the Lord who is the God of my master, Abraham. He has been very kind to my master. He has done what he promised to do for him. The Lord has been kind to me too. He has led me here to the house of my master's family.’

²⁸ Rebekah quickly ran back home. She told her mother and her family about what had happened.

²⁹ Rebekah had a brother. His name was Laban. ³⁰ Laban saw the nose ring and the arm rings that Rebekah was wearing. Rebekah told him what the man had said to her. So Laban went out quickly to the well to meet the servant. He found him standing near the well, together with his camels. ³¹ Laban said to him, ‘The Lord has blessed you! You should not continue to stand out here. Come with me. I have prepared a room for you in my house. There is also a place for your camels.’

³² So Abraham's servant went with Laban to the house. They took the luggage off the camels. Someone brought grass and food for the camels. They also brought water so that Abraham's servant and his men could wash their feet. ³³ They prepared food for the servant but he said, ‘I will not eat yet. First I must tell you why I have come here.’ Laban said, ‘Please tell us.’

³⁴ So the servant said, ‘I am Abraham's servant. ³⁵ The Lord has blessed my master very much, so that he has become very rich. The Lord has given him sheep and cows, and silver and gold. He has also given him male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys. ³⁶ Sarah is my master's wife. She has given birth to a son for him, even when she was very old. My master has given his son everything that belongs to him. ³⁷ My master told me to make a serious promise to him. He said, “I live as a stranger among the Canaanite people. But you must not get a Canaanite woman to be a wife for my son. ³⁸ Instead, go to the land where my father lived and find a wife for my son from among my family there.”

³⁹ So I asked my master, “What should I do if the woman will not return with me?” ⁴⁰ My master said “I have lived to please the Lord. He will send his angel to go with you. You will find a wife for my son, because the Lord will help you. You will find a wife for him from among my own family. ⁴¹ Go to the place where my family group live. If they refuse to let you take her, you will no longer have to keep your promise to me.” 

⁴² I arrived at the town well today. I prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, please help me to find a wife for my master's son. This is why I have travelled here. ⁴³ See, I am standing here near this well. If a young woman comes to get water, I will say to her, ‘Please let me drink some water from your pot.’ ⁴⁴ If she is the woman that the Lord has chosen to marry my master's son, please may she say to me, ‘Yes, drink. Then I will also get some water for your camels to drink.’ ”

⁴⁵ While I was still praying quietly, Rebekah came to the well. She carried her pot on her shoulder. She went down to the well, and got some water. Then I said to her “Please give me some water to drink.” ⁴⁶ She quickly took her pot down from her shoulder. She said, “Drink. Then I will get water for your camels too.” So I drank. And she also gave water to the camels.

⁴⁷ I asked her, “Whose daughter are you?” She said, “I am the daughter of Bethuel. Nahor is his father and Milcah is his mother.” When I heard that, I put the ring in her nose. I put the rings on her arms. ⁴⁸ I turned my face towards the ground and I worshipped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham. The Lord led me to the right place so that I met the granddaughter of my master's brother. The Lord has led me to her, for my master's son. ⁴⁹ So tell me what you will say. If you will show true love to my master, then please say, “Yes.” But if not, then tell me. Then I will know what to do.’

⁵⁰ Laban and Bethuel replied, ‘We know that the Lord has caused all this to happen. So what we ourselves say is not important. ⁵¹ Here is Rebekah. Take her with you to become the wife of your master's son. That is what the Lord has shown to be right.’

⁵² When Abraham's servant heard their answer, he turned his face towards the ground to thank the Lord. ⁵³ He brought his master's gifts to give them to Rebekah. They were valuable things made from gold and silver, as well as beautiful clothes. He also gave valuable things to her brother and to her mother.

⁵⁴ After that, the servant ate a meal. The men who were with him also ate and drank. They stayed there for the night.

When they woke up the next morning, the servant said, ‘Let me leave now so that I can go back to my master.’ ⁵⁵ Rebekah's brother and her mother replied, ‘Please let Rebekah stay with us for a few more days. After about ten days, she can go with you.’ ⁵⁶ But the servant said, ‘Do not make me stay longer. The Lord has given me what I came here for. Let me leave now so that I can go back to my master.’ ⁵⁷ Rebekah's brother and mother said, ‘Let us call the girl. We can ask her what she wants to do.’ ⁵⁸ So they called Rebekah to come. They asked her, ‘Will you go with this man now?’ Rebekah said, ‘Yes, I will go.’

⁵⁹ So they agreed to let their sister Rebekah go. Her nurse went with her. They left there with Abraham's servant, and his men. ⁶⁰ As Rebekah was leaving, her brother and her mother blessed her. They said,

⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her female servants left there, together with Abraham's servant. They took camels to ride on. That was how the servant took Rebekah and left.

⁶² At this time Isaac had returned from Beer Lahai Roi.^[e] He was now living in the Negev.

⁶³ It was evening time. Isaac went out to walk in the fields. He looked up and he saw some camels. They were coming towards him.

⁶⁴ Rebekah also looked up and she saw Isaac. She got down from her camel. ⁶⁵ She asked Abraham's servant, ‘I see a man in the field who is coming towards us. Who is he?’ The servant replied, ‘He is my master’. Rebekah covered her face with a piece of cloth.^[f]

⁶⁶ Then the servant told Isaac everything that happened. ⁶⁷ Isaac took Rebekah into the tent that his mother Sarah had lived in. Rebekah became Isaac's wife. And Isaac loved Rebekah. So Isaac was happy again, after the death of his mother.