Then the girl ran and told her mother’s household what had happened. Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to the man at the well. When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s arms, and when he heard Rebekah his sister, saying, “The man said this to me,” he went to Eliezer and found him standing by the camels at the spring. And Laban said, “Come in, blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside since I have made the house ready and have prepared a place for the camels?” So the man came into the house, and Laban unloaded his camels and gave them straw and feed, and [he gave] water to [Eliezer to] wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. But when food was set before him, he said, “I will not eat until I have stated my business.” And Laban said, “Speak on.” So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great (wealthy, powerful); He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys. Now Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was in her old age, and he has given everything that he has to him. My master made me swear [an oath], saying, ‘You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; but you shall [instead] go to my father’s house and to my family and take a wife for my son [Isaac].’ Then I said to my master, ‘But suppose the woman will not follow me [back to this land].’ He said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I walk [habitually and obediently], will send His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father’s house; then you will be free of my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will [also] be free of my oath.’
“I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I go successful; please look, I am standing by the spring of water; now let it be that when the maiden [whom You have chosen for Isaac] comes out to draw [water], and to whom I say, “Please, give me a little water to drink from your jar”; and if she says to me, “You drink, and I will also draw [water] for your camels”; let that woman be the one whom the LORD has selected and chosen [as a wife] for my master’s son.’
“Before I had finished praying in my heart, behold, Rebekah came out with her [water] jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Please, let me have a drink.’ And she quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels’; so I drank, and she also watered the camels. Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put the ring in her nose, and the bracelets on her arms. And I bowed down my head and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s brother to his son [as a wife]. So now if you are going to show kindness and truth to my master [being faithful to him], tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right or to the left [and go on my way].”
Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The matter has come from the LORD; so we dare not speak bad or good [to you about it—we cannot interfere]. Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.”
When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground [in worship] before the LORD. Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and articles of clothing, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and her mother. Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night [there]. In the morning when they got up, he said, “Now send me back to my master.” But Rebekah’s brother and mother said, “Let the girl stay with us a few days—at least ten; then she may go.” But Eliezer said to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away, so that I may go back to my master.” And they said, “We will call the girl and ask her what she prefers.” So they called Rebekah and said, “Will you go with this man?” And she answered, “I will go.” So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse [Deborah, as her attendant] and Abraham’s servant [Eliezer] and his men. They blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister,
Become [the mother of] thousands of ten thousands,
And may your descendants possess (conquer)
The [city] gate of those who hate them.”
Then Rebekah and her attendants stood, and they mounted camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.
Now Isaac had returned from going to Beer-lahai-roi (Well of the Living One Who Sees Me), for he was living in the Negev. [Gen 16:14] Isaac went out to bow down [in prayer] in the field in the [early] evening; he raised his eyes and looked, and camels were coming. Rebekah also raised her eyes and looked, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from her camel. She said to the servant, “Who is that man there walking across the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master [Isaac].” So she took a veil and covered herself [as was customary]. The servant told Isaac everything that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and he took Rebekah [in marriage], and she became his wife, and he loved her; therefore Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Bible App
Bible App for Kids
