Abraham was old, advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in everything.Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who was in charge of all he had, “Please put your hand under my thigh,and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live.Instead, you must go to my country and to my relatives and take a wife for my son Isaac.”The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Should I then take your son back to the land you came from?”Abraham said to him, “Be careful not to take my son back there.The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ will send his angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.If the woman is not willing to follow you, you will be free from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter.The servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out, taking all kinds of his master’s good things with him. He rose and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor.He made the camels kneel outside the city beside the well of water at evening, the time when the women came out to draw water.He said, “LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show kindness to my master Abraham.Here I am, standing beside the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.Let the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please lower your jar so that I may drink,’ and who says, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels,’ be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By her I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.”Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother.The young woman was very beautiful, a virgin who had never had sexual relations with a man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.”She said, “Drink, my lord,” and quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink.When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels too, until they have finished drinking.”She quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew water for all his camels.The man watched her in silence to find out whether the LORD had made his journey successful or not.When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose ring weighing half a shekel, about 0.2 ounces, and two gold bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels, about four ounces, in all.He said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son Milcah bore to Nahor.”She also said to him, “We have plenty of straw and feed, and room to spend the night.”The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD.He said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has guided me on the way to the house of my master’s relatives.”The young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things.Rebekah had a brother named Laban. Laban ran out to the man at the spring.When he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and when he heard his sister Rebekah say, “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man, who was standing beside the camels at the spring.He said, “Come in, you who are blessed by the LORD. Why are you standing outside? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”The man went into the house. The camels were unharnessed and given straw and feed, and water was provided to wash his feet and the feet of the men with him.Food was set before him to eat, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.” He was told, “Speak.”He said, “I am Abraham’s servant.The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, camels and donkeys.Sarah, my master’s wife, bore my master a son in her old age, and he has given him all he has.My master made me swear, saying, ‘You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live.Instead, you must go to my father’s house and to my family and take a wife for my son.’I said to my master, ‘Perhaps the woman will not follow me.’He said to me, ‘The LORD, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and make your journey successful. You will take a wife for my son from my family and from my father’s house.Then you will be free from my oath when you reach my family. If they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.’Today I came to the spring and said, ‘LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you are willing to make the journey I am taking successful,here I am, standing beside the spring of water. Let the young woman who comes out to draw water, to whom I say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,”and who says to me, “Drink, and I will also draw water for your camels,” be the woman the LORD has appointed for my master’s son.’Before I had finished speaking in my heart, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’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 too.I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ Then I put the ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists.I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had guided me on the right way to take a descendant of my master’s brother as a wife for his son.Now, if you will show kindness and faithfulness to my master, tell me. If not, tell me, so that I may turn to the right or to the left.”Laban and Bethuel answered, “This matter comes from the LORD. We can say nothing to you, bad or good.Here is Rebekah 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 to the ground before the LORD.The servant brought out silver and gold jewelry and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious gifts to her brother and her mother.He and the men with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they rose in the morning, he said, “Send me back to my master.”Her brother and her mother said, “Let the young woman stay with us a few days, perhaps ten. After that she may go.”He said to them, “Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey successful. Send me on my way so that I may go to my master.”They said, “Let us call the young woman and ask her.”They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.”So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse, along with Abraham’s servant and his men.They blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and may your offspring possess the gate of those who hate them.”Rebekah and her young women rose, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went on his way.Now Isaac had come from the direction of Beer-lahai-roi. He was living in the Negev.Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening. He lifted up his eyes and saw camels coming.Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac, and she got down from the camel.She said to the servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “He is my master.” Then she took her veil and covered herself.The servant told Isaac all the things he had done.Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Derechos y atribución
Holy Bible, BibliaTodo New Translation (BTNT). Published by BibliaTodo Bible Society, an imprint of BibliaTodo LLC.