Genesis 24:2-28

2One day Abraham said to his oldest servant, the man in charge of his household, “Take an oath by putting your hand under my thigh.

3Swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not allow my son to marry one of these local Canaanite women.

4Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac.”

5The servant asked, “But what if I can’t find a young woman who is willing to travel so far from home? Should I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives in the land you came from?”

6“No!” Abraham responded. “Be careful never to take my son there.

7For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.

8If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath of mine. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there.”

9So the servant took an oath by putting his hand under the thigh of his master, Abraham. He swore to follow Abraham’s instructions.

10Then he loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts from his master, and he traveled to distant Aram-naharaim. There he went to the town where Abraham’s brother Nahor had settled.

11He made the camels kneel beside a well just outside the town. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.

12“O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. “Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham.

13See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water.

14This is my request. I will ask one of them, ‘Please give me a drink from your jug.’ If she says, ‘Yes, have a drink, and I will water your camels, too!’—let her be the one you have selected as Isaac’s wife. This is how I will know that you have shown unfailing love to my master.”

15Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah.

16Rebekah was very beautiful and old enough to be married, but she was still a virgin. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again.

17Running over to her, the servant said, “Please give me a little drink of water from your jug.”

18“Yes, my lord,” she answered, “have a drink.” And she quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and gave him a drink.

19When she had given him a drink, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink.”

20So she quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw water for all his camels.

21The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not the Lord had given him success in his mission.

22Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he took out a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets for her wrists.

23“Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And please tell me, would your father have any room to put us up for the night?”

24“I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied. “My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.

25Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the camels, and we have room for guests.”

26The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord.

27“Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s relatives.”

28The young woman ran home to tell her family everything that had happened.