¹ Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Woe to Nabo, for it is laid waste, and confounded: Cariathaim is taken: the strong city is confounded and hath trembled.

² There is no more rejoicing in Moab over Hesebon: they have devised evil. Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Therefore shalt thou in silence hold thy peace, and the sword shall follow thee.

³ A voice of crying from Oronaim: waste, and great destruction.

⁴ Moab is destroyed: proclaim a cry for her little ones.

⁵ For by the ascent of Luith shall the mourner go up with weeping: for in the descent of Oronaim the enemies have heard a howling of destruction.

⁶ Flee, save your lives: and be as heath in the wilderness.

⁷ For because thou hast trusted in thy bulwarks, and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be taken: and Chamos shall go into captivity, his priests, and his princes together.

⁸ And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: and the valleys shall perish, and the plains shall be destroyed, for the Lord hath spoken:

⁹ Give a flower to Moab, for in its flower it shall go out: and the cities thereof shall be desolate, and uninhabited.

¹⁰ Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully: and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.

¹¹ Moab hath been fruitful from his youth, and hath rested upon his lees: and hath not been poured out from vessel to vessel, nor hath gone into captivity : therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed.

¹² Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will send him men that shall order and overturn his bottles, and they shall cast him down, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles one against another.

¹³ And Moab shall be ashamed of Chamos, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, in which they trusted.

¹⁴ How do you say: We are valiant, and stout men in battle?

¹⁵ Moab is laid waste, and they have cast down her cities: and her choice young men are gone down to the slaughter: saith the king, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

¹⁶ The destruction of Moab is near to come: the calamity thereof shall come on exceeding swiftly.

¹⁷ Comfort him, all you that are round about him, and all you that know his name, say: How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod?

¹⁸ Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, O dwelling of the daughter of Dibon: because the spoiler of Moab is come up to thee, he hath destroyed thy bulwarks.

¹⁹ Stand in the way, and look out, O habitation of Aroer: inquire of him that fleeth: and say to him that hath escaped: What Is done?

²⁰ Moab is confounded, because he is overthrown: howl ye, and cry, tell ye it in Amen, that Moab is wasted.

²¹ And judgment is come upon the plain country: upon Helon, and upon Jasa, and upon Mephaath.

²² And upon Dibon, and upon Nabo, and upon the house of Deblathaim,

²³ And upon Cariathaim, and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmaon,

²⁴ And upon Carioth, and upon Bosra: and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near.

²⁵ The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.

²⁶ Make him drunk, because he lifted up himself against the Lord: and Moab shall dash his hand in his own vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

²⁷ For Israel hath been a derision unto thee: as though thou hadst found him amongst thieves: for thy words therefore, which thou hast spoken against him, thou shalt be led away captive.

²⁸ Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, you that dwell in Moab: and be ye Iike the dove that maketh her nest in the mouth of the hole in the highest place.

²⁹ We have heard the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his haughtiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the loftiness of his heart.

³⁰ I know, saith the Lord, his boasting, and that the strength thereof is not according to it, neither hath it endeavoured to do according as it was able.

³¹ Therefore will I lament for Moab, and I will cry out to all Moab, for the men of the brick wall that mourn.

³² O vineyard of Sabama, I will weep for thee, with the mourning of Jazer: thy branches are gone over the sea, they are come even to the sea of Jazer: the robber hath rushed in upon thy harvest and thy vintage.

³³ Joy and gladness is taken away from Carmel, and from the land of Moab, and I have taken away the wine out of the presses: the treader of the grapes shall not sing the accustomed cheerful tune.

³⁴ From the cry of Hesebon even to Eleale, and to Jasa, they have uttered their voice: from Segor to Oronaim, as a heifer of three years old: the waters also of Nemrim shall be very bad.

³⁵ And I will take away from Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth in the high places, and that sacrificeth to his gods.

³⁶ Therefore my heart shall sound for Moab like pipes: and my heart a sound like pipes for the men of the brick wall: because he hath done more than he could, therefore they have perished.

³⁷ For every head shall be bald, and every beard shall be shaven: all hands shall be tied together, and upon every back there shall be haircloth.

³⁸ Upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof general mourning: because I have broken Moab as an useless vessel, saith the Lord.

³⁹ How is it overthrown, and they have howled! How hath Moab bowed down the neck, and is confounded ! And Moab shall be a derision, and an example to all round about him.

⁴⁰ Thus saith the Lord: Behold he shall fly as an eagle, and shall stretch forth his wings to Moab.

⁴¹ Carioth is taken, and the strong holds are won: and the heart of the valiant men of Moab in that day shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.

⁴² And Moab shall cease to be a people : because he hath gloried against the Lord.

⁴³ Fear, and the pit, and the snare come upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.

⁴⁴ He that shall flee from the fear, shall fall into the pit: and he that shall get up out of the pit, shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon Moab the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

⁴⁵ They that fled from the snare stood in the shadow of Hesebon: but there came a fire out of Kesebon, and a flame out of the midst of Seen, and it shall devour part of Moab. and the crown of the head of the children of tumult.

⁴⁶ Woe to thee, Moab, thou hast perished, O people of Chamos: for thy sons, and thy daughters are taken captives.

⁴⁷ And I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the last days, saith the Lord. Hitherto the judgments of Moab.

¹ Abraham was old, and well stricken in age. Yahweh had blessed Abraham in all things.

² Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh.

³ I will make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live.

⁴ But you shall go to my country, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac."

⁵ The servant said to him, "What if the woman isn't willing to follow me to this land? Must I bring your son again to the land you came from?"

⁶ Abraham said to him, "Beware that you don't bring my son there again.

⁷ Yahweh, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house, and from the land of my birth, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, 'I will give this land to your seed.' He will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

⁸ If the woman isn't willing to follow you, then you shall be clear from this my oath. Only you shall not bring my son there again."

⁹ The servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.

¹⁰ The servant took ten camels, of his master's camels, and departed, having a variety of good things of his master's with him. He arose, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

¹¹ He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water.

¹² He said, "Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

¹³ Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. The daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.

¹⁴ Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, 'Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink,' and she will say, 'drink, and I will also give your camels a drink,'--let her be the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."

¹⁵ It happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder.

¹⁶ The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin, neither had any man known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and came up.

¹⁷ The servant ran to meet her, and said, "Please give me a drink, a little water from your pitcher."

¹⁸ She said, "Drink, my lord." She hurried, and let down her pitcher on her hand, and gave him Drink.

¹⁹ When she had done giving him drink, she said, "I will also draw for your camels, until they have done drinking."

²⁰ She hurried, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

²¹ The man looked steadfastly at her, remaining silent, to know whether Yahweh had made his journey prosperous or not.

²² It happened, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold,

²³ and said, "Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room in your father's house for us to lodge in?"

²⁴ She said to him, "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor."

²⁵ She said moreover to him, "We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in."

²⁶ The man bowed his head, and worshiped Yahweh.

²⁷ He said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me in the way to the house of my master's relatives."

²⁸ The young lady ran, and told her mother's house about these words.

²⁹ Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man, to the spring.

³⁰ It happened, when he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, "This is what the man said to me," that he came to the man. Behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

³¹ He said, "Come in, you blessed of Yahweh. Why do you stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and room for the camels."

³² The man came into the house, and he unloaded the camels. He gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

³³ Food was set before him to eat, but he said, "I will not eat until I have told my message." He said, "Speak on."

³⁴ He said, "I am Abraham's servant.

³⁵ Yahweh has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

³⁶ Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him.

³⁷ My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live,

³⁸ but you shall go to my father's house, and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.'

³⁹ I asked my master, 'What if the woman will not follow me?'

⁴⁰ He said to me, 'Yahweh, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you, and prosper your way. You shall take a wife for my son of my relatives, and of my father's house.

⁴¹ Then will you be clear from my oath, when you come to my relatives. If they don't give her to you, you shall be clear from my oath.'

⁴² I came this day to the spring, and said, 'Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, if now you do prosper my way which I go--

⁴³ behold, I am standing by this spring of water. Let it happen, that the maiden who comes forth to draw, to whom I will say, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,"

⁴⁴ and she will tell me, "Drink, and I will also draw for your camels,"--let her be the woman whom Yahweh has appointed for my master's son.'

⁴⁵ Before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder. She went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.'

⁴⁶ She hurried and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a Drink.' So I drank, and she also gave the camels a Drink.

⁴⁷ I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her hands.

⁴⁸ I bowed my head, and worshiped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son.

⁴⁹ Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me. If not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left."

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered, "The thing proceeds from Yahweh. We can't speak to you bad or good.

⁵¹ Behold, Rebekah is before you. Take her, and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as Yahweh has spoken."

⁵² It happened that when Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to the earth to Yahweh.

⁵³ The servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and her mother.

⁵⁴ They ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and stayed all night. They rose up in the morning, and he said, "Send me away to my master."

⁵⁵ Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young lady stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that she will go."

⁵⁶ He said to them, "Don't hinder me, since Yahweh has prospered my way. Send me away that I may go to my master."

⁵⁷ They said, "We will call the young lady, and ask her."

⁵⁸ They called Rebekah, and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will go."

⁵⁹ They sent away Rebekah, their sister, with her nurse, Abraham's servant, and his men.

⁶⁰ They blessed Rebekah, and said to her, "Our sister, may you be the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let your seed possess the gate of those who hate them."

⁶¹ Rebekah arose with her ladies. They rode on the camels, and followed the man. The servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

⁶² Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he lived in the land of the South.

⁶³ Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening. He lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels coming.

⁶⁴ Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel.

⁶⁵ She said to the servant, "Who is the man who is walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." She took her veil, and covered herself.

⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

⁶⁷ Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. He loved her. Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.