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Genesis 24

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1 And Abraham being·​·old, came·​·into days; and Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who administered* all that he had, Set, I pray, thy hand under my thigh.

3 And I will make thee swear by Jehovah the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a woman* for my son of the daughters of the Canaanite, in the midst of whom I dwell;

4 But thou shalt go to my land, and to my birth place; and take a woman for my son, for Isaac?

5 And the servant said to him, Perhaps the woman will not be·​·willing to go after me to this land; returning shall I return thy son to the land whence thou camest·​·out?

6 And Abraham said to him, Take·​·heed for thyself, lest thou return with my son thither.

7 Jehovah the God of the heavens, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, To thy seed will I give this land, He shall send His angel before thee, and thou shalt take a woman for my son from thence.

8 And if the woman be· not ·willing to go after thee, then thou shalt be cleared* from this my promise; only thou shalt not return my son thither.

9 And the servant set his hand under the thigh of Abraham his lord, and swore to him concerning this word.

10 And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his lord, and went, and every good of his lord was in his hand; and he arose and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor.

11 And he made· the camels ·to·​·kneel·​·down outside the city, toward the well of waters, towards the time of evening, towards the time the drawers go·​·out.

12 And he said, O Jehovah God of my lord Abraham, cause it to happen, I pray, before me today; and do mercy with my lord Abraham.

13 Behold, I stand·​·up by the fount of waters; and the daughters of the men of the city come·​·out to draw waters.

14 And it shall be, the damsel to whom I shall say, Incline thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and she shall say, drink, and I will give· thy camels ·drink also, her hast Thou destined for Thy servant Isaac; and thereby I shall know that Thou hast done mercy with my lord.

15 And it was that scarcely had he completed speaking, and behold, Rebekah came·​·out, who was·​·born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, with her pitcher on her shoulder.

16 And the damsel was exceedingly good in appearance, a virgin, and no man had known her; and she went·​·down to the fount, and filled her pitcher, and came·​·up.

17 And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray<sup>◦sup>, sip a·​·little water from thy pitcher.

18 And she said, Drink, my lord; and she hastened, and let·​·down her pitcher on her hand, and gave· him ·Drink.

19 And she completed giving· him ·drink, and she said, I will also draw for thy camels, until they have completed drinking.

20 And she hastened, and poured·​·out her pitcher into the watering trough, and ran yet again to the well to draw, and drew for all his camels.

21 And the man marveling at her, was·​·silent, to know whether Jehovah had made· his way ·prosper, or not.

22 And it was when the camels had completed drinking, that the man took a nose·​·jewel of gold, its weight a beka*, and two bracelets on her hands, ten of gold their weight.

23 And he said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray, is there a place in thy father’s house for us to pass·​·the·​·night?

24 And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, to whom she gave·​·birth for Nahor.

25 And she said to him, With us are both straw and much fodder, also a place to pass·​·the·​·night.

26 And the man bent, and bowed· himself ·down to Jehovah.

27 And he said, Blessed be Jehovah the God of my lord Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth from with my lord. I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of the brothers of my lord.

28 And the damsel ran, and told the house of her mother according·​·to these words.

29 And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban; and Laban ran to the man outside, to the fount.

30 And it was as he saw the nose·​·jewel, and the bracelets upon the hands of his sister, and as he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spoke the man to me, that he came to the man; and behold he stood by the camels by the fount.

31 And he said, Come thou blessed of Jehovah, why standest thou outside, for I have swept the house, and there is a place for the camels?

32 And the man came toward the house, and loosed the camels; and he gave straw and fodder for the camels, and water to bathe his feet, and the feet of the men who were with him.

33 And there was set before him to eat; and he said, I will not eat until I have spoken my words. And he said, Speak.

34 And he said, I am Abraham’s servant.

35 And Jehovah has blessed my lord exceedingly, and has magnified him, and has given to him flock and herd, and silver and gold, and menservants and handmaids, and camels and donkeys.

36 And Sarah, the wife of my lord, gave·​·birth to a son for my lord after her old·​·age; and he has given to him all that he has.

37 And my lord made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a woman for my son of the daughters of the Canaanite, in whose land I dwell.

38 Shalt thou not go to the house of my father, and to my family, and take a woman for my son?

39 And I said to my lord, Perhaps the woman will not go after me.

40 And he said to me, Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send His angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a woman for my son from my family, and from my father’s house.

41 Then shalt thou be cleared* from my oath, when thou comest to my family; and if they give not to thee, then thou shalt be cleared* from my oath.

42 And I came today to the fount, and said, O Jehovah God of my lord Abraham, if it·​·may·​·be to Thee, I pray, prosper my way on which I walk;

43 behold I stand·​·up by the fount of waters; and it shall be that the maiden coming·​·out to draw, and I shall say to her, Give· me ·drink, I pray, a·​·little water from thy pitcher;

44 and she shall say to me, Both thou drink, and I will also draw for thy camels. She shall be the woman whom Jehovah has destined for the son of my lord.

45 I scarcely had completed speaking to my heart, and behold Rebekah came·​·out; and her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went·​·down to the fount and drew; and I said to her, Give· me ·drink, I pray.

46 And she made·​·haste, and let·​·down her pitcher from upon her, and said, Drink, and I will give· thy camels ·Drink also; and I drank, and she gave·​·Drink to the camels also.

47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, to whom Milcah gave·​·birth. And I set the jewel above her nose, and the bracelets upon her hands.

48 And I bent and bowed· myself ·down to Jehovah, and blessed Jehovah God of my lord Abraham, who led me into the way of truth, to take the daughter of my lord’s brother for his son.

49 And now if it·​·is you doing mercy and truth with my lord, tell me; and if not, tell me; and I will face to the right·​·hand, or to the left.

50 And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The word has gone·​·out from Jehovah; we cannot speak to thee evil or good.

51 Behold Rebekah is before thee; take her, and go, and let her be the woman for thy lord’s son, as Jehovah has spoken.

52 And it was, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, that he bowed· himself ·down to the earth to Jehovah.

53 And the servant brought·​·out vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments, and gave to Rebekah; and he gave precious·​·things to her brother and to her mother.

54 And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him; and they passed·​·the·​·night; and they rose·​·up in the morning, and he said, Send me to my lord.

55 And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel dwell with us a few days, or ten; afterwards thou shalt go.

56 And he said to them, Do not delay me, and Jehovah has prospered my way; send· me ·away, and I will go to my lord.

57 And they said, Let us call the damsel, and ask at her mouth.

58 And they called Rebekah, and said to her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.

59 And they sent·​·away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and the servant of Abraham, and his men.

60 And they blessed Rebekah, and said to her, Our sister, be thou for thousands of myriads; and may thy seed possess the gate of those that hate her*,

61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode on the camels, and went after the man; and the servant took Rebekah, and went.

62 And Isaac came from the coming of Beer-lahai-roi; and he dwelt in the land of the south.

63 And Isaac went·​·out to meditate* in the field as it turned toward evening; and he lifted·​·up his eyes and saw, and behold there were camels coming.

64 And Rebekah lifted·​·up her eyes, and saw Isaac, and she alighted from off the camel.

65 And she said to the servant, Who is this· man ·yonder walking in the field to meet us? And the servant said, He is my lord. And she took the veil and covered herself.

66 And the servant recounted to Isaac all the words that he had done.

67 And Isaac brought her to his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah, and she was to him for a woman*, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Heart

  
by Caleb Kerr

The heart means love. A good heart means love to the Lord and to the neighbor, while a hard or stony heart means the love of self or the world -- riches and things. When the psalmist asks the Lord to search his heart, he wants the Lord to see what it is that he loves. And we are what we love. What we eat may form our earthly body, but it's only temporary, what we love forms our spiritual body, beautiful or ugly as we have chosen. It's interesting to note that the first multi-cellular motion of our embryo is the pulsating that starts in a twist of blood vessel that is to become our heart, and the last motion of our natural body is our heartbeat. It is there for all of our natural life. And of course there is a beating heart in our spiritual bodies when we come to put them on.