A Wife for Isaac

1And Abraham was old & stricken in dayes, and the Lorde had blessed Abraham in all thinges. 2And Abraham saide vnto his eldest seruaut of his house, whiche had the rule ouer all that he had: put thy hande vnder my thigh: 3And I wyll make thee sweare by the Lorde God of heauen, and God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wyfe vnto my sonne of the daughters of the Chanaanites, amongest which I dwel: 4But thou shalt go vnto my countrey, and to my kinred, and take a wife vnto my sonne Isahac. 5But the seruaunt sayd vnto hym: peraduenture the woman wyll not agree to come with me vnto this lande, shall I bryng thy sonne againe vnto the land whiche thou cammest out of? 6To whom Abraham aunswered: beware that thou bring not my sonne thyther agayne. 7The Lorde God of heauen whiche toke me from my fathers house, & from the land of my kinred, and which spake vnto me, and that sware vnto me, saying, vnto thy seede wyll I geue this lande: he shall sende his angell before thee, and thou shalt take a wyfe vnto my sonne from thence. 8Neuerthelesse, if the woman wyl not folowe thee, then shalt thou be cleare from this my othe: onlye bring not my sonne thyther agayne. 9And the seruaunt put his hand vnder the thigh of Abraham his maister, and sware to hym as concernyng yt matter.

10And the seruaunt toke ten Camelles of the Camelles of his maister, & departed (& had of al maner of goods of his maister with him) and so he arose & went to Mesopotamia, vnto ye citie of Nachor. 11And made his Camelles to lye downe without the citie by a welles side of water at euen, about the time that women come out to drawe water. 12And he saide: Lord God of my maister Abraham, I pray thee sende me good speede this day, and shewe mercy vnto my maister Abraham. 13Lo, I stande here by the well of water, and the daughters of the me of this citie come out to drawe water: 14Nowe let the damsel to whom I say, stoupe downe thy pitcher I pray thee, that I may drinke: If she say also, drinke, and I wyll geue thy Camelles drinke also: let the same be she that thou hast ordeyned for thy seruaunt Isahac, and thereby shall I knowe that thou hast shewed mercy on my maister.

Rebekah Is Chosen

15And it came to passe yer he had lefte speakyng, beholde, Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bethuel, sonne to Milcha, the wyfe of Nachor Abrahams brother, and her pytcher vpon her shoulder: 16The damsel was very fayre to looke vpon, and yet a mayde, and vnknowen of man: and she went downe to the wel, and filled her pitcher, and came vp. 17And the seruaunt runnyng to meete her, sayde: let me I pray thee drinke a litle water of thy pitcher. 18And she sayd: drinke my Lorde. And she hasted, and let downe her pytcher vpon her arme, and gaue him drinke. 19And when she had geuen him drinke, she sayde: I wyll drawe water for thy Camelles also, vntyl they haue dronke ynough. 20And she poured out her pytcher into the trough hastyly, and ranne agayne vnto the well to draw water and drew for all his Camelles. 21And the man wondred at her, but held his peace, to witte whether the Lorde had made his iourney prosperous, or not.

22And as the Camelles had left drinking, the man tooke a golden earring of halfe a sickle wayght, and two bracelettes for her handes, of ten sickles wayght of golde, 23And sayde: whose daughter art thou? tell me I pray thee: is there rowme in thy fathers house for vs to lodge in? 24She aunswered hym: I am the daughter of Bethuel the sonne of Milcha whiche she bare vnto Nachor. 25And said moreouer vnto him, we haue litter and prouender ynough, and also rowme to lodge in. 26And the man bowed hymselfe, and worshipped the Lorde, 27And sayde: blessed be the Lorde God of my maister Abraham, whiche hath not left destitute my maister of his mercye and trueth: for when I was on my iourney, the Lorde brought me to my maisters brothers house.

28And the damsell ranne, and told them of her mothers house these thinges. 29And Rebecca had a brother called Laban: and he ranne out vnto the man, euen to the well. 30For assoone as he had seene the earerynges, and the bracelettes in his sisters hande, and hearde the wordes of Rebecca his sister, saying, thus sayde the man vnto me: he went out vnto the man, and lo, he stoode with the Camelles by the well syde, 31And he sayde: come thou blessed of the Lord, wherfore standest thou without? I haue dressed the house, & rowme for thy Camelles. 32And then the ma came into the house, and he vnharnessed the Camelles, and brought lytter and prouender for the Camelles, and water to wash his feete, & the mens feete that were with him. 33And there was set meate before hym to eate: but he sayd, I wyll not eate vntyll I haue sayde myne arande. And he sayd: say on. 34And he sayde: I am Abrahams seruaunt, 35And God blessed my maister merueylously, that he is become great, and hath geuen him sheepe and oxen, siluer and golde, men seruauntes, and maydeseruauntes, camelles and asses. 36And Sara my maisters wyfe bare hym a sonne when she was olde, and vnto him hath he geue all that he hath. 37And my maister made me sweare, saying: thou shalt not take a wyfe to my sonne amongest the daughters of the Chanaanites, in whose lande I dwell: 38But thou shalt go vnto my fathers house, and to my kinred, and take a wife vnto my sonne. 39And I sayde vnto my maister: peraduenture the woman wyll not folowe me. 40And he answered me: the Lord before whom I walke, wyll sende his angell with thee, and prosper thy iourney, and thou shalt take a wyfe for my sonne of my kinred, and of my fathers house. 41Then shalt thou be free from this othe made to me, when thou commest to my kinred: and yf they geue not thee one thou shalt be free from this othe made to me.

42And so I came this day vnto the wel, and sayde: O Lorde the God of my maister Abraham, if it be so nowe that thou makest my iourney whiche I go prosperous, 43Beholde, I stande by the well of water: and when a virgin commeth foorth to drawe water, and I say to her, Geue me I pray thee a little water of thy pitcher to drinke: 44And she say to me, Drinke thou, and I wyll also drawe for thy Camelles: let the same be the woman whom the Lorde hath prepared for my maisters sonne.

45And before I had made an ende of speakyng in myne heart, beholde, Rebecca came foorth, and her pitcher on her shoulder, and she went downe vnto the well, and drewe water, and I sayde vnto her, Geue me drinke I pray thee. 46And she made haste, and toke downe her pitcher from her shoulder and said: Drinke, and I wyll geue thy Camelles drinke also. So I dranke, and she gaue the Camelles drinke also. 47And I asked her, saying: whose daughter art thou? She answered: the daughter of Bethuel Nachors sonne, whom Milcha bare vnto hym: and I put the earring vpon her face, and the bracelettes vpon her handes. 48And I bowed my selfe, and worshipped the Lorde, and blessed the Lorde God of my maister Abraham, whiche had brought me the ryght way, to take my maisters brothers daughter vnto his sonne. 49Nowe also if he wyll consent to deale mercyfully and truely with my maister, tel me: and if not, tel me also, that I may turne me to the ryght hande, or to the left.

50Then aunswered Laban and Bethuel, saying: This saying is proceeded euen of the Lorde, we can not therefore say vnto thee eyther good or bad. 51Beholde, Rebecca is before thee, take her, and go, that she may be thy maisters sonnes wife, euen as god hath sayde.

52And when Abrahams seruaunt heard theyr wordes, he worshipped the Lord, bowyng hym selfe towarde the earth. 53And the seruaunt toke foorth iewelles of syluer, and iewelles of golde, and rayment, and gaue them to Rebecca: and to her brother, and to her mother he gaue costly gyftes 54And they did eate and drinke, both he and the men that were with hym, and taried all night: and when they rose vp in the mornyng, he said: let me depart vnto my maister. 55Her brother and her mother aunswered: let the damsell abyde with vs, and it be but euen ten dayes, and then shall she go. 56He sayde vnto them: hynder me not, beholde, the Lorde hath prospered my iourney, sende me away therefore, that I may go to my maister. 57And they sayde: we wyll call the damsell, and enquire at her mouth. 58And they called foorth Rebecca, and sayde vnto her: wylt thou go with this man? And she aunswered, I wyll go. 59So they let Rebecca theyr sister go, and her nurse, & Abrahams seruaunt, and his men.

60And they blessed Rebecca, and sayde vnto her: thou art our sister, growe into thousande thousandes, and thy seede possesse the gate of his enemies.

61And Rebecca arose and her damselles, and gat them vp vpon the Camelles, and folowed the man: and the seruaunt toke Rebecca, and went his waye.

Isaac Marries Rebekah

62And Isahac was commyng from the waye of the well of the lyuyng and seeyng me: for he dwelt in the South countrey. 63And Isahac was gone out to pray in the fielde at the euentide, and he lift vp his eyes, and saw the Camelles commyng. 64And Rebecca lyft vp her eyes, & when she sawe Isahac, she lyghted of the Camell, 65(For she said vnto the seruaunt: what man is this, that commeth walkyng against vs in the fielde? And the seruaunt sayd, it is my maister): therfore she toke her vayle and couered her. 66And the seruaunt tolde Isahac all thinges that he had done. 67And Isahac brought her into his mother Saraes tent, and toke Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loued her: and so Isahac receaued comfort after his mother.