New American Bible, Revised Edition

Genesis 24:9-22 New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE)

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

10. The servant then took ten of his master’s camels, and bearing all kinds of gifts from his master, he made his way to the city of Nahor in Aram Naharaim.

11. Near evening, at the time when women go out to draw water, he made the camels kneel by the well outside the city.

12. Then he said: “Lord, God of my master Abraham, let it turn out favorably for me today and thus deal graciously with my master Abraham.

13. While I stand here at the spring and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water,

14. if I say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jug, that I may drink,’ and she answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels, too,’ then she is the one whom you have decided upon for your servant Isaac. In this way I will know that you have dealt graciously with my master.”

15. He had scarcely finished speaking when Rebekah—who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor—came out with a jug on her shoulder.

16. The young woman was very beautiful, a virgin, untouched by man. She went down to the spring and filled her jug. As she came up,

17. the servant ran toward her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.”

18. “Drink, sir,” she replied, and quickly lowering the jug into her hand, she gave him a drink.

19. When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels, too, until they have finished drinking.”

20. With that, she quickly emptied her jug into the drinking trough and ran back to the well to draw more water, until she had drawn enough for all the camels.

21. The man watched her the whole time, silently waiting to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.

22. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose-ring weighing half a shekel, and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels for her wrists.