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Then ^(C1)the young woman ran and told her mother's household about these things.

Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^(C1)Laban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring.

When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's ^(F1)wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, "^(F2)This is what the man said to me," he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

And he said, "^(C1)Come in, ^(C2)blessed of the LORD! Why do you stand outside, since ^(C3)I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?"

So the man entered the house. Then ^(F1)(C1)Laban unloaded the camels, and he gave straw and feed to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

But when food was set before him to eat, he said, "I will not eat until I have stated my business." And he said, "Speak on."

So he said, "I am ^(C1)Abraham's servant.

"The LORD has greatly ^(C1)blessed my master, so that he has become ^(F1)rich; and He has given him ^(C2)flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and slave women, and camels and donkeys.

"Now ^(C1)my master's wife Sarah bore a son to my master ^(F1)in her old age, and ^(C2)he has given him all that he has.

"^(C1)My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live;

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

"Then ^(C1)I said to my master, 'Suppose the woman does not follow me.'

"And he said to me, '^(C1)The LORD, before whom I have ^(C2)walked, will send ^(C3)His angel with you to make your journey successful, and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father's house;

^(C1)then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my relatives; and if they do not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.'

"So ^(C1)I came today to the spring, and said, 'LORD, God of my master Abraham, if now You will make my journey on which I have been going ^(C2)successful;

behold, ^(C1)I am standing by the ^(F1)spring, and may it be that the ^(F2)young unmarried woman who comes out to draw water, and to whom I say, "^(C2)Please let me drink a little water from your jar";

and she says to me, "You drink, and I will draw for your camels also"—let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master's son.'

"Before I had finished ^(C1)speaking in my heart, behold, ^(C2)Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew water, and ^(C3)I said to her, 'Please let me drink.'

"She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder, and said, '^(C1)Drink, and I will water your camels also'; so I drank, and she watered the camels also.

"^(C1)Then I asked her, and said, 'Whose daughter are you?' And she said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him'; and I put the ^(C2)ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her ^(F1)wrists.

"And I ^(C1)bowed low and worshiped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, ^(C2)who had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

"So now if you are going to ^(F1)(C1)deal kindly and truthfully with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me now, so that I may turn to the right or the left."

Then Laban and Bethuel replied, "^(C1)The matter has come from the LORD; ^(C2)so we cannot speak to you bad or good.

"Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken."

When Abraham's servant heard their words, he ^(C1)bowed himself to the ground ^(F1)before the LORD.

And the servant brought out ^(C1)articles of silver and articles of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, "^(C1)Send me away to my master."

But her brother and her mother said, "^(C1)Let the young woman stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go."

However, he said to them, "Do not delay me, since ^(C1)the LORD has prospered my way. Send me away so that I may go to my master."

And they said, "We will call the young woman and ^(F1)ask her."

Then they called Rebekah and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go."

So they sent away their sister Rebekah and ^(C1)her nurse with Abraham's servant and his men.

And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "May you, our sister, ^(C1)Become thousands of ten thousands, And may ^(C2)your ^(F1)descendants possess The gate of those who hate them."

Then Rebekah got up with her female attendants, and they mounted the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

Now Isaac had come back from ^(F1)a journey to ^(C1)Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in ^(C2)the ^(F2)Negev.

Isaac went out ^(C1)to ^(F1)meditate in the field toward evening; and ^(C2)he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming.

Rebekah raised her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel.

She said to the servant, "Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?" And the servant said, "He is my master." Then she took her ^(F1)veil and covered herself.

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

Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and ^(C1)he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and ^(C2)he loved her; so Isaac was comforted after ^(C3)his mother's death.

Now Abraham took another wife, ^(F1)whose name was Keturah.

^(C1)She bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were the sons of Keturah.

^(C1)Now Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac;

but to the sons of ^(F1)his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and ^(C1)sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

These are ^(F1)all the years of Abraham's life that he lived, ^(C1)175 years.

Abraham breathed his last and died ^(C1)at a good old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was ^(C2)gathered to his people.

Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in ^(C1)the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre,

^(C1)the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah.

It came about after the death of Abraham, that ^(C1)God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac ^(F1)lived by ^(C2)Beer-lahai-roi.

Now these are the records of the generations of ^(C1)Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's slave woman, bore to Abraham;

and these are the names of ^(C1)the sons of Ishmael, by their names, ^(F1)in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; ^(C1)twelve princes according to their ^(F1)tribes.

These are the years of the life of Ishmael, ^(C1)137 years; and he breathed his last and died, and was ^(C2)gathered to his people.

They ^(F1)settled from ^(C1)Havilah to ^(C2)Shur which is ^(F2)east of Egypt ^(F3)going toward Assyria; ^(C3)he ^(F4)settled in defiance of all his relatives.

Now these are the records of ^(C1)the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham fathered Isaac;

and Isaac was forty years old when he took ^(C1)Rebekah, the ^(C2)daughter of Bethuel the ^(F1)Aramean of Paddan-aram, the ^(C3)sister of Laban the ^(F1)Aramean, to be his wife.

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children; and ^(C1)the LORD ^(F1)answered him, and his wife Rebekah ^(C2)conceived.

But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why am I in this condition?" So she went to ^(C1)inquire of the LORD.

And the LORD said to her, "^(C1)Two nations are in your womb; ^(C2)And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people will be stronger than the other; And ^(C3)the older will serve the younger."

When her days leading to the delivery were at an end, behold, there were twins in her womb.

Now the first came out red, ^(C1)all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.

Afterward his brother came out with ^(C1)his hand holding on to Esau's heel, so ^(C2)he was named ^(F1)Jacob; and Isaac was ^(C3)sixty years old when she gave birth to them.

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a ^(F1)civilized man, ^(C1)living in tents.

Now Isaac loved Esau because ^(F1)he had ^(C1)a taste for game; ^(C2)but Rebekah loved Jacob.

When Jacob had cooked a ^(C1)stew one day, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted;

and Esau said to Jacob, "Please let me have a mouthful of ^(F1)that red stuff there, for I am exhausted." Therefore he was called ^(F2)Edom by name.

But Jacob said, "^(F1)First sell me your ^(C1)birthright."

Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?"

And Jacob said, "^(F1)First swear to me"; so he swore an oath to him, and ^(C1)sold his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and got up and went on his way. So Esau despised his birthright.

Now there was ^(C1)a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to ^(C2)Abimelech king of the Philistines.

And the LORD ^(C1)appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; ^(C2)stay in the land of which I shall tell you.

"Live for a time in this land and ^(C1)I will be with you and ^(C2)bless you, for ^(C3)to you and to your ^(F1)descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish ^(C4)the oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

"^(C1)I will multiply your ^(F1)descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your ^(F1)descendants all these lands; and ^(C2)by your ^(F1)descendants all the nations of the earth ^(F2)shall be blessed,

because Abraham ^(F1)(C1)obeyed Me and fulfilled his duty to Me, and kept My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."

So Isaac lived in Gerar.

When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, "^(C1)She is my sister," for he was ^(C2)afraid to say, "my wife," thinking, "^(F1)the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is ^(C3)beautiful."

Now it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through a window, and saw them, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah.

Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Behold, she certainly is your wife! So how is it that you said, 'She is my sister'?" And Isaac said to him, "Because I thought, 'otherwise I might be killed on account of her.'"

And ^(C1)Abimelech said, "What is this that you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us."

So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, "He who ^(C1)touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death."

Now Isaac sowed in that land and ^(F1)reaped in the same year a hundred times as much. And ^(C1)the LORD blessed him,

and the man ^(C1)became rich, and continued to grow ^(F1)richer until he became very ^(F1)wealthy;

for ^(C1)he had possessions of flocks ^(F1)and herds, and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him.

Now ^(C1)all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up ^(F1)by filling them with dirt.

Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you are ^(F1)(C1)too powerful for us."

So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and ^(F1)settled there.

Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which ^(F1)had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he ^(F2)gave them the same names which his father had ^(F3)given them.

But when Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found there a well of ^(F1)flowing water,

the herdsmen of Gerar ^(C1)quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours!" So he named the well ^(F1)Esek, because they argued with him.

Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it ^(F1)Sitnah.

Then he moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it ^(F1)Rehoboth, for he said, "^(F2)(C1)At last the LORD has made ^(F3)room for us, and we will be ^(C2)fruitful in the land."

And he went up from there to ^(C1)Beersheba.

And the LORD ^(C1)appeared to him the same night and said, "^(C2)I am the God of your father Abraham; ^(C3)Do not fear, for I am with you. I ^(C4)will bless you and multiply your ^(F1)descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham."

So he built an ^(C1)altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Then ^(C1)Abimelech came to him from Gerar ^(F1)with his adviser Ahuzzath, and Phicol the commander of his army.

Isaac said to them, "^(C1)Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?"

They said, "We have seen plainly ^(C1)that the LORD has been with you; so we said, 'An oath must now be taken ^(F1)by us,' that is, ^(F2)by you and us. So let us make a covenant with you,

that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you ^(F1)and have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace. You are now the ^(C1)blessed of the LORD."

Then ^(C1)he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

In the morning they got up early and ^(F1)(C1)exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.

Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac's servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water."

So he called it ^(F1)Shibah; therefore the name of the city is ^(C1)Beersheba to this day.

When Esau was forty years old ^(C1)he ^(F1)married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite;

and ^(C1)they ^(F1)brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.