Genesis 22-24

New Life Version

Abraham Is Tested

22 Later God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” Abraham said, “Here I am.” ² God said, “Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love. And go to the land of Moriah. Give him as a burnt gift on the altar in worship, on one of the mountains I will show you.” ³ So Abraham got up early in the morning and got his donkey ready. He took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac. He cut wood for the burnt gift. And he went to the place where God told him to go. ⁴ Abraham looked up on the third day and saw the place far away. ⁵ He said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go to that place and worship, and return to you.” ⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt gift and had Isaac carry it. He took in his hand the fire and the knife. And the two of them walked on together. ⁷ Then Isaac said to Abraham, “My father!” Abraham answered, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “See, here is the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for the burnt gift?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God will have for Himself a lamb ready for the burnt gift, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.

⁹ Then they came to the place that God told them about. Abraham built the altar there, and set the wood in place. Then he tied rope around his son Isaac, and laid him upon the wood on the altar. ¹⁰ And Abraham put out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham! Abraham!” And Abraham said, “Here I am.” ¹² The angel of the Lord said, “Do not put out your hand against the boy. Do nothing to him. For now I know that you fear God. You have not kept from Me your son, your only son.” ¹³ Then Abraham looked and saw a ram behind him, with his horns caught in the bushes. Abraham went and took the ram, and gave him as a burnt gift instead of his son. ¹⁴ Abraham gave that place the name “The Lord will give us what we need.” And it is said to this day, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be given.”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time. ¹⁶ He said, “I have promised by Myself, says the Lord, because you have done this and have not kept from Me your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will bring good to you. I will add many to the number of your children and all who come after them, like the stars of the heavens and the sand beside the sea. They will take over the cities of those who hate them. ¹⁸ Good will come to all the nations of the earth by your children and their children’s children. Because you have obeyed My voice.” ¹⁹ So Abraham returned to his young men. And they got up and went with him to Beersheba. Abraham made his home there.

²⁰ Later it was told to Abraham, “Milcah also has given birth to the children of your brother Nahor: ²¹ Uz the first-born, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, ²² Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.” ²³ Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. Milcah gave birth to these eight by Nahor, Abraham’s brother. ²⁴ And Reumah, the woman he kept who acted as his wife, gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

The Death of Sarah

23 Sarah lived 127 years. These were the years of Sarah’s life. ² Then Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. And Abraham had sorrow for Sarah and cried for her. ³ Then Abraham got up from beside his dead wife, and said to the sons of Heth, ⁴ “I am a stranger living among you for a time. Give me some of your land so I may bury my wife.” ⁵ The sons of Heth answered Abraham, ⁶ “Listen to us, my lord. You are a powerful ruler among us. Bury your wife in the best of our graves. None of us will keep his grave from you for burying your wife.” ⁷ So Abraham stood up and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. ⁸ He said to them, “If you are willing to have me bury my wife, hear me, and ask Zohar’s son Ephron for me. ⁹ Ask him to give me the grave of Machpelah which he has at the other side of his field. Let him give it to me for the full price in front of you, for a place to bury my wife.”

¹⁰ Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham so what he said could be heard by the sons of Heth and all who came in through the gate of his city. ¹¹ He said, “No, my lord. Listen to me. I give you the field. And I give you the grave that is in it. I give it to you in front of the sons of my people. Bury your wife.”

¹² Abraham bowed to the people of the land. ¹³ He said to Ephron so that all the people of the land heard it, “Listen to me if you will. I will give you the price of the field. Receive it from me, that I may bury my wife there.”

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵ “My lord, listen to me. The land is worth four hundred pieces of silver. What is that between me and you? So bury your wife.”

¹⁶ Abraham listened to Ephron. And Abraham weighed for Ephron the silver which he had said and was heard by the sons of Heth to be the price, four hundred pieces of silver. He weighed it in the same way those who buy and sell weighed it at that time. ¹⁷ So Ephron’s field in Machpelah east of Mamre, the field and grave that was in it, and all the trees within the sides of the field, were handed over ¹⁸ to Abraham for his own. It was handed over in front of the sons of Heth and all who came in through the gate of his city. ¹⁹ After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the grave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. ²⁰ The field and the grave in it were handed over to Abraham by the sons of Heth for a place to bury his wife.

Isaac and Rebekah

24 Now Abraham was old. He had lived many years. And the Lord had brought good to Abraham in every way. ² Abraham said to the oldest servant in his house and the one who took care of all that he owned, “Place your hand under my hip, ³ and I will have you promise by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth. Promise that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, who live around me. ⁴ But go to my country and to those of my family. Take a wife for my son Isaac from there.” ⁵ The servant said to Abraham, “What if the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land? Should I take your son to the land you came from?” ⁶ Abraham said to him, “Make sure that you do not take my son there. ⁷ The Lord, the God of heaven, Who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, spoke to me and promised me. He said, ‘I will give this land to your children and to their children’s children.’ He will send His angel in front of you. And you will take a wife for my son from there. ⁸ But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this promise to me. Only do not take my son there.” ⁹ So the servant placed his hand under the hip of Abraham, and he promised to do this.

¹⁰ Then the servant took ten of Abraham’s camels and left. He took with him all kinds of gifts from Abraham. Then he went to the city of Nahor in Mesopotamia. ¹¹ He made the camels get down on their knees outside the city by the well of water in the evening. It was the time when women go out to get water. ¹² He said, “O Lord, the God of my boss Abraham, let all go well for me today. Show loving-kindness to my boss Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing here by the well of water. And the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to get water. ¹⁴ If I say to a girl, ‘Let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and she answers, ‘Drink, and I will give water to your camels also,’ let her be the one whom You have chosen for your servant Isaac. I will know by this that You have shown loving-kindness to my boss.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah came out, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor, the brother of Abraham. She had a jar on her shoulder. ¹⁶ The girl was very beautiful and had never lain with a man. She went down to the well, filled her jar and came up. ¹⁷ Then the servant ran to meet her. He said, “Let me drink a little water from your jar.” ¹⁸ She said, “Drink, my lord.” And she was quick to lift her jar to her hand and give him a drink. ¹⁹ When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will get water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” ²⁰ She was quick to empty her jar into the animals’ drinking place. Then she ran to the well for more water, and got enough for all his camels.

²¹ The man was quiet and watched her, waiting to know if the Lord had made all go well or not during his visit. ²² When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a heavy gold ring and two heavy gold objects to wear on her arms. ²³ He said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, is there a place for us to stay in your father’s house?” ²⁴ She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah and Nahor.” ²⁵ She also said, “We have both enough straw and food, and a place to stay.” ²⁶ Then the man bowed low and worshiped the Lord. ²⁷ He said, “Honor and thanks be to the Lord, the God of my boss Abraham. He has not kept His loving-kindness and His truth from my boss. He has led me in the way to the house of my boss’s brothers.”

²⁸ Then the girl ran and told about all this to those in her mother’s house. ²⁹ Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. And Laban ran outside to the man at the well. ³⁰ When he saw the gold objects his sister was wearing, and heard his sister Rebekah saying, “This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man. He saw him standing by the camels at the well. ³¹ Laban said, “Come in, you who receive good from the Lord! Why do you stand outside? I have made the house ready, and a place for the camels.” ³² So the man came into the house. Laban took the load off the camels, and gave them straw and food. He got water to wash the feet of Abraham’s servant and the feet of the men who were with him. ³³ Then food was set in front of the man to eat. But he said, “I will not eat until I have told you why I came here.” Laban said, “Tell it.” ³⁴ So he said, “I am Abraham’s servant. ³⁵ And the Lord has brought much good to my boss. He has become rich. The Lord has given him flocks and cattle, silver and gold, men and women servants, and camels and donkeys. ³⁶ My boss’s wife Sarah gave birth to my boss’s son when she was very old. And he has given him all he has.

³⁷ “My boss made me promise, saying, ‘Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live. ³⁸ But go to my father’s house, to those of my family, and take a wife for my son there.’ ³⁹ I said to my owner, ‘What if the woman will not follow me?’ ⁴⁰ He said to me, ‘The Lord, Whom I have always obeyed, will send His angel with you to make all go well during your visit there. You will take a wife for my son from those of my family and from my father’s house. ⁴¹ Then you will be free from your promise to me. When you come to those of my family, and if they do not give her to you, then you will be free from your promise to me.’

⁴² “So I came to the well today. I said, ‘O Lord, the God of my boss Abraham, may all go well during my visit here. ⁴³ See, I am standing by the well of water. If I say to the girl who comes out for water, “Let me drink a little water from your jar,” ⁴⁴ and she says, “You drink, and I will get water for your camels also,” then let her be the woman whom the Lord has chosen for my boss’s son.’ ⁴⁵ Before I had finished speaking in my heart, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the well and got water. I asked her, ‘Let me drink.’ ⁴⁶ And she was quick to take down her jar from her shoulder. She said, ‘Drink, and I will give water to your camels also.’ So I drank and she gave water to the camels also. ⁴⁷ Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah and Nahor.’ And I put the gold objects on her nose and arms. ⁴⁸ Then I bowed low and worshiped the Lord. I gave honor and thanks to the Lord, the God of my boss Abraham. For He had led me in the right way to take the daughter of my boss’s brother for his son. ⁴⁹ So now if you will show kindness and be true to my boss, tell me. And if not, tell me so I may know which way to turn.”

⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “This thing comes from the Lord. We cannot speak for or against it. ⁵¹ See, Rebekah is in front of you. Take her and go. Let her be the wife of your boss’s son, as the Lord has spoken.” ⁵² When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he put his face to the ground before the Lord. ⁵³ He brought out things made of silver and gold, and clothes, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave things of much worth to her brother and mother also. ⁵⁴ Then he and the men with him ate and drank and stayed the night there. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Send me away to my boss.”

⁵⁵ But her brother and her mother said, “Let the girl stay with us a few days, at least ten. Then she may go.” ⁵⁶ But he said to them, “Do not make me stay any more days, since the Lord has made my way go well. Send me away so I may go to my boss.” ⁵⁷ They said, “We will call the girl and ask her what she wants to do.” ⁵⁸ They called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” ⁵⁹ So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse. They went with Abraham’s servant and the men who were with him. ⁶⁰ They prayed that good would come to Rebekah, and said to her, “You are our sister. May you become the mother of millions. May your children and all their children’s children after them take over the cities of those who hate them.” ⁶¹ Then Rebekah and her servants got up on the camels and followed the man. So the servant of Abraham took Rebekah and left.

⁶² Now Isaac had come from Beerlahairoi, and was living in the Negev. ⁶³ Isaac had gone out to pray in the field in the evening. He looked up and saw that camels were coming. ⁶⁴ And Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. She got off the camel ⁶⁵ and said to Abraham’s servant, “Who is that man walking in the field to meet us?” Abraham’s servant said, “He is my boss.” So she took a cloth and covered her face. ⁶⁶ The servant told Isaac all the things he had done. ⁶⁷ Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. And he loved her. So Isaac found comfort after his mother’s death.