And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:

And I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:

But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.

And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?

And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.

The Lord God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.

And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.

And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.

10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.

12 And he said O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.

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He said to the senior servant(A) in his household, the one in charge of all that he had,(B) “Put your hand under my thigh.(C) I want you to swear(D) by the Lord, the God of heaven(E) and the God of earth,(F) that you will not get a wife for my son(G) from the daughters of the Canaanites,(H) among whom I am living,(I) but will go to my country and my own relatives(J) and get a wife for my son Isaac.(K)

The servant asked him, “What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land?(L) Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?(M)

“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,”(N) Abraham said. “The Lord, the God of heaven,(O) who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land(P) and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring[a](Q) I will give this land’(R)—he will send his angel before you(S) so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath(T) of mine. Only do not take my son back there.”(U) So the servant put his hand under the thigh(V) of his master(W) Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels(X) loaded with all kinds of good things(Y) from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim[b](Z) and made his way to the town of Nahor.(AA) 11 He had the camels kneel down near the well(AB) outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.(AC)

12 Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham,(AD) make me successful(AE) today, and show kindness(AF) to my master Abraham.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 24:7 Or seed
  2. Genesis 24:10 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia

And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

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Joseph found favor in his eyes(A) and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household,(B) and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.(C)

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