1. ANᴅ Abraham was old, and of manie dayes: and our Lord had blessed him in al things.
2. And he said to the elder seruant of his house, which was ruler ouer al that he had: Put
thy hand vnder my thighe,
3. that I may adiure thee by our Lord, God of heauen and earth, that thou take not a wife
for my sonne, of the daughters of the Cananites, among whom I dwel:
4. but that thou goe vnto myne owne countrie and kindred, and thence take a wife for my
sonne Isaac.
5. The seruant answered: If the woman wil not come with me into this land, whether must
I bring thy sonne backe againe to the place, from whence thou didest come forth?
6. And Abraham said: Beware thou neuer bring my sonne backe againe thither.
7. Our Lord God of heauen, which tooke me out of my fathers house, and out of my natiue
countrie, which spake to me, and sware to me, saying: To thy sede wil I geue this land: he
shal send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my sonne:
8. but if the woman wil not folow thee, thou shalt not be bound by the oath: only bring
not my sonne thither againe.
9. The seruant therfore put his hand vnder the thigh of Abraham his lord, and sware to
him vpon this worde.
10. And he tooke tenne camels of his lords heard, and departed, of al his goods carying
something with him, and setting forward went on into Mesopotamia to the citie of Nachor.
11. And when he had made the camels lye downe without the towne beside a wel of water at
euen, at the time when wemen are wont to come forth to drawe water, he said:
12. O Lord God of my lord Abraham, mete me to day, I beseech thee, and doe mercifully
with my maister Abraham.
13. Behold I stand nigh to the fountaine of water, and the daughters of the inhabiters
of this citie, wil come forth to drawe water.
14. Therfore the maid, to whom I shal say: Bowe downe thy tankard that I may drinke: and
she shal answere, Drinke, yea to thy camels also wil I geue drinke: she it is, whom thou hast
prouided for thy seruant Isaac: and by this I shal vnderstand, that thou hast delt mercifully
with my maister.
15. Neyther had he yet ended these wordes within him selfe, & behold Rebecca came forth,
the daughter of Bathuel, the sonne of Melcha wife to Nachor the brother of Abraham, hauing a
tankard on her shoulder:
16. a passing comely maide, & most beautiful virgin, & not knowen to man: and she was gone
downe to the fountaine, and had filled her tankard, and came backe.
17. And the seruant ranne to mete her, and said: Geue me a little water to drinke of
thy tankard.
18. Who answered: Drinke my lord. And quickly she let downe the tankard vpon her arme,
and gaue him drinke.
19. And when he had druncke, she added: but for thy camels also I wil drawe water, til
al doe drinke.
20. And powring out the tankard into the troughes, she ranne backe to the wel to drawe
water: and being drawen gaue it to al the camels.
21. But he musing beheld her with silence, desirous to know whether our Lord had made
his iourney prosperous, or not.
22. And after that the camels had drunck, the man plucked forth golden earelettes, weying
two sicles: and as manie braceletts of tenne sicles weight.
23. And he said to her: whose daughter art thou? shew me: is there anie place in thy
fathers house to lodge?
24. Who answered: I am the daughter of Bathuel, the sonne of Melcha, whom she bare to
Nachor.
25. And she added, saying: Of strawe also and hay we haue good store, and a large place
to lodge in.
26. The man bowed him selfe, and adored our Lord,
27. saying: Blessed be the Lord God of my lord Abraham, that hath not taken away his
mercie & truth from my lord, and hath brought me the streight way into the house of my lords
brother.
28. The maide therfore ranne, and reported into her mothers house al things that
she had heard.
29. And Rebecca had a brother named Laban, who in al haist went forth to the man, where
the fountaine was.
30. And when he had seene the eareletts and braceletts in his sisters hands, and had
heard al her words reporting: These words spake the man vnto me: he came to the man which
stoode beside the camels, and nighe to the fountaine of water:
31. and said to him: Come in, thou blessed of our Lord: Why standest thou without? I
haue prepared the house, and a place for the camels.
32. And he brought him in into his lodging: and he vnharnessed the camels, and gaue
strawe and hay, and water to wash his feet, and of the men that were come with him.
33. And bread was set before him. Who said: I wil not eate, til I speake my message.
He answered him: Speake.
34. And he said: I am the seruant of Abraham:
35. and our Lord hath blessed my lord wonderfully, and he is magnified: and he hath
geuen him sheepe, and oxen, siluer and gold, men seruants and wemen seruants, camels, and asses.
36. And Sara my lordes wife hath borne my lord a sonne in her old age, and he hath
geuen him al things that he had.
37. And my lord adiured me saying: Thou shalt not take a wife for my sonne of the
Chananites, in whose land I dwel:
38. but thou shalt goe to my fathers house, and of mine owne kinred shalt thou take a
wife for my sonne:
39. but I answered my Lord: What if the woman wil not come with me?
40. Our Lord, saith he, in whose sight I walke, wil send his angel with thee, and wil
irect thy way: and thou shalt take a wife for my sonne of myne owne kinred, and of my fathers
house.
41. Thou shalt be innocent from my curse, when thou shalt come to my kinne, and they
wil not geue her thee.
42. I came therfore to day to the wel of water, and said: O Lord God of my lord Abraham,
if thou hast directed my way, wherin I now walke,
43. behold I stand besides the wel of water, and the virgin, that shal come forth to
drawe water, when she shal heare me say: Geue me a litle water to drinke of thy tankard:
44. and she shal say to me: Drinke both thou and for thy camels I wil drawe also: that
is the woman, which our Lord hath prepared for my maisters sonne.
45. And whilest I pondered these things secretly with my selfe, Rebecca appeared
comming with a tankard, which she caried vpon her shoulder: and she went downe to the
fountaine, & drew water. And I said to her: Geue me a litle to drinke.
46. Who spedelie let downe the tankard from her shoulder, and said to me: Drinke both
thou, and to thy camels I wil geue drinke. I dranke, and she watered the cammels.
47. And I asked her, and said: Whose daughter art thou? who answered: I am the daughter
of Bathuel, the sonne of Nachor, whom Melcha bare him. I hoong therfore earelettes to adorne
her face, and I put braceletts vpon her hands.
48. And prostrate I adored our Lord, blessing the Lord God of my lord Abraham, who
hath brought me the straight way to take the daughter of my lords brother for his sonne.
49. Wherfore if you doe according to mercie and truth with my lord, shew me: but if
it please you otherwise, that also tel me, that I may goe to the right hand, or to the left.
50. And Laban and Bathuel answered: From our Lord the word hath proceded: we can not
speake any other thing with thee besides his pleasure.
51. Behold Rebecca is before thee, take her and goe thy waies, and let her be the wife
of thy lords sonne, as our Lord hath spoken.
52. Which when Abrahams seruant heard, falling downe he adored our Lord to the grounde.
53. And taking forth vessel of siluer, and gold, and garments, gaue them to Rebecca for
a present. To her brothers also, and to her mother he offred giftes.
54. A banket was made, and eating and drinking togeather they lodged there. And in the
morning, the seruant arose, and said: Dismisse me, that I may goe to my lord.
55. And her brother, and mother answered: Let the maide tarie at the least tenne days
with vs, and after she shal depart.
56. Stay me not, said he, because our Lord hath directed my way: dismisse me that I may
goe on to my lord.
57. And they said: Let vs cal the maid, and aske her wil.
58. And being called, when she was come, they asked: Wilt thou goe with this man? who
said: I wil goe.
59. They dismissed her therfore, and her nurce, and Abrahams seruant, and his companie,
60. wishing prosperitie to their sister, and saying: Thou art our sister, encrease thou
into thousand thousands, and thy seed possesse the gates of their enemies
61. Therfore Rebecca, and her maides being set vpon camels, folowed the man: who with
speed returned vnto his lord; and
62. the same time Isaac walked along the way, that leadeth to the wel of the Liuing
and the seing, so called: for he dwelt in the south countrie;
63. and he was gone forth to meditate in the field, the day nowe being wel spent: and
when he had cast vp his eyes, he saw camels coming a farre of.
64. Rebecca also, when she saw Isaac, lighted of the camel,
65. and said to the seruant: Who is that man which cometh towards vs along the field?
And he said to her. The same is my lord. But she quickly taking her cloake, couered her selfe.
66. And the seruant told Isaac al things that he hed done.
67. Who brought her into the tent of Sara his mother, and tooke her to wife: and he
loued her so much, that it did moderate the sorrowe, which was chanced of his mothers death.