2. He said to his oldest servant, who was in charge of all that he had, “Place your hand between my thighs and make a vow.
3. I want you to make a vow in the name of the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the people here in Canaan.
4. You must go back to the country where I was born and get a wife for my son Isaac from among my relatives.”
5. But the servant asked, “What if the young woman will not leave home to come with me to this land? Shall I send your son back to the land you came from?”
6. Abraham answered, “Make sure that you don't send my son back there!
7. The Lord, the God of heaven, brought me from the home of my father and from the land of my relatives, and he solemnly promised me that he would give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel before you, so that you can get a wife there for my son.
8. If the young woman is not willing to come with you, you will be free from this promise. But you must not under any circumstances take my son back there.”
9. So the servant put his hand between the thighs of Abraham, his master, and made a vow to do what Abraham had asked.
10. The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took ten of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in northern Mesopotamia.
11. When he arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the time when women came out to get water.
12. He prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and keep your promise to my master.
13. Here I am at the well where the young women of the city will be coming to get water.
14. I will say to one of them, ‘Please, lower your jar and let me have a drink.’ If she says, ‘Drink, and I will also bring water for your camels,’ may she be the one that you have chosen for your servant Isaac. If this happens, I will know that you have kept your promise to my master.”
15. Before he had finished praying, Rebecca arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah.
16. She was a very beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back.
17. The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a drink of water from your jar.”
18. She said, “Drink, sir,” and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and held it while he drank.