Gen 23:1-25:18 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now Sarah lived 127 years ; these were the years of the life of Sarah .

Genesis 23

Death and Burial of Sarah

1 Now ^{▼▼Lit the life of Sarah was}Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. 2 Sarah died in ^bKiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham ^{▼▼Or proceeded}came in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 3 Then Abraham arose from mourning before his dead, and spoke to the ^dsons of Heth, saying, 4 “I am ^ea stranger and a foreign resident among you; ^fgive me ^{▼▼Lit possession of a burial place}a ^hburial site among you so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” 5 The sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, 6 “Hear us, my lord: you are a ^{▼▼Lit prince of God
,} ^jmighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our graves; none of us will refuse you his grave for burying your dead.” 7 So Abraham stood up and bowed to the people of the land, the sons of Heth. 8 And he spoke with them, saying, “If ^{▼▼Lit it is with your soul}you are willing to let me bury my dead out of my sight, listen to me, and plead with ^lEphron the son of Zohar for me, 9 that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he owns, which is at the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in ^{▼▼Lit the midst of you}your presence for ^{▼▼Lit possession of a burial place}a burial site.” 10 Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham ^{▼▼Lit in the ears of}so that the sons of Heth heard, ^pthat is, all who entered the gate of his city, saying, 11 “No, my lord, listen to me; ^qI give you the field, and I give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you; bury your dead.” 12 And Abraham bowed before the people of the land. 13 But he spoke to Ephron ^{▼▼Lit in the ears of}so that the people of the land heard, saying, “If you will only please listen to me; I will give the price of the field, accept it from me so that I may bury my dead there.” 14 Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, 15 “My lord, listen to me: a plot of land worth ^{▼▼About 12.5 lb. or 5.7 kg}four hundred ^tshekels of silver --what is that between me and you? So bury your dead.” 16 Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham ^uweighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the ^{▼▼Lit ears}presence of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency acceptable to a merchant.

17 So ^wEphron’s field, which was in Machpelah, which faced Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees which were in the field, that were ^{▼▼Lit in all its border around}within all the confines of its border, ^{▼▼Or were ratified}were deeded over 18 to Abraham as a possession ^zin the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who entered the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah facing Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan. 20 So the field and the cave that was in it ^{▼▼Or were ratified}were ^abdeeded over to Abraham for ^{▼▼Lit possession of a burial place}a burial site by the sons of Heth.

Genesis 24

A Bride for Isaac

1 Now ^adAbraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had ^aeblessed Abraham in every way. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household who was in ^afcharge of all that he owned, “ ^agPlease place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, ^ahthe God of heaven and the God of earth, that you ^aishall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of ^ajthe Canaanites, among whom I live; 4 but you will go to ^akmy country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” 6 Then Abraham said to him, “ ^alBeware that you do not take my son back there! 7 ^amThe Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘ ^anTo your ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants I will give this land’--He will send ^apHis angel ahead 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 ^aqbe free of this oath of mine; ^aronly do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant ^asplaced his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham, and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and went out with a variety of ^atgood things of his master’s in his hand; so he set out and went to ^{▼▼Heb Aram-naharaim, Aram of the two rivers}Mesopotamia, to ^avthe city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by ^awthe well of water ^{▼▼Lit at time of evening}when it was evening, ^aythe time when women go out to draw water. 12 And he said, “ ^azLord, God of my master Abraham, please ^{▼▼Lit cause to occur for me
,} ^bbgrant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, ^bcI am standing by the ^{▼▼Lit fountain of water}spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14 now may it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and ^{▼▼Lit she will say}who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’--may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

Rebekah Is Chosen

15 And it came about, ^bfbefore he had finished speaking, that behold, ^bgRebekah, who was born to Bethuel the son of ^bhMilcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was ^bivery beautiful, a virgin; no man had ^{▼▼Lit known her}had relations with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “ ^bkPlease let me drink a little water from your jar.” 18 And ^blshe said, “Drink, my lord”; then she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 Now when she had finished giving him a drink, ^bmshe said, “I will also draw water for your camels until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 ^bnMeanwhile, the man was taking a close look at her ^{▼▼Lit keeping silent}in silence, to find out whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.

22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a ^bpgold ring weighing a ^{▼▼A shekel was about 0.5 oz. or 14 gm}half-shekel, and two bracelets for her ^{▼▼Lit hands}wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, 23 and he said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to stay overnight at your father’s house?” 24 She said to him, “ ^bsI am the daughter of Bethuel, Milcah’s son, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to stay overnight.” 26 Then the man ^btbowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “ ^buBlessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned ^bvHis kindness and His trustworthiness toward my master; as for me, ^bwthe Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”

28 Then ^bxthe young woman ran and told her mother’s household about these things. 29 Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was ^byLaban; and Laban ran outside to the man at the spring. 30 When he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister’s ^{▼▼Lit hands}wrists, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah, saying, “ ^{▼▼Lit Thus the man}This is what the man said to me,” he went to the man; and behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring. 31 And he said, “ ^cbCome in, ^ccblessed of the Lord! Why do you stand outside, since ^cdI have prepared the house, and a place for the camels?” 32 So the man entered the house. Then ^{▼▼Lit he
,} ^cfLaban 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. 33 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.” 34 So he said, “I am ^cgAbraham’s servant. 35 The Lord has greatly ^chblessed my master, so that he has become ^{▼▼Lit great}rich; and He has given him ^cjflocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and slave women, and camels and donkeys. 36 Now ^ckmy master’s wife Sarah bore a son to my master ^{▼▼Lit after she was old}in her old age, and ^cmhe has given him all that he has. 37 ^cnMy 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; 38 but you shall go to my father’s house and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son.’ 39 Then ^coI said to my master, ‘Suppose the woman does not follow me.’ 40 And he said to me, ‘ ^cpThe Lord, before whom I have ^cqwalked, will send ^crHis 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; 41 ^csthen 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.’

42 “So ^ctI 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 ^cusuccessful; 43 behold, ^cvI am standing by the ^{▼▼Lit fountain of water}spring, and may it be that the ^{▼▼Or virgin}young unmarried woman who comes out to draw water, and to whom I say, “ ^cyPlease let me drink a little water from your jar”; 44 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.’

45 “Before I had finished ^czspeaking in my heart, behold, ^daRebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew water, and ^dbI said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘ ^dcDrink, and I will water your camels also’; so I drank, and she watered the camels also. 47 ^ddThen 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 ^dering on her nose, and the bracelets on her ^{▼▼Lit hands}wrists. 48 And I ^dgbowed low and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, ^dhwho had guided me in the right way to take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. 49 So now if you are going to ^{▼▼Lit show kindness and truth to
,} ^djdeal 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.”

50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “ ^dkThe matter has come from the Lord; ^dlso we cannot speak to you bad or good. 51 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.”

52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he ^dmbowed himself to the ground ^{▼▼Lit to}before the Lord. 53 And the servant brought out ^doarticles 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. 54 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, “ ^dpSend me away to my master.” 55 But her brother and her mother said, “ ^dqLet the young woman stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go.” 56 However, he said to them, “Do not delay me, since ^drthe Lord has prospered my way. Send me away so that I may go to my master.” 57 And they said, “We will call the young woman and ^{▼▼Lit ask her mouth}ask her.” 58 Then they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” 59 So they sent away their sister Rebekah and ^dther nurse with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister,
^duBecome thousands of ten thousands,
And may ^dvyour ^{▼▼Lit seed}descendants possess
The gate of those who hate them.”

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

Isaac Marries Rebekah

62 Now Isaac had come back from ^{▼▼Lit coming to}a journey to ^dyBeer-lahai-roi; for he was living in ^dzthe ^{▼▼I.e., South country}Negev. 63 Isaac went out ^ebto ^{▼▼Or stroll; meaning uncertain}meditate in the field toward evening; and ^edhe raised his eyes and looked, and behold, camels were coming. 64 Rebekah raised her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel. 65 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 ^{▼▼Or shawl}veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. 67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and ^efhe took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and ^eghe loved her; so Isaac was comforted after ^ehhis mother’s death.

Genesis 25:1-18

Abraham’s Death

1 Now Abraham took another wife, ^{▼▼Lit and her name}whose name was Keturah. 2 ^ejShe bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were the sons of Keturah. 5 ^ekNow Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac; 6 but to the sons of ^{▼▼Lit concubines which belonged to Abraham}his concubines, Abraham gave gifts while he was still living, and ^emsent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the east.

7 These are ^{▼▼Lit the days of}all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, ^eo175 years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died ^epat a good old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was ^eqgathered to his people. 9 Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in ^erthe cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, 10 ^esthe field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth; there Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 11 It came about after the death of Abraham, that ^etGod blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac ^{▼▼Lit dwelt}lived by ^evBeer-lahai-roi.

Descendants of Ishmael

12 Now these are the records of the generations of ^ewIshmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave woman, bore to Abraham; 13 and these are the names of ^exthe sons of Ishmael, by their names, ^{▼▼Lit in regard to their generations}in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; ^eztwelve princes according to their ^{▼▼Or peoples}tribes. 17 These are the years of the life of Ishmael, ^fb137 years; and he breathed his last and died, and was ^fcgathered to his people. 18 They ^{▼▼Lit dwelt}settled from ^feHavilah to ^ffShur which is ^{▼▼Lit before}east of Egypt ^{▼▼Lit as you go}going toward Assyria; ^fihe ^{▼▼Lit fell over against}settled in defiance of all his relatives.