Kejadian 24:42-48

24:42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, ¹  may events unfold as follows: ²  24:43 Here I am, standing by the spring. ³  When ⁴  the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 24:44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’

24:45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, ⁵  along came Rebekah ⁶  with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 24:46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 24:47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ ⁷  I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 24:48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter ⁸  of my master’s brother for his son.

[24:42]  ¹ tn Heb “if you are making successful my way on which I am going.”

[24:42]  ² tn The words “may events unfold as follows” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[24:43]  ³ tn Heb “the spring of water.”

[24:43]  ⁴ tn Heb “and it will be.”

[24:45]  ⁵ tn Heb “As for me, before I finished speaking to my heart.” The adverb טֶרֶם (terem) indicates the verb is a preterite; the infinitive that follows is the direct object.

[24:45]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look, Rebekah was coming out.” As in 24:15, the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is used here for dramatic effect.

[24:47]  ⁷ tn Heb “whom Milcah bore to him.” The referent (Nahor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[24:48]  ⁸ tn Heb “daughter.” Rebekah was actually the granddaughter of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. One can either translate the Hebrew term בַּת (bat) as “daughter,” in which case the term אָח (’akh) must be translated more generally as “relative” rather than “brother” (cf. NASB, NRSV) or one can translate בַּת as “granddaughter,” in which case אָח may be translated “brother” (cf. NIV).