One Year Pray for the Persecuted Bible - Flipbook - Page 51
31
the camels had finished drinking, he took out
a gold ring for her nose and two large gold
bracelets* for her wrists.
23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked. “And
please tell me, would your father have any
room to put us up for the night?”
24 “I am the daughter of Bethuel,” she replied.
“My g randparents are Nahor and Milcah.
25 Yes, we have plenty of straw and feed for the
camels, and we have room for guests.”
26 The man bowed low and worshiped the
Lord. 27 “Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham,” he said. “The Lord has shown
unfailing love and faithfulness to my master, for he has led me straight to my master’s
relatives.”
28 The young woman ran home to tell her
family everything that had happened. 29 Now
Rebekah had a brother named Laban, who
ran out to meet the man at the spring. 30 He
had seen the n
ose-ring and the bracelets on
his sister’s wrists, and had heard Rebekah tell
what the man had said. So he rushed out to
the spring, where the man was still standing
beside his camels. 31 Laban said to him, “Come
and stay with us, you who are blessed by the
Lord! Why are you standing here outside the
town when I have a room all ready for you and
a place prepared for the camels?”
32 So the man went home with Laban, and
Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw
for their bedding, fed them, and provided
water for the man and the camel drivers to
wash their feet. 33 Then food was served. But
Abraham’s servant said, “I don’t want to eat
until I have told you why I have come.”
“All right,” Laban said, “tell us.”
34 “I am Abraham’s servant,” he explained.
35 “And the Lord has greatly blessed my master; he has become a wealthy man. The Lord
has given him flocks of sheep and goats, herds
of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many
male and female servants and camels and
donkeys.
36 “When Sarah, my master’s wife, was very
old, she gave birth to my master’s son, and my
master has given him everything he owns.
37 And my master made me take an oath. He
said, ‘Do not allow my son to marry one of
these local Canaanite women. 38 Go instead to
my father’s house, to my relatives, and find a
wife there for my son.’
39 “But I said to my master, ‘What if I can’t
find a young woman who is willing to go back
with me?’ 40 He responded, ‘The Lord, in whose
presence I have lived, will send his angel with
you and will make your mission successful.
Yes, you must find a wife for my son from
January 10
among my relatives, from my father’s family.
41 Then you will have fulfilled your obligation.
But if you go to my relatives and they refuse
to let her go with you, you will be free from
my oath.’
42 “So today when I came to the spring, I
prayed this prayer: ‘O Lord, God of my master, Abraham, please give me success on this
mission. 43 See, I am standing here beside this
spring. This is my request. When a young
woman c omes to draw water, I will say to her,
“Please give me a little drink of water from
your jug.” 44 If she says, “Yes, have a drink, and
I will draw water for your camels, too,” let her
be the one you have selected to be the wife of
my master’s son.’
45 “Before I had finished praying in my heart,
I saw Rebekah coming out 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.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jug
from her shoulder and said, ‘Yes, have a drink,
and I will water your camels, too!’ So I drank,
and then she watered the camels.
47 “Then I asked, ‘Whose daughter are you?’
She replied, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, and
my grandparents are Nahor and Milcah.’ So I
put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on
her wrists.
48 “Then I bowed low and worshiped the
Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me straight
to my master’s niece to be his son’s wife. 49 So
tell me—will you or won’t you show unfailing
love and faithfulness to my master? Please
tell me yes or no, and then I’ll know what to
do next.”
50 Then La
ban and Bethuel replied, “The
Lord has obviously brought you here, so there
is nothing we can say. 51 Here is Rebekah; take
her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has directed.”
23:15 Hebrew 400 shekels, about 10 pounds or 4.6 kilograms
in weight; also in 23:16. 24:7 Hebrew seed; also in 24:60.
24:22 Hebrew a gold nose-ring weighing a beka [0.2 ounces or
6 grams] and two gold bracelets weighing 10 [shekels] [4 ounces
or 114 grams].
MATTHEW 8:1‑17
Large crowds followed J esus as he came down
the mountainside. 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him.
“Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you
can heal me and make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am
willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the
leprosy disappeared. 4 Then J esus said to him,
“Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the
priest and let him examine you. Take along
