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Hello, this is Father Paul and I'm glad we're taking this journey together to read the Bible

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in a year.

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Yesterday we heard about the birth of Isaac and about the sacrifice Abraham was called

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to make and how God saved Isaac at the very last moment.

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Today we're going to hear about the death of Sarah his mother as well as about his own

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marriage.

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Let's begin.

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Today's reading is from Genesis chapters 23 and 24.

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Sarah lived 127 years.

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These were the years of the life of Sarah.

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So Sarah died in Kirjath, Arba, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to

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mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

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Then Abraham stood up from before his dead and spoke to the sons of Heth, saying, I am

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a foreigner and a visitor among you.

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Give me property for a burial place among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight.

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Then the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him, hear us my lord, you are a mighty

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prince among us.

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Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places.

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None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.

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Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth,

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and he spoke with them, saying, if it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight,

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hear me, and meet with Ephron, the son of Zohar, for me.

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That he may give me the cave of Makphela, which he has, which is at the end of his field.

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Let him give it to me at the full price as property for a burial place among you.

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Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the

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presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying, know my lord,

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hear me.

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I give you the field and the cave that is in it.

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I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people.

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I give it to you, bury your dead.

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Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land, and he spoke to Ephron

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in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, if you will give it, please hear me.

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I will give you money for the field.

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Take it from me, and I will bury my dead there.

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And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him, my lord, listen to me.

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The land is worth four hundred shekels of silver.

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What is that between you and me?

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So bury your dead.

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And Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron, which he

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had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of

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the merchants.

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So the field of Ephron, which was in Macphela, which was before Mamre, the field and the

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cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the

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surrounding borders, were deeded to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons

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of Heth before all who went in at the gate of his city.

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And after this, Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, in the cave of the field of Macphela

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before Mamre, that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.

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So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property

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for a burial place.

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Chapter 24

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Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.

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So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, please

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put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and

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the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the

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Canaanites, among whom I dwell.

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But you shall go to my country and to my family and take a wife for my son Isaac.

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And the servant said to him, perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land.

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Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?

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But Abraham said to him, beware that you do not take my son back there, the Lord God of

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heaven who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke

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to me and swore to me saying to your descendants, I give this land.

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He will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

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And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath.

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Only do not take my son back there.

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So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning

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this matter.

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Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed.

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For all his master's goods were in his hand.

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And he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.

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And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time,

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the time when women go out to draw water.

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Then he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day and show kindness

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to my master Abraham.

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Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are

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coming out to draw water.

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Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, please let down your pitcher that I

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may drink, and she says drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.

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Let her be the one you have appointed to your servant Isaac.

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And by this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master.

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And it happened before he had finished speaking that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethelal,

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son of Milke, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her

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shoulder.

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Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin, no man had known her.

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And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher and came up.

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And a servant ran to meet her and said, please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.

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So she said, drink my Lord.

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Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand and gave him a drink.

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And when she had finished giving him a drink she said, I will draw water for your camels

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also until they have finished drinking.

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And she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water,

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and drew for all his camels.

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And the man wandering at her remained silent so as to know whether the Lord had made his

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journey prosperous or not.

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So it was when the camels had finished drinking that the man took a golden nose ring weighing

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half a shekel and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold and said, whose

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daughter are you?

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Tell me, please, is there room in your father's house for us to lodge?

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So she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, Milka's son, whom she bore to Nahor.

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Moreover, she said to him, we have both straw and feed enough, and room to lodge.

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Then the man bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord.

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And he said, blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his mercy

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and his truth toward my master.

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As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren.

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So the young woman ran and told her mother's household these things.

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Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran out to the man by the well.

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So it came to pass when he saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists,

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and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah saying, thus the man spoke to me,

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that he went to the man.

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And there he stood by the camels at the well, and he said, come in, O blessed of the Lord,

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why do you stand outside?

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For I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.

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Then the man came to the house, and he unloaded the camels, and provided straw and feed for

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the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.

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Food was set before him to eat, but he said, I will not eat until I have told about my

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errand.

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And he said, speak on.

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So he said, I am Abraham's servant.

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The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great, and he has given him

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flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

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And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old, and to him he

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has given all that he has.

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Now my master made me swear, saying, you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters

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of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, but you shall go to my father's house and

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to my family and take a wife for my son.

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And I said to my master, perhaps the woman will not follow me.

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But he said to me, the Lord before whom I walk will send his angel with you and prosper

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your way, and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house.

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You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family, for if they will not

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give her to you, then you will be released from my oath.

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And this day I came to the well and said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, if you will

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now prosper the way in which I go, behold I stand by the well of water, and it shall

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come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, please give

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me a little water from your pitcher to drink, and she says to me, drink and I will draw

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for your camels also.

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Let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master's son.

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But before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebecca, coming out with her pitcher

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on her shoulder, and she went down to the well and drew water, and I said to her, please

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let me drink.

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And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder and said, drink and I will

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give your camels a drink also.

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So I drank and she gave the camels a drink also.

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Then I asked her and said, whose daughter are you?

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And she said, the daughter of Bethel, Nahor's son, whom Milka bore to him.

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So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists, and I bowed my head

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and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord God of my master Abraham, who had led me in

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the way of truth to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.

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Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me, and if not, tell me that

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I may return to the right hand or to the left.

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Then Naban and Bethel answered and said, the thing comes from the Lord, we cannot speak

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to you either bad or good.

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Here is Rebecca before you, take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife,

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as the Lord has spoken.

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Then it came to pass when Abraham's servant heard their words that he worshiped the Lord

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bowing himself to the earth.

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Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing, and gave them

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to Rebecca.

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He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.

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And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night.

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Then they arose in the morning and he said, send me away to my master.

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But her brother and her mother said, let the young woman stay with us a few days, at least

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ten, after that she may go.

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And he said to them, do not hinder me, since the Lord has prospered my way, send me away

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so that I may go to my master.

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So they said, we will call the young woman and ask her personally.

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Then they called Rebecca and said to her, will you go with this man?

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And she said, I will go.

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So they sent away Rebecca their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's servant and his men.

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And they blessed Rebecca and said to her, our sister, may you become the mother of thousands,

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of ten thousands, and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them.

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Then Rebecca and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man.

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So the servant took Rebecca and departed.

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Now Isaac came from the way of Bir-l-Hay-Roy, for he dwelt in the south.

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And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening, and he lifted his eyes and

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looked and there the camels were coming.

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Then Rebecca lifted her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel, for

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she had said to the servant, who is this man walking in the field to meet us?

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The servant said, it is my master.

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So she took a veil and covered herself.

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And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.

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Then Isaac brought her into his mother's Sarah's tent.

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And he took Rebecca and she became his wife, and he loved her.

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So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

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I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing you

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again tomorrow to continue on our journey.

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God bless you and have a great day.