¹¹ He had the camels kneel down near the well^(A) outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.^(B)

¹² Then he prayed, “Lord, God of my master Abraham,^(C) make me successful^(D) today, and show kindness^(E) to my master Abraham. ¹³ See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.^{(F) 14} May it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink,^(G) and I’ll water your camels too’^(H)—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.^(I) By this I will know^(J) that you have shown kindness to my master.”

¹⁵ Before he had finished praying,^(K) Rebekah^(L) came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel^(M) son of Milkah,^(N) who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.^{(O) 16} The woman was very beautiful,^(P) a virgin;^(Q) no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.

¹⁷ The servant hurried to meet her and said, “Please give me a little water from your jar.”^(R)

² There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well.^(A) The stone^(B) over the mouth of the well was large. ³ When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone^(C) away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep.^(D) Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.

⁴ Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?”^(E)

“We’re from Harran,^(F)” they replied.

⁵ He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”^(G)

“Yes, we know him,” they answered.

⁶ Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?”

“Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel^(H) with the sheep.^(I)”

⁷ “Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”

⁸ “We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone^(J) has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water^(K) the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep,^(L) for she was a shepherd. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel^(M) daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone^(N) away from the mouth of the well and watered^(O) his uncle’s sheep.^{(P) 11} Then Jacob kissed^(Q) Rachel and began to weep aloud.^{(R) 12} He had told Rachel that he was a relative^(S) of her father and a son of Rebekah.^(T) So she ran and told her father.^(U)