Behold, I am standing by the spring of water. The daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
Parallel translations
- KJV Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
- BSB Here I am, standing beside the spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water.
- NKJV Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.
- NASB Behold, I am standing by the spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water;
- NLT See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
He notes that he stands by the spring as the city's daughters come to draw water. He sets the scene for the sign he is about to request.
Overview
The servant lays out his situation before God, watching the women approach the well. His prayer is grounded in the concrete circumstances before him. He looks for the Lord to direct events toward the right woman.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 24:43behold, I am standing by this spring of water. Let it happen, that the maiden who comes out to draw, to whom I will say, “Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink,”
- Ps 37:5Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this:
- Gen 29:9–10While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them.
- Prov 3:6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
- Exod 2:16Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
- 1 Sam 9:11As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
- Gen 24:11He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time that women go out to draw water.
- John 4:7A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
- Judg 5:11Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water, there they will rehearse Yahweh’s righteous acts, the righteous acts of his rule in Israel. “Then Yahweh’s people went down to the gates.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 24:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.