7:7 I wish that everyone was as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one this way, another that.

7:8 To the unmarried and widows I say that it is best for them to remain as I am. 7:9 But if they do not have self-control, let them get married. For it is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire. ¹ 

25:1 Abraham had taken ¹  another ²  wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. ³  The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants ⁴  of Keturah.

25:5 Everything he owned Abraham left to his son Isaac. 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ⁵  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁶ 

25:7 Abraham lived a total of ⁷  175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. ⁸  He joined his ancestors. ⁹  25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ¹⁰  near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. ¹¹  There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed ¹²  his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. ¹³ 

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ¹⁴  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: ¹⁵  Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes ¹⁶  according to their clans.

25:17 Ishmael lived a total of ¹⁷  137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. ¹⁸  25:18 His descendants ¹⁹  settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next ²⁰  to Egypt all the way ²¹  to Asshur. ²²  They settled ²³  away from all their relatives. ²⁴ 

25:19 This is the account of Isaac, ²⁵  the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac. 25:20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, ²⁶  the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ²⁷ 

25:21 Isaac prayed to ²⁸  the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 25:22 But the children struggled ²⁹  inside her, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, I’m not so sure I want to be pregnant!” ³⁰  So she asked the Lord, ³¹  25:23 and the Lord said to her,

“Two nations ³²  are in your womb,

and two peoples will be separated from within you.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, ³³  there were ³⁴  twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish ³⁵  all over, ³⁶  like a hairy ³⁷  garment, so they named him Esau. ³⁸  25:26 When his brother came out with ³⁹  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ⁴⁰  Isaac was sixty years old ⁴¹  when they were born.

25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ⁴²  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ⁴³  25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, ⁴⁴  but Rebekah loved ⁴⁵  Jacob.

25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, ⁴⁶  and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed ⁴⁷  me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called ⁴⁸  Edom.) ⁴⁹ 

25:31 But Jacob replied, “First ⁵⁰  sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” ⁵¹  25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” ⁵²  So Esau ⁵³  swore an oath to him and sold his birthright ⁵⁴  to Jacob.

25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ⁵⁵  So Esau despised his birthright. ⁵⁶ 

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁵⁷  in the days of Abraham. ⁵⁸  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; ⁵⁹  settle down in the land that I will point out to you. ⁶⁰  26:3 Stay ⁶¹  in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, ⁶²  for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, ⁶³  and I will fulfill ⁶⁴  the solemn promise I made ⁶⁵  to your father Abraham. 26:4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them ⁶⁶  all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. ⁶⁷  26:5 All this will come to pass ⁶⁸  because Abraham obeyed me ⁶⁹  and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” ⁷⁰  26:6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” ⁷¹  He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, ⁷²  “The men of this place will kill me to get ⁷³  Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”

26:8 After Isaac ⁷⁴  had been there a long time, ⁷⁵  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ⁷⁶  Isaac caressing ⁷⁷  his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ⁷⁸  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ⁷⁹ 

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ⁸⁰  One of the men ⁸¹  might easily have had sexual relations with ⁸²  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ⁸³  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ⁸⁴ 

26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, ⁸⁵  because the Lord blessed him. ⁸⁶  26:13 The man became wealthy. ⁸⁷  His influence continued to grow ⁸⁸  until he became very prominent. 26:14 He had ⁸⁹  so many sheep ⁹⁰  and cattle ⁹¹  and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous ⁹²  of him. 26:15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up ⁹³  all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, ⁹⁴  for you have become much more powerful ⁹⁵  than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. ⁹⁶  26:18 Isaac reopened ⁹⁷  the wells that had been dug ⁹⁸  back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up ⁹⁹  after Abraham died. Isaac ¹⁰⁰  gave these wells ¹⁰¹  the same names his father had given them. ¹⁰² 

26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing ¹⁰³  water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled ¹⁰⁴  with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac ¹⁰⁵  named the well ¹⁰⁶  Esek ¹⁰⁷  because they argued with him about it. ¹⁰⁸  26:21 His servants ¹⁰⁹  dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it ¹¹⁰  Sitnah. ¹¹¹  26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac ¹¹²  named it ¹¹³  Rehoboth, ¹¹⁴  saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

26:23 From there Isaac ¹¹⁵  went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 26:25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped ¹¹⁶  the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. ¹¹⁷ 

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ¹¹⁸  to him from Gerar along with ¹¹⁹  Ahuzzah his friend ¹²⁰  and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me ¹²¹  and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see ¹²²  that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be ¹²³  a pact between us ¹²⁴  – between us ¹²⁵  and you. Allow us to make ¹²⁶  a treaty with you 26:29 so that ¹²⁷  you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed ¹²⁸  you, but have always treated you well ¹²⁹  before sending you away ¹³⁰  in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.” ¹³¹ 

26:30 So Isaac ¹³²  held a feast for them and they celebrated. ¹³³  26:31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. ¹³⁴  Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. ¹³⁵ 

26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. ¹³⁶  26:33 So he named it Shibah; ¹³⁷  that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba ¹³⁸  to this day.

26:34 When ¹³⁹  Esau was forty years old, ¹⁴⁰  he married ¹⁴¹  Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. ¹⁴² 

27:1 When ¹⁴³  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ¹⁴⁴  he called his older ¹⁴⁵  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ¹⁴⁶  replied. 27:2 Isaac ¹⁴⁷  said, “Since ¹⁴⁸  I am so old, I could die at any time. ¹⁴⁹  27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game ¹⁵⁰  for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then ¹⁵¹  I will eat it so that I may bless you ¹⁵²  before I die.”

27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. ¹⁵³  When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, ¹⁵⁴  27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat ¹⁵⁵  it and bless you ¹⁵⁶  in the presence of the Lord ¹⁵⁷  before I die.’ 27:8 Now then, my son, do ¹⁵⁸  exactly what I tell you! ¹⁵⁹  27:9 Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I’ll prepare ¹⁶⁰  them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. 27:10 Then you will take ¹⁶¹  it to your father. Thus he will eat it ¹⁶²  and ¹⁶³  bless you before he dies.”

27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! ¹⁶⁴  27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him ¹⁶⁵  and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, ¹⁶⁶  my son! Just obey me! ¹⁶⁷  Go and get them for me!”

27:14 So he went and got the goats ¹⁶⁸  and brought them to his mother. She ¹⁶⁹  prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats ¹⁷⁰  on his hands ¹⁷¹  and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed ¹⁷²  the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac ¹⁷³  replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” ¹⁷⁴  27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up ¹⁷⁵  and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” ¹⁷⁶  27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world ¹⁷⁷  did you find it so quickly, ¹⁷⁸  my son?” “Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” ¹⁷⁹  he replied. ¹⁸⁰  27:21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ¹⁸¹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ¹⁸²  27:22 So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s.” 27:23 He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. ¹⁸³  27:24 Then he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “I am,” Jacob ¹⁸⁴  replied. 27:25 Isaac ¹⁸⁵  said, “Bring some of the wild game for me to eat, my son. ¹⁸⁶  Then I will bless you.” ¹⁸⁷  So Jacob ¹⁸⁸  brought it to him, and he ate it. He also brought him wine, and Isaac ¹⁸⁹  drank. 27:26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27:27 So Jacob ¹⁹⁰  went over and kissed him. When Isaac caught the scent ¹⁹¹  of his clothing, he blessed him, saying,

“Yes, ¹⁹²  my son smells

like the scent of an open field

which the Lord has blessed.

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky ¹⁹³ 

and the richness ¹⁹⁴  of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ¹⁹⁵  lord ¹⁹⁶  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ¹⁹⁷ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left ¹⁹⁸  his father’s ¹⁹⁹  presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. ²⁰⁰  27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau ²⁰¹  said to him, “My father, get up ²⁰²  and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” ²⁰³  27:32 His father Isaac asked, ²⁰⁴  “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” ²⁰⁵  he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently ²⁰⁶  and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. ²⁰⁷  He will indeed be blessed!”

27:34 When Esau heard ²⁰⁸  his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. ²⁰⁹  He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac ²¹⁰  replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away ²¹¹  your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! ²¹²  He has tripped me up ²¹³  two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”

27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” ²¹⁴  Then Esau wept loudly. ²¹⁵ 

27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,

“Indeed, ²¹⁶  your home will be

away from the richness ²¹⁷  of the earth,

and away from the dew of the sky above.

27:40 You will live by your sword

but you will serve your brother.

When you grow restless,

you will tear off his yoke

from your neck.” ²¹⁸ 

27:41 So Esau hated ²¹⁹  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ²²⁰  Esau said privately, ²²¹  “The time ²²²  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ²²³  my brother Jacob!”

27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, ²²⁴  she quickly summoned ²²⁵  her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. ²²⁶  27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. ²²⁷  Run away immediately ²²⁸  to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while ²²⁹  until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there ²³⁰  until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. ²³¹  Why should I lose both of you in one day?” ²³² 

27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed ²³³  because of these daughters of Heth. ²³⁴  If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” ²³⁵ 

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ²³⁶  28:2 Leave immediately ²³⁷  for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God ²³⁸  bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! ²³⁹  Then you will become ²⁴⁰  a large nation. ²⁴¹  28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham ²⁴²  so that you may possess the land ²⁴³  God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” ²⁴⁴  28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. ²⁴⁵  As he blessed him, ²⁴⁶  Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” ²⁴⁷  28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized ²⁴⁸  that the Canaanite women ²⁴⁹  were displeasing to ²⁵⁰  his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married ²⁵¹  Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place ²⁵²  where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. ²⁵³  He took one of the stones ²⁵⁴  and placed it near his head. ²⁵⁵  Then he fell asleep ²⁵⁶  in that place 28:12 and had a dream. ²⁵⁷  He saw ²⁵⁸  a stairway ²⁵⁹  erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the Lord stood at its top. He said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. ²⁶⁰  I will give you and your descendants the ground ²⁶¹  you are lying on. 28:14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, ²⁶²  and you will spread out ²⁶³  to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another ²⁶⁴  using your name and that of your descendants. ²⁶⁵  28:15 I am with you! ²⁶⁶  I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

28:16 Then Jacob woke up ²⁶⁷  and thought, ²⁶⁸  “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” 28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

28:18 Early ²⁶⁹  in the morning Jacob ²⁷⁰  took the stone he had placed near his head ²⁷¹  and set it up as a sacred stone. ²⁷²  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ²⁷³  although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food ²⁷⁴  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ²⁷⁵  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ²⁷⁶  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ²⁷⁷  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ²⁷⁸ 

29:1 So Jacob moved on ²⁷⁹  and came to the land of the eastern people. ²⁸⁰  29:2 He saw ²⁸¹  in the field a well with ²⁸²  three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now ²⁸³  a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds ²⁸⁴  would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.

29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson ²⁸⁵  of Nahor?” “We know him,” ²⁸⁶  they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” ²⁸⁷  Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. ²⁸⁸  Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob ²⁸⁹  said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, ²⁹⁰  it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” ²⁹¹  29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water ²⁹²  the sheep.”

29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. ²⁹³  29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, ²⁹⁴  and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he ²⁹⁵  went over ²⁹⁶  and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. ²⁹⁷  29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. ²⁹⁸  29:12 When Jacob explained ²⁹⁹  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ³⁰⁰  and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob ³⁰¹  told Laban how he was related to him. ³⁰²  29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ³⁰³  So Jacob ³⁰⁴  stayed with him for a month. ³⁰⁵ 

29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ³⁰⁶  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ³⁰⁷  Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; ³⁰⁸  the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, ³⁰⁹  but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) ³¹⁰  29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with ³¹¹  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. ³¹²  Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ³¹³  But they seemed like only a few days to him ³¹⁴  because his love for her was so great. ³¹⁵ 

29:21 Finally Jacob said ³¹⁶  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ³¹⁷  I want to have marital relations with her.” ³¹⁸  29:22 So Laban invited all the people ³¹⁹  of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah ³²⁰  to Jacob, ³²¹  and Jacob ³²²  had marital relations with her. ³²³  29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) ³²⁴ 

29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! ³²⁵  So Jacob ³²⁶  said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! ³²⁷  Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked ³²⁸  me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” ³²⁹  Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage ³³⁰  before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. ³³¹  Then we will give you the younger one ³³²  too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” ³³³ 

29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. ³³⁴  When Jacob ³³⁵  completed Leah’s bridal week, ³³⁶  Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ³³⁷  29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) ³³⁸  29:30 Jacob ³³⁹  had marital relations ³⁴⁰  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ³⁴¹  for seven more years. ³⁴² 

29:31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, ³⁴³  he enabled her to become pregnant ³⁴⁴  while Rachel remained childless. 29:32 So Leah became pregnant ³⁴⁵  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ³⁴⁶  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ³⁴⁷  Surely my husband will love me now.”

29:33 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Because the Lord heard that I was unloved, ³⁴⁸  he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon. ³⁴⁹ 

29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, ³⁵⁰  because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. ³⁵¹ 

29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” That is why she named him Judah. ³⁵²  Then she stopped having children.

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ³⁵³  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ³⁵⁴  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ³⁵⁵  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ³⁵⁶  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ³⁵⁷  her so that she can bear ³⁵⁸  children ³⁵⁹  for me ³⁶⁰  and I can have a family through her.” ³⁶¹ 

30:4 So Rachel ³⁶²  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ³⁶³  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ³⁶⁴  and gave Jacob a son. ³⁶⁵  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ³⁶⁶  and given me a son.” That is why ³⁶⁷  she named him Dan. ³⁶⁸ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ³⁶⁹  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ³⁷⁰  So she named him Naphtali. ³⁷¹ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ³⁷²  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ³⁷³  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ³⁷⁴  So she named him Gad. ³⁷⁵ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ³⁷⁶  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ³⁷⁷  for women ³⁷⁸  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ³⁷⁹ 

30:14 At the time ³⁸⁰  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ³⁸¹  in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, ³⁸²  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ³⁸³  Rachel said, “he may sleep ³⁸⁴  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ³⁸⁵  with me because I have paid for your services ³⁸⁶  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ³⁸⁷  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ³⁸⁸  to Leah; she became pregnant ³⁸⁹  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ³⁹⁰  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ³⁹¹  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ³⁹²  So she named him Issachar. ³⁹³ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ³⁹⁴  30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. ³⁹⁵ 

30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

30:22 Then God took note of ³⁹⁶  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ³⁹⁷  30:23 She became pregnant ³⁹⁸  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ³⁹⁹  30:24 She named him Joseph, ⁴⁰⁰  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ⁴⁰¹  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ⁴⁰²  me on my way so that I can go ⁴⁰³  home to my own country. ⁴⁰⁴  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ⁴⁰⁵  Then I’ll depart, ⁴⁰⁶  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ⁴⁰⁷ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ⁴⁰⁸  for I have learned by divination ⁴⁰⁹  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ⁴¹⁰ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ⁴¹¹  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ⁴¹²  30:30 Indeed, ⁴¹³  you had little before I arrived, ⁴¹⁴  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ⁴¹⁵  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ⁴¹⁶  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ⁴¹⁷ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ⁴¹⁸  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ⁴¹⁹  Jacob replied, ⁴²⁰  “but if you agree to this one condition, ⁴²¹  I will continue to care for ⁴²²  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ⁴²³  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ⁴²⁴  and the spotted or speckled goats. ⁴²⁵  These animals will be my wages. ⁴²⁶  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ⁴²⁷  later on. ⁴²⁸  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ⁴²⁹  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ⁴³⁰  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ⁴³¹ 

30:35 So that day Laban ⁴³²  removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care ⁴³³  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁴³⁴  while ⁴³⁵  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. ⁴³⁶  30:39 When the sheep mated ⁴³⁷  in front of the branches, they ⁴³⁸  gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face ⁴³⁹  the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, ⁴⁴⁰  Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. ⁴⁴¹  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ⁴⁴²  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ⁴⁴³  became extremely prosperous. He owned ⁴⁴⁴  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ⁴⁴⁵  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ⁴⁴⁶  at our father’s expense!” ⁴⁴⁷  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ⁴⁴⁸ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ⁴⁴⁹  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ⁴⁵⁰  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ⁴⁵¹  to come to the field ⁴⁵²  where his flocks were. ⁴⁵³  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ⁴⁵⁴  but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, ⁴⁵⁵  31:7 but your father has humiliated ⁴⁵⁶  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ⁴⁵⁷  ‘The speckled animals ⁴⁵⁸  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

31:10 “Once ⁴⁵⁹  during breeding season I saw ⁴⁶⁰  in a dream that the male goats mating with ⁴⁶¹  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe ⁴⁶²  that all the male goats mating with ⁴⁶³  the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ⁴⁶⁴  where you anointed ⁴⁶⁵  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ⁴⁶⁶  Now leave this land immediately ⁴⁶⁷  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ⁴⁶⁸  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ⁴⁶⁹  the money paid for us! ⁴⁷⁰  31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. ⁴⁷¹  31:18 He took ⁴⁷²  away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. ⁴⁷³ 

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ⁴⁷⁴  Rachel stole the household idols ⁴⁷⁵  that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived ⁴⁷⁶  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ⁴⁷⁷  31:21 He left ⁴⁷⁸  with all he owned. He quickly crossed ⁴⁷⁹  the Euphrates River ⁴⁸⁰  and headed for ⁴⁸¹  the hill country of Gilead.

31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. ⁴⁸²  31:23 So he took his relatives ⁴⁸³  with him and pursued Jacob ⁴⁸⁴  for seven days. ⁴⁸⁵  He caught up with ⁴⁸⁶  him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ⁴⁸⁷  “Be careful ⁴⁸⁸  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ⁴⁸⁹ 

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ⁴⁹⁰  31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ⁴⁹¹  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ⁴⁹²  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ⁴⁹³  and deceive me? ⁴⁹⁴  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ⁴⁹⁵  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren ⁴⁹⁶  good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have ⁴⁹⁷  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ⁴⁹⁸  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ⁴⁹⁹  31:30 Now I understand that ⁵⁰⁰  you have gone away ⁵⁰¹  because you longed desperately ⁵⁰²  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ⁵⁰³ 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ⁵⁰⁴  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ⁵⁰⁵  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ⁵⁰⁶  31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ⁵⁰⁷  In the presence of our relatives ⁵⁰⁸  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ⁵⁰⁹  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ⁵¹⁰ 

31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. ⁵¹¹  Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ⁵¹²  31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ⁵¹³  and sat on them.) ⁵¹⁴  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ⁵¹⁵  31:35 Rachel ⁵¹⁶  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ⁵¹⁷  my lord. I cannot stand up ⁵¹⁸  in your presence because I am having my period.” ⁵¹⁹  So he searched thoroughly, ⁵²⁰  but did not find the idols.

31:36 Jacob became angry ⁵²¹  and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. ⁵²²  “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? ⁵²³  31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ⁵²⁴  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ⁵²⁵  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ⁵²⁶ 

31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ⁵²⁷  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ⁵²⁸  whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat ⁵²⁹  during the day and by piercing cold ⁵³⁰  at night, and I went without sleep. ⁵³¹  31:41 This was my lot ⁵³²  for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave ⁵³³  for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ⁵³⁴  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ⁵³⁵  and he rebuked you last night.”

31:43 Laban replied ⁵³⁶  to Jacob, “These women ⁵³⁷  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ⁵³⁸  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ⁵³⁹  or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ⁵⁴⁰  you and I, and it will be ⁵⁴¹  proof that we have made peace.” ⁵⁴² 

31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he ⁵⁴³  said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. ⁵⁴⁴  They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, ⁵⁴⁵  but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁵⁴⁶ 

31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement ⁵⁴⁷  today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah ⁵⁴⁸  because he said, “May the Lord watch ⁵⁴⁹  between us ⁵⁵⁰  when we are out of sight of one another. ⁵⁵¹  31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ⁵⁵²  that God is witness to your actions.” ⁵⁵³ 

31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. ⁵⁵⁴  31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. ⁵⁵⁵  31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ⁵⁵⁶  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ⁵⁵⁷  31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice ⁵⁵⁸  on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. ⁵⁵⁹  They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

31:55 ⁵⁶⁰  Early in the morning Laban kissed ⁵⁶¹  his grandchildren ⁵⁶²  and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. ⁵⁶³ 

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ⁵⁶⁴  met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ⁵⁶⁵  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ⁵⁶⁶ 

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ⁵⁶⁷  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ⁵⁶⁸  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ⁵⁶⁹  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ⁵⁷⁰  this message ⁵⁷¹  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” ⁵⁷²  he thought, ⁵⁷³  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ⁵⁷⁴ 

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ⁵⁷⁵  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ⁵⁷⁶  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ⁵⁷⁷  32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ⁵⁷⁸  you have shown ⁵⁷⁹  your servant. With only my walking stick ⁵⁸⁰  I crossed the Jordan, ⁵⁸¹  but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, ⁵⁸²  I pray, from the hand ⁵⁸³  of my brother Esau, ⁵⁸⁴  for I am afraid he will come ⁵⁸⁵  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ⁵⁸⁶  32:12 But you ⁵⁸⁷  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ⁵⁸⁸  and will make ⁵⁸⁹  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ⁵⁹⁰ 

32:13 Jacob ⁵⁹¹  stayed there that night. Then he sent ⁵⁹²  as a gift ⁵⁹³  to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to ⁵⁹⁴  his servants, who divided them into herds. ⁵⁹⁵  He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ⁵⁹⁶  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ⁵⁹⁷  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ⁵⁹⁸  32:18 then you must say, ⁵⁹⁹  ‘They belong ⁶⁰⁰  to your servant Jacob. ⁶⁰¹  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ⁶⁰²  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ⁶⁰³ 

32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ⁶⁰⁴  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ⁶⁰⁵  Jacob thought, ⁶⁰⁶  “I will first appease him ⁶⁰⁷  by sending a gift ahead of me. ⁶⁰⁸  After that I will meet him. ⁶⁰⁹  Perhaps he will accept me.” ⁶¹⁰  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ⁶¹¹  while he spent that night in the camp. ⁶¹² 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ⁶¹³  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ⁶¹⁴  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ⁶¹⁵  32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. ⁶¹⁶  32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ⁶¹⁷  wrestled ⁶¹⁸  with him until daybreak. ⁶¹⁹  32:25 When the man ⁶²⁰  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ⁶²¹  he struck ⁶²²  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ⁶²³  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ⁶²⁴  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ⁶²⁵  “unless you bless me.” ⁶²⁶  32:27 The man asked him, ⁶²⁷  “What is your name?” ⁶²⁸  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ⁶²⁹  “but Israel, ⁶³⁰  because you have fought ⁶³¹  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ⁶³²  “Why ⁶³³  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ⁶³⁴  Then he blessed ⁶³⁵  Jacob ⁶³⁶  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ⁶³⁷  explaining, ⁶³⁸  “Certainly ⁶³⁹  I have seen God face to face ⁶⁴⁰  and have survived.” ⁶⁴¹ 

32:31 The sun rose ⁶⁴²  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ⁶⁴³  but ⁶⁴⁴  he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day ⁶⁴⁵  the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck ⁶⁴⁶  the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

33:1 Jacob looked up ⁶⁴⁷  and saw that Esau was coming ⁶⁴⁸  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ⁶⁴⁹  33:3 But Jacob ⁶⁵⁰  himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached ⁶⁵¹  his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau ⁶⁵²  looked up ⁶⁵³  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ⁶⁵⁴  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ⁶⁵⁵  your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. ⁶⁵⁶  33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

33:8 Esau ⁶⁵⁷  then asked, “What did you intend ⁶⁵⁸  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ⁶⁵⁹  Jacob ⁶⁶⁰  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. ⁶⁶¹  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ⁶⁶²  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ⁶⁶³  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ⁶⁶⁴  33:11 Please take my present ⁶⁶⁵  that was brought to you, for God has been generous ⁶⁶⁶  to me and I have all I need.” ⁶⁶⁷  When Jacob urged him, he took it. ⁶⁶⁸ 

33:12 Then Esau ⁶⁶⁹  said, “Let’s be on our way! ⁶⁷⁰  I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob ⁶⁷¹  said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, ⁶⁷²  and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. ⁶⁷³  If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, ⁶⁷⁴  until I come to my lord at Seir.”

33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” ⁶⁷⁵  “Why do that?” Jacob replied. ⁶⁷⁶  “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” ⁶⁷⁷ 

33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back ⁶⁷⁸  to Seir. 33:17 But ⁶⁷⁹  Jacob traveled to Succoth ⁶⁸⁰  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ⁶⁸¹  Succoth. ⁶⁸² 

33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near ⁶⁸³  the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it ⁶⁸⁴  from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. ⁶⁸⁵  33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” ⁶⁸⁶ 

34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet ⁶⁸⁷  the young women ⁶⁸⁸  of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, ⁶⁸⁹  and sexually assaulted her. ⁶⁹⁰  34:3 Then he became very attached ⁶⁹¹  to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. ⁶⁹²  34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” ⁶⁹³  34:5 When ⁶⁹⁴  Jacob heard that Shechem ⁶⁹⁵  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ⁶⁹⁶  until they came in.

34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. ⁶⁹⁷  34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ⁶⁹⁸  They ⁶⁹⁹  were offended ⁷⁰⁰  and very angry because Shechem ⁷⁰¹  had disgraced Israel ⁷⁰²  by sexually assaulting ⁷⁰³  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ⁷⁰⁴ 

34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. ⁷⁰⁵  Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. ⁷⁰⁶  Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. ⁷⁰⁷  34:10 You may live ⁷⁰⁸  among us, and the land will be open to you. ⁷⁰⁹  Live in it, travel freely in it, ⁷¹⁰  and acquire property in it.”

34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s ⁷¹¹  father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me ⁷¹²  I’ll give. ⁷¹³  34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, ⁷¹⁴  and I’ll give ⁷¹⁵  whatever you ask ⁷¹⁶  of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”

34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem ⁷¹⁷  had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give ⁷¹⁸  our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace ⁷¹⁹  to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become ⁷²⁰  like us by circumcising ⁷²¹  all your males. 34:16 Then we will give ⁷²²  you our daughters to marry, ⁷²³  and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms ⁷²⁴  by being circumcised, then we will take ⁷²⁵  our sister ⁷²⁶  and depart.”

34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ⁷²⁷  34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ⁷²⁸  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ⁷²⁹  badly. (Now he was more important ⁷³⁰  than anyone in his father’s household.) ⁷³¹  34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate ⁷³²  of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough ⁷³³  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ⁷³⁴  34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand ⁷³⁵  that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, ⁷³⁶  won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate ⁷³⁷  agreed with ⁷³⁸  Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate ⁷³⁹  was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ⁷⁴⁰  and went to the unsuspecting city ⁷⁴¹  and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them ⁷⁴²  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ⁷⁴³  34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ⁷⁴⁴  34:29 They captured as plunder ⁷⁴⁵  all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.

34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin ⁷⁴⁶  on me by making me a foul odor ⁷⁴⁷  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ⁷⁴⁸  am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, ⁷⁴⁹  “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”

35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once ⁷⁵⁰  to Bethel ⁷⁵¹  and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” ⁷⁵²  35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. ⁷⁵³  Purify yourselves and change your clothes. ⁷⁵⁴  35:3 Let us go up at once ⁷⁵⁵  to Bethel. Then I will make ⁷⁵⁶  an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress ⁷⁵⁷  and has been with me wherever I went.” ⁷⁵⁸ 

35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession ⁷⁵⁹  and the rings that were in their ears. ⁷⁶⁰  Jacob buried them ⁷⁶¹  under the oak ⁷⁶²  near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. ⁷⁶³  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ⁷⁶⁴  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) ⁷⁶⁵  in the land of Canaan. ⁷⁶⁶  35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel ⁷⁶⁷  because there God had revealed himself ⁷⁶⁸  to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, ⁷⁶⁹  Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named ⁷⁷⁰  Oak of Weeping.) ⁷⁷¹ 

35:9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel. ⁷⁷²  35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. ⁷⁷³  Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! ⁷⁷⁴  35:12 The land I gave ⁷⁷⁵  to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants ⁷⁷⁶  I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place ⁷⁷⁷  where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. ⁷⁷⁸  He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. ⁷⁷⁹  35:15 Jacob named the place ⁷⁸⁰  where God spoke with him Bethel. ⁷⁸¹ 

35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, ⁷⁸²  Rachel went into labor ⁷⁸³  – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, ⁷⁸⁴  the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” ⁷⁸⁵  35:18 With her dying breath, ⁷⁸⁶  she named him Ben-Oni. ⁷⁸⁷  But his father called him Benjamin instead. ⁷⁸⁸  35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ⁷⁸⁹  35:20 Jacob set up a marker ⁷⁹⁰  over her grave; it is ⁷⁹¹  the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.

35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. ⁷⁹²  35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ⁷⁹³  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.

These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, ⁷⁹⁴  to Kiriath Arba ⁷⁹⁵  (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ⁷⁹⁶  35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. ⁷⁹⁷  35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. ⁷⁹⁸  He died an old man who had lived a full life. ⁷⁹⁹  His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.