28 Isaac called Jacob to come to him. He blessed Jacob. He told him, ‘Do not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 Go now to Paddan Aram. Go to the house of your mother's father, Bethuel. Find a wife for yourself from there. Choose one of the daughters of your mother's brother, Laban. 3 I pray that God Almighty will bless you. I pray that he will give you many children, so that your descendants become a large nation of people. 4 May God bless you and your descendants with the good things that he promised to Abraham. The land that he promised to give to Abraham will then belong to you. That is the land where you now live as a foreign person.’
5 Isaac sent Jacob away and Jacob went to Paddan Aram. He went to stay with Laban, who was the son of Bethuel, the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah. Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Esau heard that Isaac had blessed Jacob and then sent him away to Paddan Aram. Isaac had told Jacob to find a woman from Paddan Aram that he would marry. Isaac had said to Jacob, ‘Do not marry a Canaanite woman.’ 7 Esau saw that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother, and that he had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 So Esau then understood that his father, Isaac, did not like the Canaanite women. 9 So Esau went to visit Abraham's son, Ishmael. He married Ishmael's daughter, Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth. When Esau married Mahalath, he kept his Canaanite wives as well.
10 Jacob left Beersheba and he went towards Haran. 11 He came to a place where he stayed for the night, because the sun had gone down. He took a stone and he put it under his head. Then he lay down and he went to sleep. 12 He had a dream. In the dream, he saw some steps. The steps went up from the earth into heaven. God's angels were going up and down the steps.
13 The Lord stood at the top of the steps. He said, ‘I am the Lord . I am the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of Isaac, your father. I will give the land that you are lying on to you and to your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will go to the west and to the east. They will go to the north and to the south. Through you and your descendants I will bless all the families of people on the earth. [ a ] 15 I am with you. I will take care of you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised to do for you.’
16 Jacob woke from his sleep. He thought, ‘The Lord is in this place and I did not know it.’ 17 Jacob was afraid. He said, ‘How great this place is! This must be the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.’
18 Early in the morning Jacob got up. He took the stone that he had put under his head. He made it stand up straight in the ground. He poured oil on top of it. [ b ]
19 Jacob called that place Bethel. [ c ] Before that, the name of the place had been Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a promise to God. He said, ‘While I am on this journey, I want God to be with me and to take care of me. I want him to give me food to eat and clothes to wear. 21 Then I want to return to my father's house. If God keeps me safe, then the Lord will be my God. 22 This special stone that I have put here will be God's house. And from everything that God gives me, I will give God one tenth.’
28 Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. Then Isaac gave him a command and said, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman. 2 So leave this place and go to Paddan Aram. Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father. Laban, your mother’s brother, lives there. Marry one of his daughters. 3 I pray that God All-Powerful [ a ] will bless you and give you many children. I pray that you will become the father of a great nation 4 and that God will bless you and your children the same way he blessed Abraham. And I pray that you will own the land where you live. This is the land God gave to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob to Rebekah’s brother in Paddan Aram. Jacob went to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Esau learned that his father Isaac blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. He also learned that Isaac commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman. 7 Esau learned that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and went to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau saw from this that his father did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women. 9 Esau already had two wives, but he went to Abraham’s son Ishmael and married another woman, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael. Mahalath was Nebaioth’s sister.
10 Jacob left Beersheba and went to Haran. 11 The sun had already set when he came to a good place to spend the night. He took a rock there and laid his head on it to sleep. 12 Jacob had a dream. He dreamed there was a ladder that was on the ground and reached up into heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and down the ladder. 13 And then Jacob saw the Lord standing by the ladder. He said, “I am the Lord , the God of your grandfather Abraham. I am the God of Isaac. I will give you the land that you are lying on now. I will give this land to you and to your children. 14 You will have as many descendants as there are particles of dust on the earth. They will spread east and west, north and south. All the families on earth will be blessed because of you and your descendants.
15 “I am with you, and I will protect you everywhere you go. I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised.”
16 Then Jacob woke up and said, “I know that the Lord is in this place, but I did not know he was here until I slept.”
17 Jacob was afraid and said, “This is a very great place. This is the house of God. This is the gate to heaven.”
18 Jacob got up very early in the morning. He took the rock he had slept on and set it up on its edge. Then he poured oil on the rock. In this way he made it a memorial to God. 19 The name of that place was Luz, but Jacob named it Bethel. [ b ]
20 Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “If God will be with me, and if he will protect me on this trip, and if he gives me food to eat and clothes to wear, 21 and if I return in peace to my father’s house—if he does all these things—then the Lord will be my God. 22 I am setting this stone up as a memorial stone. It will show that this is a holy place for God, and I will give God one-tenth of all he gives me.”
28 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
2 Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughers of Laban thy mother's brother.
3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;
4 And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughers of Canaan;
7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;
8 And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;
9 Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
22 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
28 So Isaac called Jacob and ( A ) blessed him and commanded him, [ a ] saying to him, “ ( B ) You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of ( C ) Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May [ b ] ( D ) God Almighty ( E ) bless you and ( F ) make you fruitful and ( G ) multiply you, so that you may become a ( H ) multitude of peoples. 4 May He also give you the ( I ) blessing of Abraham, to you and to your [ c ] descendants with you, so that you may ( J ) possess the land where you ( K ) live as a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then ( L ) Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, saying, “ ( M ) You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So Esau saw that ( N ) the daughters of Canaan displeased [ d ] his father Isaac; 9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and [ e ] married, ( O ) besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
10 Then Jacob departed from ( P ) Beersheba and went toward ( Q ) Haran. 11 And he [ f ] happened upon a [ g ] ( R ) particular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And ( S ) he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, ( T ) the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, ( U ) the Lord was standing [ h ] above it and said, “I am the Lord , ( V ) the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give ( W ) to you and to ( X ) your [ i ] descendants. 14 Your [ j ] descendants will also be like ( Y ) the dust of the earth, and you will [ k ] spread out ( Z ) to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and ( AA ) in you and in your [ l ] descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, ( AB ) I am with you and ( AC ) will keep you wherever you go, and ( AD ) will bring you back to this land; for ( AE ) I will not leave you until I have done what I have [ m ] promised you.” 16 Then Jacob ( AF ) awoke from his sleep and said, “ ( AG ) The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “ ( AH ) How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
18 So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took ( AI ) the stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on its top. 19 Then he named that place [ n ] ( AJ ) Bethel; but [ o ] previously the name of the city had been ( AK ) Luz. 20 Jacob also ( AL ) made a vow, saying, “ ( AM ) If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I [ p ] take, and give me [ q ] ( AN ) food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and ( AO ) I return to my father’s house in [ r ] safety, ( AP ) then the Lord will be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, ( AQ ) will be God’s house, and ( AR ) of everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”
28 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed ( A ) him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman. ( B ) 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram, [ a ] ( C ) to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. ( D ) Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. ( E ) 3 May God Almighty [ b ] ( F ) bless ( G ) you and make you fruitful ( H ) and increase your numbers ( I ) until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, ( J ) so that you may take possession of the land ( K ) where you now reside as a foreigner, ( L ) the land God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, ( M ) and he went to Paddan Aram, ( N ) to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, ( O ) the brother of Rebekah, ( P ) who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,” ( Q ) 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women ( R ) were to his father Isaac; ( S ) 9 so he went to Ishmael ( T ) and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth ( U ) and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had. ( V )
10 Jacob left Beersheba ( W ) and set out for Harran. ( X ) 11 When he reached a certain place, ( Y ) he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head ( Z ) and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream ( AA ) in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ( AB ) 13 There above it [ c ] stood the Lord , ( AC ) and he said: “I am the Lord , the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. ( AD ) I will give you and your descendants the land ( AE ) on which you are lying. ( AF ) 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you ( AG ) will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. ( AH ) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. [ d ] ( AI ) 15 I am with you ( AJ ) and will watch over you ( AK ) wherever you go, ( AL ) and I will bring you back to this land. ( AM ) I will not leave you ( AN ) until I have done what I have promised you. ( AO ) ” ( AP )
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, ( AQ ) he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! ( AR ) This is none other than the house of God; ( AS ) this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head ( AT ) and set it up as a pillar ( AU ) and poured oil on top of it. ( AV ) 19 He called that place Bethel, [ e ] ( AW ) though the city used to be called Luz. ( AX )
20 Then Jacob made a vow, ( AY ) saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me ( AZ ) on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ( BA ) 21 so that I return safely ( BB ) to my father’s household, ( BC ) then the Lord [ f ] will be my God ( BD ) 22 and [ g ] this stone that I have set up as a pillar ( BE ) will be God’s house, ( BF ) and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth. ( BG ) ”
