Genesis 32
1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God.
2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.
And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God: so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom;
4 He instructed them, “You are to say to my master Esau, ‘Your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban and have remained there until now.
And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban:
5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, menservants, and maidservants. I have sent this message to inform my master, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
And I have oxen and asses and flocks and men-servants and women-servants: and I have sent to give my lord news of these things so that I may have grace in his eyes.
6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you—he and four hundred men with him.”
When the servants came back they said, We have seen your brother Esau and he is coming out to you, and four hundred men with him.
7 In great fear and distress, Jacob divided his people into two camps, as well as the flocks and herds and camels.
Then Jacob was in great fear and trouble of mind: and he put all the people and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups;
8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one camp, then the other camp can escape.”
And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely.
9 Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’
Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you:
10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.
I am less than nothing in comparison with all your mercies and your faith to me your servant; for with only my stick in my hand I went across Jordan, and now I have become two armies.
11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid that he may come and attack me and the mothers and children with me.
Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child.
12 But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’”
And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered.
13 Jacob spent the night there, and from what he had brought with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau:
Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau,
14 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams,
Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep,
15 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys.
Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses.
16 He entrusted them to his servants in separate herds and told them, “Go on ahead of me, and keep some distance between the herds.”
These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another.
17 He instructed the one in the lead, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose animals are these before you?’
And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds?
18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau. And behold, Jacob is behind us.’”
Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us.
19 He also instructed the second, the third, and all those following behind the herds: “When you meet Esau, you are to say the same thing to him.
And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him;
20 You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I will appease Esau with the gift that is going before me. After that I can face him, and perhaps he will accept me.”
And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes.
21 So Jacob’s gifts went on before him, while he spent the night in the camp.
So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people.
22 During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
And in the night he got up, and taking with him his two wives and the two servant-women and his eleven children, he went over the river Jabbok.
23 He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.
He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had.
24 So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn.
25 When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled.
But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged.
26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
And he said to him, Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said, I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing.
27 “What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied.
Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome.
29 And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
Then Jacob said, What is your name? And he said, What is my name to you? Then he gave him a blessing.
30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living.
31 The sun rose above him as he passed by Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip.
And while he was going past Peniel, the sun came up. And he went with unequal steps because of his damaged leg.
32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon which is at the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck near that tendon.
For this reason the children of Israel, even today, never take that muscle in the hollow of the leg as food, because the hollow of Jacob's leg was touched.
