Genesis 28
1 And so Isaac called for Jacob, and he blessed him, and he instructed him, saying: “Do not be willing to accept a mate from the family of Canaan.
So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.
2 But go, and journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and there accept for yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your maternal uncle.
“Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
3 And may God almighty bless you, and may he cause you to increase and also to multiply, so that you may be influential among the people.
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
4 And may he give the blessings of Abraham to you, and to your offspring after you, so that you may possess the land of your sojourning, which he promised to your grandfather.”
And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
5 And when Isaac had dismissed him, setting out, he went to Mesopotamia of Syria, to Laban, the son of Bethuel, the Syrian, the brother to Rebekah, his mother.
So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 But Esau, seeing that his father had blessed Jacob and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to take a wife from there, and that, after the blessing, he had instructed him, saying: ‘You shall not accept a wife from the daughters of Canaan,’
Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”
7 and that Jacob, obeying his parents, had gone into Syria,
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8 having evidence also that his father did not look with favor upon the daughters of Canaan,
And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
9 he went to Ishmael, and he took as a wife, beside those he had before, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, in addition to the wives he already had.
10 Meanwhile Jacob, having departed from Beersheba, continued on to Haran.
Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
11 And when he had arrived at a certain place, where he would rest after the setting of the sun, he took some of the stones that lay there, and placing them under his head, he slept in the same place.
On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12 And he saw in his sleep: a ladder standing upon the earth, with its top touching heaven, also, the Angels of God ascending and descending by it,
And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.
13 and the Lord, leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land, in which you sleep, I will give to you and to your offspring.
And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.
14 And your offspring will be like the dust of the earth. You will spread abroad to the West, and to the East, and to the North, and to the Meridian. And in you and in your offspring, all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
15 And I will be your guardian wherever you will journey, and I will bring you back into this land. Neither will I dismiss you, until I have accomplished all that I have said.”
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 And when Jacob had awakened from sleep, he said, “Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”
17 And being terrified, he said: “How terrible this place is! This is nothing other than the house of God and the gateway of heaven.”
And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”
18 Therefore, Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone which he had placed under his head, and he set it up as monument, pouring oil over it.
Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,
19 And he called the name of the city, ‘Bethel,’ which before was called Luz.
and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
20 And then he made a vow, saying: “If God will be with me, and will guard me along the way by which I walk, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
21 and if I will return prosperously to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God,
so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.
22 and this stone, which I have set up as a monument, will be called ‘the House of God.’ And from all the things that you will give to me, I will offer tithes to you.”
And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
