< 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.
And Isaac having called for Jacob, blessed him, and charged him, saying, You shall not take a wife of the daughters of the Chananites.
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.
Rise and depart quickly into Mesopotamia, to the house of Bathuel the father of your mother, and take to yourself thence a wife of 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.
And may my God bless you, and increase you, and multiply you, and you shall become gatherings of nations.
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 you the blessing of my father Abraam, even to you and to your seed after you, to inherit the land of your sojourning, which God gave to Abraam.
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 away Jacob, and he went into Mesopotamia to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca 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,’
And Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Mesopotamia of Syria as he blessed him, to take to himself a wife thence, and [that] he charged him, saying, You shall not take a wife of the daughters of the Chananites;
7 and that Jacob, obeying his parents, had gone into Syria,
and [that] Jacob listened to his father and his mother, and went to Mesopotamia of Syria.
8 having evidence also that his father did not look with favor upon the daughters of Canaan,
And Esau also having seen that the daughters of Chanaan were evil before his father Isaac,
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 Ismael, and took Maeleth the daughter of Ismael, the son of Abraam, the sister of Nabeoth, a wife in addition to his [other] wives.
10 Meanwhile Jacob, having departed from Beersheba, continued on to Haran.
And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan.
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.
And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took [one] of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place,
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 dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it.
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 the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of your father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed.
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.
And your seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in you and in your seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.
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.”
And behold I am with you to preserve you continually in all the way wherein you shall go; and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not desert you, until I have done all that I have said to you.
16 And when Jacob had awakened from sleep, he said, “Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.
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 fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and 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.
And Jacob rose up in the morning, and took the stone he [had] laid there by his head, and he set it up [as] a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
19 And he called the name of the city, ‘Bethel,’ which before was called Luz.
And he called the name of that place, the House of God; and the name of the city before was Ulam-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,
And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Lord God will be with me, and guard me throughout on this journey, on which I am going, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21 and if I will return prosperously to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God,
and bring me back in safety to the house of my father, then shall the Lord be for a God to me.
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, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be to me a house of God; and of all whatever you shall give me, I will tithe a tenth for you.

< Genesis 28 >