< Genesis 32 >
1 Jacob also went on the journey he had begun: and the angels of God met him.
Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2 And when he saw them, he said: These are the camps of God, and he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, Camps.
When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.
3 And he sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir to the country of Edom:
Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
4 And he commanded them, saying: Thus shall ye speak to my lord Esau: Thus saith thy brother Jacob: I have sojourned with Laban, and have been with him until this day.
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.
5 I have oxen, and asses, and sheep, and menservants, and womenservants: and now I send a message to my lord, that I may find favour in thy sight.
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.’”
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying: We came to Esau thy brother, and behold he cometh with speed to meet thee with four hundred men.
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.”
7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid; and in his fear divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and the sheep, and the oxen, and the camels, into two companies,
In great fear and distress, Jacob divided his people into two camps, as well as the flocks and herds and camels.
8 Saying: If Esau come to one company and destroy it, the other company that is left shall escape.
He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one camp, then the other camp can escape.”
9 And Jacob said: O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who saidst to me: Return to thy land and to the place of thy birth, and I will do well for thee,
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,’
10 I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies, and of thy truth which thou hast fulfilled to thy servant. With my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I return with two companies.
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.
11 Deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am greatly afraid of him: lest perhaps he come, and kill the mother with the children.
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.
12 Thou didst say that thou wouldst do well by me, and multiply my seed like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
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.’”
13 And when he had slept there that night, he set apart, of the things which he had, presents for his brother Esau.
Jacob spent the night there, and from what he had brought with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau:
14 Two hundred she goats, twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,
200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams,
15 Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and twenty bulls, twenty she asses, and ten of their foals.
30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys.
16 And he sent them by the hands of his servants, every drove by itself, and he said to his servants: Go before me, and let there be a space between drove and drove.
He entrusted them to his servants in separate herds and told them, “Go on ahead of me, and keep some distance between the herds.”
17 And he commanded the first, saying: If thou meet my brother Esau, and he ask thee: Whose art thou? or whither goest thou? or whose are these before thee?
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?’
18 Thou shalt answer: Thy servant Jacob’s: he hath sent them as a present to my lord Esau: and he cometh after us.
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.’”
19 In like manner he commanded the second and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying: Speak ye the same words to Esau, when ye find him.
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.
20 And ye shall add: Thy servant Jacob himself also followeth after us: for he said: I will appease him with the presents that go before, and afterwards I will see him, perhaps he will be gracious to me.
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.”
21 So the presents went before him, but himself lodged that night in the camp.
So Jacob’s gifts went on before him, while he spent the night in the camp.
22 And rising early he took his two wives, and his two handmaids, with his eleven sons, and passed over the ford of Jaboc.
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.
23 And when all things were brought over that belonged to him,
He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions.
24 He remained alone: and behold a man wrestled with him till morning.
So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
25 And when he saw that he could not overcome him, he touched the sinew of his thigh, and forthwith it shrank.
When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled.
26 And he said to him: Let me go, for it is break of day. He answered: I will not let thee go except thou bless me.
Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 And he said: What is thy name? He answered: Jacob.
“What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied.
28 But he said: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel: for if thou hast been strong against God, how much more shalt thou prevail against men?
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.”
29 Jacob asked him, Tell me by what name art thou called? He answered: Why dost thou ask my name? And he blessed him in the same place.
And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Phanuel, saying: I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved.
So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
31 And immediately the sun rose upon him, after he was past Phanuel; but he halted on his foot.
The sun rose above him as he passed by Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip.
32 Therefore the children of Israel, unto this day, eat not the sinew, that shrank in Jacob’s thigh: because he touched the sinew of his thigh and it shrank.
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.