Genesis 32
1 Jacob also went on the journey he had begun: and the angels of God met him.
Jacob went on his way and some angels of God came to meet 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 he saw them he said, “This must be God's camp!” He named the place “Two Camps.”
3 And he sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir to the country of Edom:
He sent messengers on ahead to meet his brother Esau who was living in the region of Seir in 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 told them, “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau. Your servant Jacob sends you this message. I've been staying with Laban up till 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.
and I have cattle and donkeys and sheep and goats, and male and female slaves. I've sent these messengers to explain this to you my lord, hoping you'll be pleased to see me.”
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.
The messengers returned to Jacob and told him, “Your brother Esau is coming to meet you with 400 armed men!”
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,
When Jacob heard this, he was absolutely terrified. He split all the people with him, along with the sheep, goats, cattle, and camels, into two groups,
8 Saying: If Esau come to one company and destroy it, the other company that is left shall escape.
saying to himself, “If Esau comes and destroys one group, the other one can get away.”
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,
Jacob prayed, “God of my grandfather Abraham, God of my father Isaac! Lord, you were the one who told me, ‘Return to your own country and your family home, and I will treat you well.’
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 don't deserve all the trustworthy love and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I crossed the Jordan years ago with just my walking stick, and now I have two large 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 save me from my brother; defend me from Esau! I'm terrified that he's coming to attack me, my wives, and my children.
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.
You yourself told me, ‘I will definitely treat you well. I will make your descendants as numerous as the sand of the seashore—too many 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 stayed the night there. Then he picked out animals as a gift to 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 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls; 20 female donkeys, 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 put his servants in charge of each of the separate herds and told them, “Go on ahead of me, and keep a good 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 gave these instructions to those with the first herd: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who is your master, and where are you going, and whose are these animals with 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.
you are to say to him, ‘Your servant Jacob sends these as a gift to my lord Esau, and he's following 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 gave the same instructions to those with the second and third and all the subsequent herds, telling them, “This what you are to say to Esau when he meets you.
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 must also tell him, ‘Your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” Jacob said to himself, “Maybe by sending these gifts on ahead Esau won't be angry with me and when I meet him he'll be kind to me.”
21 So the presents went before him, but himself lodged that night in the camp.
So the gifts went on ahead while Jacob spent the night at 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.
He got up during the night and took his two wives and the two personal maids and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River at the ford.
23 And when all things were brought over that belonged to him,
After helping them cross he also sent over everything that belonged to him.
24 He remained alone: and behold a man wrestled with him till morning.
But Jacob stayed there alone. A man came and wrestled with him until dawn.
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 realized he couldn't beat Jacob, he hit Jacob's hip socket and put it out of joint as he wrestled with him.
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 because it's almost dawn.” “I won't let you go unless you bless me,” Jacob replied.
27 And he said: What is thy name? He answered: Jacob.
“What's 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?
“Jacob will no longer be you name,” said the man. “Instead you will be called Israel, because you fought with God and with men and you won.”
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.
“Please tell me your name,” Jacob asked. “Why do you ask me my name?” the man replied. 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.
Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “I saw God face to face and I'm still alive!”
31 And immediately the sun rose upon him, after he was past Phanuel; but he halted on his foot.
The sun came up as Jacob left Peniel, limping along because of his damaged 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.
(That's why, even today, Israelites don't eat the thigh tendon attached to the hip socket, because that's where the man hit Jacob's hip socket.)
