Genesis 28
1 Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Don't marry a Canaanite woman,” he ordered him.
So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.
2 “Leave right away and go to Paddan-aram, to the home of Bethuel, your mother's father. Find yourself a wife there—a daughter of Laban, your mother's brother.
“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 God Almighty bless you and may your descendants be so numerous that you become the ancestor of many nations.
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
4 May he grant you and your descendants the same blessing he gave to Abraham, so that you may take over the land where you now live as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
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 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way. He traveled to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
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 Esau found out that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife there, and that when he blessed him he ordered him, “Don't marry a Canaanite woman.”
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 He also discovered that Jacob had done what his father and mother told him and had left for Paddan-aram.
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8 This made Esau realize how much his father disliked Canaanite women.
And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
9 So he went to Ishmael's family and married an additional wife—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 In the meantime Jacob had set off from Beersheba on his way to Haran.
Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
11 He arrived after sunset at a particular place and stopped there for the night. He picked up a stone, put it under his head, lay down and went to sleep.
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 He dreamed he saw a stairway that started on earth, and the top reached all the way into heaven. He saw God's angels going up and down on 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 Then he saw the Lord standing over him, who said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. I'm giving you and your descendants the land you're lying on.
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 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and will spread out west and east, and north and south. Everyone on earth will be blessed by your descendants.
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 Listen! I am with you and will take care of you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this country. I won't leave you because I'm going to do what I've promised you.”
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 When Jacob woke up he said to himself, “The Lord is right here, in this place, and I didn't realize it!”
When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”
17 He became frightened and said, “This is a scary place! It must be the house of God and the entrance to 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 When Jacob got up in the morning he took the stone he'd put under his head and set it upright as a stone pillar and poured some olive oil on 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 He named the place “Bethel,” (previously it was called Luz).
and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
20 Jacob also made a solemn promise, saying, “God, if you will be with me, and take care of me on my journey, and give me food to eat and clothes 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 so I can return safely to my father's home, then you Lord will be my God.
so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.
22 This stone pillar that I've set up will be the house of God, and I will give you one tenth of all you give me.”
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.”
