Genesis 28
1 Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Don't marry a Canaanite woman,” he ordered him.
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
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.
Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thyself from there a wife of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.
3 God Almighty bless you and may your descendants be so numerous that you become the ancestor of many nations.
And God, the Almighty, bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest become a multitude of people;
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 thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojourn, which God gave unto 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.
And Isaac sent away Jacob, and he went to Padan-aram, unto Laban, the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, 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.”
And when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take himself from there a wife; and in blessing him had given him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;
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 his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram:
8 This made Esau realize how much his father disliked Canaanite women.
Then saw Esau that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac his father;
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.
And Esau went unto Ishmael, and took Machalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebayoth in addition to his wives, to himself as wife.
10 In the meantime Jacob had set off from Beersheba on his way to Haran.
And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Charan.
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.
And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it for his pillow, and laid himself down in that place.
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 he dreamed, and behold a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
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, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
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.
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and in thee and thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
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.”
And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done what I have spoken to thee of.
16 When Jacob woke up he said to himself, “The Lord is right here, in this place, and I didn't realize it!”
And Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is present in this place; and I knew it not.
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 fearful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and 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.
And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
19 He named the place “Bethel,” (previously it was called Luz).
And he called the name of that place Beth-el; but Luz was the name of that city in former times.
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
And Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me on this way which I am going, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21 so I can return safely to my father's home, then you Lord will be my God.
And I come again in peace to my father's house: then shall the Lord 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, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou wilt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
