< Genesis 28 >
1 Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
Then Isaac sent for Jacob, and blessing him, said, Do not take a wife from among the women of Canaan;
2 Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
But go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and there get yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
3 May El Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,
And may God, the Ruler of all, give you his blessing, giving you fruit and increase, so that you may become an army of peoples.
4 and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave to Abraham."
And may God give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed, so that the land of your wanderings, which God gave to Abraham, may be your heritage.
5 Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, Rebekah's brother, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
So Isaac sent Jacob away: and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramaean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,"
So when Esau saw that Isaac had given Jacob his blessing, and sent him away to Paddan-aram to get a wife for himself there, blessing him and saying to him, Do not take a wife from among the women of Canaan;
7 and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and left for Paddan Aram.
And that Jacob had done as his father and mother said and had gone to Paddan-aram;
8 Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac, his father.
It was clear to Esau that his father had no love for the women of Canaan,
9 Esau went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
So Jacob went out from Beer-sheba to go to Haran.
11 He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.
And coming to a certain place, he made it his resting-place for the night, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones which were there, and putting it under his head he went to sleep in that place.
12 And he dreamed. And look, a stairway was set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. And look, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
And he had a dream, and in his dream he saw steps stretching from earth to heaven, and the angels of God were going up and down on them.
13 And God stood above it, and said, "I am the God of Abraham your grandfather, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants.
And he saw the Lord by his side, saying, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: I will give to you and to your seed this land on which you are sleeping.
14 Your descendants will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And through you and through your descendants will all the families of the earth be blessed.
Your seed will be like the dust of the earth, covering all the land to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south: you and your seed will be a name of blessing to all the families of the earth.
15 And look, I am with you, and will watch over you wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you."
And truly, I will be with you, and will keep you wherever you go, guiding you back again to this land; and I will not give you up till I have done what I have said to you.
16 Then Jacob woke up from his sleep, and said, "Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it."
And Jacob, awaking from his sleep, said, Truly, the Lord is in this place and I was not conscious of it.
17 He was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place. This is none other than God's house, and this is the gate of heaven."
And fear came on him, and he said, This is a holy place; this is nothing less than the house of God and the doorway of heaven.
18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up as a standing-stone, and poured oil on top of it.
And early in the morning Jacob took the stone which had been under his head, and put it up as a pillar and put oil on it.
19 He called the name of that place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz.
And he gave that place the name of Beth-el, but before that time the town was named Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will watch over me on this journey I am taking, and will give me food to eat, and clothing to put on,
Then Jacob took an oath, and said, If God will be with me, and keep me safe on my journey, and give me food and clothing to put on,
21 so that I return to my father's house safely, then he will be my God,
So that I come again to my father's house in peace, then I will take the Lord to be my God,
22 and this stone, which I have set up as a standing-stone, will be God's house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give the tenth to you."
And this stone which I have put up for a pillar will be God's house: and of all you give me, I will give a tenth part to you.