< Genesis 28 >
1 Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan:
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, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy uncle.
3 May El Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,
And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase, and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.
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 give the blessings of Abraham to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather.
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.
And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and went to Mesopotamia of Syria to Laban the son of Bathuel the Syrian, brother to Rebecca his mother.
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,"
And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the blessing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:
7 and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and left for Paddan Aram.
And that Jacob obeying his parents was gone into Syria:
8 Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac, his father.
Experiencing also that his father was not well pleased with the daughters of Chanaan:
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.
He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had before, Maheleth the daughter of Ismael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nabajoth.
10 Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on 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 when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it after sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head, slept in the same 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 saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it;
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 the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed.
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.
And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: 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 all the tribes of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED.
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 I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land: neither will I leave thee, till I shall have accomplished all that I have said.
16 Then Jacob woke up from his sleep, and said, "Surely God is in this place, and I did not know it."
And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.
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 trembling he said: How terrible is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and the gate 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 Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone, which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it.
19 He called the name of that place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz.
And he called the name of the city Bethel, which before was called Luza.
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,
And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21 so that I return to my father's house safely, then he will be my God,
And I shall return prosperously to my father’s house: the Lord shall 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 set up for a title, shall be called the house of God: and of all things that thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes to thee.