Genesis 32
1 Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God.
2 When he saw them, Jacob said, "This is God's camp." He called the name of that place Mahanaim.
And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God: so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to Esau, his brother, to the land of Seir, the region of Edom.
Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom;
4 He commanded them, saying, "This is what you shall tell my lord, Esau: 'This is what your servant, Jacob, says. I have lived as a foreigner with Laban, and stayed until now.
And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban:
5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.'"
And I have oxen and asses and flocks and men-servants and women-servants: and I have sent to give my lord news of these things so that I may have grace in his eyes.
6 The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau. Not only that, but he comes to meet you, and four hundred men with him."
When the servants came back they said, We have seen your brother Esau and he is coming out to you, and four hundred men with him.
7 Then Jacob was very afraid and was distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the camels, into two camps;
Then Jacob was in great fear and trouble of mind: and he put all the people and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups;
8 and he said, "If Esau comes to the one camp, and strikes it, then the other camp will escape."
And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely.
9 Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, who said to me, 'Return to your country, and to your relatives, and I will do you good,'
Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you:
10 I am not worthy of the least of all the loving kindnesses and of all the faithfulness which you have shown to your servant; for with just my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
I am less than nothing in comparison with all your mercies and your faith to me your servant; for with only my stick in my hand I went across Jordan, and now I have become two armies.
11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.
Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child.
12 You said, 'I will surely do you good and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which can't be counted because there are so many.'"
And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered.
13 So he spent the night there and selected from what he had acquired a present for his brother Esau:
Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau,
14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep,
15 thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses.
16 He entrusted them into the hands of his servants as separate herds, and said to his servants, "Pass over before me, and keep some distance between the herds."
These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another.
17 He instructed the first, saying, "When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, 'Whose are you? Where are you going? Whose are these ahead of you?'
And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds?
18 Then you shall say, 'They are your servant, Jacob's. It is a present sent to my lord Esau. And look, he also is behind us.'"
Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us.
19 He instructed also the second, and the third, and all that followed the herds, saying, "This is how you are to speak to Esau, when you find him.
And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him;
20 You shall say, 'Not only that, but look, your servant Jacob is behind us.'" For, he said, "I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will meet him. Perhaps he will accept me."
And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes.
21 So the gift passed over before him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.
So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people.
22 He got up that night and took his two wives, and his two female servants, and his eleven sons and crossed over the ford of the Jabbok.
And in the night he got up, and taking with him his two wives and the two servant-women and his eleven children, he went over the river Jabbok.
23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and sent over all his possessions.
He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had.
24 Then Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the rising of the dawn.
Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn.
25 When he saw that he did not defeat him, he struck the socket of his hip, and Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him.
But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged.
26 Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But Jacob said, "I won't let you go unless you bless me."
And he said to him, Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said, I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing.
27 And he said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."
Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.
28 Then he said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed."
And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome.
29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask what my name is?" And he blessed him there.
Then Jacob said, What is your name? And he said, What is my name to you? Then he gave him a blessing.
30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved."
And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living.
31 The sun rose on him as he passed by Peniel, and he limped because of his hip.
And while he was going past Peniel, the sun came up. And he went with unequal steps because of his damaged leg.
32 Therefore, to this day the children of Israel do not eat the tendon of the hip socket, because he struck Jacob's hip socket near that tendon.
For this reason the children of Israel, even today, never take that muscle in the hollow of the leg as food, because the hollow of Jacob's leg was touched.
