Genesis 28
1 Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.
And so Isaac called for Jacob, and he blessed him, and he instructed him, saying: “Do not be willing to accept a mate from the family of Canaan.
2 Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take a wife from there, one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.
But go, and journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and there accept for yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your maternal uncle.
3 May God Almighty bless you, make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a multitude of peoples.
And may God almighty bless you, and may he cause you to increase and also to multiply, so that you may be influential among the people.
4 May he give you the blessing of Abraham, to you, and to your descendants after you, that you may inherit the land where you have been living, which God gave to Abraham.”
And may he give the blessings of Abraham to you, and to your offspring after you, so that you may possess the land of your sojourning, which he promised to your grandfather.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away. Jacob went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
And when Isaac had dismissed him, setting out, he went to Mesopotamia of Syria, to Laban, the son of Bethuel, the Syrian, the brother to Rebekah, his mother.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take a wife from there. He also saw that Isaac had blessed him and given him a command, saying, “You must not take a wife from the women of Canaan.”
But Esau, seeing that his father had blessed Jacob and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to take a wife from there, and that, after the blessing, he had instructed him, saying: ‘You shall not accept a wife from the daughters of Canaan,’
7 Esau also saw that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and had gone to Paddan Aram.
and that Jacob, obeying his parents, had gone into Syria,
8 Esau saw that the women of Canaan did not please Isaac his father.
having evidence also that his father did not look with favor upon the daughters of Canaan,
9 So he 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 Ishmael, and he took as a wife, beside those he had before, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.
Meanwhile Jacob, having departed from Beersheba, continued 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 in that place, put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.
And when he had arrived at a certain place, where he would rest after the setting of the sun, he took some of the stones that lay there, and placing them under his head, he slept in the same place.
12 He dreamed and saw a stairway set up on the earth. Its top reached to heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
And he saw in his sleep: a ladder standing upon the earth, with its top touching heaven, also, the Angels of God ascending and descending by it,
13 Behold, Yahweh stood above it and said, “I am Yahweh, the God of Abraham your father, 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, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land, in which you sleep, I will give to you and to your offspring.
14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread far out to the west, to the east, to the north, and to the south. Through you and through your descendants will all the families of the earth be blessed.
And your offspring will be like the dust of the earth. You will spread abroad to the West, and to the East, and to the North, and to the Meridian. And in you and in your offspring, all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.
15 Behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go. I will bring you into this land again; for I will not leave you. I will do all that I have promised to you.”
And I will be your guardian wherever you will journey, and I will bring you back into this land. Neither will I dismiss you, until I have accomplished all that I have said.”
16 Jacob awoke out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I did not know it.”
And when Jacob had awakened from sleep, he said, “Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 He was afraid and said, “How terrifying is this place! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”
And being terrified, he said: “How terrible this place is! This is nothing other than the house of God and the gateway of heaven.”
18 Jacob arose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put under his head. He set it up as a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it.
Therefore, Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone which he had placed under his head, and he set it up as monument, pouring oil over it.
19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city originally was Luz.
And he called the name of the city, ‘Bethel,’ which before was called Luz.
20 Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will protect me on this road on which I am walking, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear,
And then he made a vow, saying: “If God will be with me, and will guard me along the way by which I walk, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
21 so that I return safely to my father's house, then Yahweh will be my God.
and if I will return prosperously to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God,
22 Then this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be a sacred stone. From everything that you give me, I will surely give a tenth back to you.”
and this stone, which I have set up as a monument, will be called ‘the House of God.’ And from all the things that you will give to me, I will offer tithes to you.”
