Genesis 32
1 Forsothe Jacob wente forth in the weie in which he began, and the aungels of the Lord metten him.
And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God.
2 And whanne he hadde seyn hem, he seide, These ben the castels of God; and he clepide the name of that place Manaym, that is, castels.
And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God: so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim.
3 Sotheli Jacob sente bifore him also messangeris to Esau, his brother, in to the lond of Seir, in the cuntrey of Edom;
Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom;
4 and comaundide to hem, and seide, Thus speke ye to my lord Esau, Thi brothir Jacob seith these thingis, Y was a pilgrym at Laban, `and Y was `til in to present dai;
And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban:
5 Y haue oxun, and assis, and scheep, and seruauntis, and hand maydis, and Y sende now a message to my lord, that Y fynde grace in thi siyt.
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 And the messageris turneden ayen to Jacob, and seiden, We camen to Esau, thi brother, and lo! he hastith in to thi comyng, with foure hundrid men.
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 Jacob dredde greetli, and he was aferd, and departide the puple that was with hym, and he departide the flockis, and scheep, and oxun, and camels, in to twei cumpenyes;
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 seide, If Esau schal come to o cumpeny, and schal smyte it, the tothir cumpeny which is residue schal be saued.
And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely.
9 And Jacob seide, A! God of my fadir Abraham, and God of my fadir Isaac, A! Lord, that seidist to me, Turne thou ayen in to thi lond, and in to the place of thi birthe, and Y schal do wel to thee,
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 Y am lesse than alle thi merciful doyngis, and than thi treuthe which thou hast fillid to thi seruaunt; with my staf Y passide this Jordan, and now Y go ayen with twei cumpanyes;
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 delyuere thou me fro the hond of my brothir Esau, for Y drede him greetli, lest he come and sle the modris with the sones.
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 Thou spakist that thou schuldist do wel to me, and shuldist alarge my seed as the grauel of the see, that mai not be noumbrid for mychilnesse.
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 And whanne Jacob hadde slept there in that nyyt, he departide of tho thingis whiche he hadde yiftis to Esau, his brothir,
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 hundrid geet, and twenti buckis of geet, two hundrid scheep, and twenti rammys,
Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep,
15 camels fulle with her foolis thretti, fourti kyen, and twenti boolis, twenti sche assis, and ten foolis of hem.
Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses.
16 And he sente bi the hondis of his seruauntis alle flockis bi hem silf; and he seide to hise children, Go ye bifore me, and a space be betwixe flok and flok.
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 And he comaundide to the formere, and seide, If thou schalt mete my brothir Esau, and he schal axe thee, whos man thou art, ether whidir thou goist, ether whos ben these thingis whiche thou suest,
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 thou schalt answere, Of thi seruaunt Jacob, he hath sent yiftis to his lord Esau, and he cometh aftir vs.
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 In lijk maner, he yaf comaundementis to the secounde, and to the thridde, and to alle that sueden flockis; and seide, Speke ye bi the same wordis to Esau,
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 whanne ye fynden hym, and ye schulen adde, Also Jacob hym silf thi seruaunt sueth oure weie. For Jacob seide, Y schal plese Esau with yiftis that goon bifore, and aftirward Y schal se hym; in hap he schal be mercyful to 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 And so the yiftis yeden bifore hym; sotheli he dwellide in that nyyt in the tentis.
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 And whanne Jacob hadde arise auysseli, he took hise twei wyues, and so many seruauntessis with enleuen sones, and passide the forthe of Jaboth.
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 And whanne alle thingis that perteyneden to hym weren led ouer, he dwellide aloone, and, lo!
He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had.
24 a man wrastlide with him til to the morwetid.
Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn.
25 And whanne the man seiy that he miyte not ouercome Jacob, he touchide the senewe of Jacobis hipe, and it driede anoon.
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 And he seide to Jacob, Leeue thou me, for the morewtid stieth now. Jacob answeride, Y schal not leeue thee, no but thou blesse 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 Therfore he seide, What name is to thee? He answeride, Jacob.
Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And the man seide, Thi name schal no more be clepid Jacob, but Israel; for if thou were strong ayens God, hou miche more schalt thou haue power ayens men.
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 Jacob axide him, Seie thou to me bi what name thou art clepid? He answerde, Whi axist thou my name, whiche is wondirful? And he blesside Jacob in the same place.
Then Jacob said, What is your name? And he said, What is my name to you? Then he gave him a blessing.
30 And Jacob clepide the name of that place Fanuel, and seide, Y siy the Lord face to face, and my lijf is maad saaf.
And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living.
31 And anoon the sunne roos to hym, aftir that he passide Fanuel; forsothe he haltide in the foot.
And while he was going past Peniel, the sun came up. And he went with unequal steps because of his damaged leg.
32 For which cause the sones of Israel eten not `til in to present day the senewe, that driede in the hipe of Jacob; for the man touchide the senewe of Jacobs hipe, and it driede.
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.
