Genesis 28
1 vocavit itaque Isaac Iacob et benedixit praecepitque ei dicens noli accipere coniugem de genere Chanaan
Then Isaac summoned Jacob, and gave him a blessing. He told him, “Do not marry a woman of the Canaan people-group.
2 sed vade et proficiscere in Mesopotamiam Syriae ad domum Bathuel patrem matris tuae et accipe tibi inde uxorem de filiabus Laban avunculi tui
Instead, go right away to Paddan-Aram [in northwest Mesopotamia], to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel. Ask one of the daughters of your mother’s brother Laban to marry you.
3 Deus autem omnipotens benedicat tibi et crescere te faciat atque multiplicet ut sis in turbas populorum
I will pray that God Almighty will bless you, and enable you to [get married and] have many descendants, in order that they will become many people-groups.
4 et det tibi benedictiones Abraham et semini tuo post te ut possideas terram peregrinationis tuae quam pollicitus est avo tuo
I also will pray that he will bless you and your descendants by enabling you to possess/seize the land in which you are now living as a foreigner, the land that God promised to give to [my father] Abraham and his descendants.”
5 cumque dimisisset eum Isaac profectus venit in Mesopotamiam Syriae ad Laban filium Bathuel Syri fratrem Rebeccae matris suae
So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-Aram, to live with Rebekah’s brother Laban, the son of Bethuel, who belonged to the Aram people-group.
6 videns autem Esau quod benedixisset pater suus Iacob et misisset eum in Mesopotamiam Syriae ut inde uxorem duceret et quod post benedictionem praecepisset ei dicens non accipies coniugem de filiabus Chanaan
Esau found out that his father Isaac had blessed Jacob and then sent him to Paddan-Aram. He also found out that when he blessed Isaac, he told him, “Do not marry a woman of the Canaan people-group,”
7 quodque oboediens Iacob parentibus isset in Syriam
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother, and had gone to Paddan-Aram.
8 probans quoque quod non libenter aspiceret filias Chanaan pater suus
Esau also realized that his father Isaac did not approve of women from the Canaan people-group.
9 ivit ad Ismahelem et duxit uxorem absque his quas prius habebat Maeleth filiam Ismahel filii Abraham sororem Nabaioth
Because of that, Esau went to see his uncle Ishmael, and married Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael. Mahalath was the sister of Nabaioth and the granddaughter of Abraham.
10 igitur egressus Iacob de Bersabee pergebat Haran
Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and started walking along the road to Haran.
11 cumque venisset ad quendam locum et vellet in eo requiescere post solis occubitum tulit de lapidibus qui iacebant et subponens capiti suo dormivit in eodem loco
When he arrived at a certain place, he stopped there, because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones there and put it under his head to use as a pillow. Then he lay down and slept there.
12 viditque in somnis scalam stantem super terram et cacumen illius tangens caelum angelos quoque Dei ascendentes et descendentes per eam
While he was sleeping, he had a dream, in which he [was surprised to] see a stairway. The bottom of the stairway was on the earth and the top was in the sky. Jacob also saw that God’s angels were going up and down the stairway.
13 et Dominum innixum scalae dicentem sibi ego sum Dominus Deus Abraham patris tui et Deus Isaac terram in qua dormis tibi dabo et semini tuo
And he [was surprised to] see Yahweh standing at the top of the stairway, saying “I am Yahweh God, whom your grandfather Abraham worshiped, and whom Isaac worships. I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you are lying.
14 eritque germen tuum quasi pulvis terrae dilataberis ad occidentem et orientem septentrionem et meridiem et benedicentur in te et in semine tuo cunctae tribus terrae
Your descendants will be as numerous as the particles of dirt that are on the earth, and their territory will be very large. It will extend in all directions, to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south. And people of all people-groups on earth will receive blessings because of [what happens to] you and to your descendants.
15 et ero custos tuus quocumque perrexeris et reducam te in terram hanc nec dimittam nisi conplevero universa quae dixi
I will help you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you; I will continue to do for you all that I have promised to do.”
16 cumque evigilasset Iacob de somno ait vere Dominus est in loco isto et ego nesciebam
[During the night], when Jacob woke up from sleeping, he thought, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and until now I was not aware of it!”
17 pavensque quam terribilis inquit est locus iste non est hic aliud nisi domus Dei et porta caeli
He was afraid, and he said, “This place is very awesome! This is surely the place where God lives, and this is the entrance to heaven!”
18 surgens ergo mane tulit lapidem quem subposuerat capiti suo et erexit in titulum fundens oleum desuper
In the morning Jacob got up and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up on its end to show that the place was a holy place. He poured some olive oil on top of the stone [to dedicate it to God].
19 appellavitque nomen urbis Bethel quae prius Luza vocabatur
He named that place Bethel, [which means ‘house of God’.] Previously its name was Luz.
20 vovit etiam votum dicens si fuerit Deus mecum et custodierit me in via per quam ambulo et dederit mihi panem ad vescendum et vestem ad induendum
Jacob solemnly promised God, saying, “God, if you will help me and protect me while I am taking this journey, and if you give me enough food to eat and clothes to wear,
21 reversusque fuero prospere ad domum patris mei erit mihi Dominus in Deum
in order that I can later return safely to my father’s house, then you, Yahweh, will be the God that I will worship.
22 et lapis iste quem erexi in titulum vocabitur Domus Dei cunctorumque quae dederis mihi decimas offeram tibi
This stone that I have set up will mark the place where people can worship you. And I will give back to you a tenth of everything that you give to me.”
