Genesis 32
Legacy Standard Bible
Jacob’s Fear of Esau
32 Now Jacob went on his way, (A)and the angels of God met him. 2 Then Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s [a]camp.” So he named that place [b](B)Mahanaim.
3 Then Jacob (C)sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of (D)Seir, the [c]country of (E)Edom. 4 He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord, to Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban and have been (F)delayed until now; 5 (G)and I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female slaves; and I have sent to tell my lord, (H)that I may find favor in your sight.”’”
6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother, to Esau, and furthermore (I)he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 Then Jacob was (J)greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two camps. 8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one camp and strikes it, then the camp which remains will escape.”
9 And Jacob said, “O (K)God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Yahweh, who said to me, ‘(L)Return to your land and to your kin, and I will [d]prosper you,’ 10 [e]I am unworthy (M)of all the lovingkindness and of all the truth which You have shown to Your slave; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 (N)Deliver me, I pray, (O)from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and strike me down with the (P)mothers and the children. 12 For You said, ‘(Q)I will surely [f]prosper you and (R)make your seed as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’”
13 So he spent the night there. Then he took from what [g]he had with him a (S)present for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 And he gave them into the hand of his servants, every flock by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me and put a space between flocks.” 17 And he commanded the first one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord, to Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’” 19 Then he commanded also the second and the third and all those who followed the flocks, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease his face with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will lift up my face.” 21 So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.
22 And he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two servant-women and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the (T)Jabbok. 23 And he took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.
Jacob Wrestles with God
24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man (U)wrestled with him until the [h]breaking of dawn. 25 And he saw that he had not prevailed against him, so he touched the socket of his thigh; and so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is [i]breaking.” But he said, “(V)I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 (W)Then He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but [j]Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” 29 Then (X)Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob named the place [k]Peniel, for he said, “(Y)I have seen God face to face, yet my [l]life has been delivered.” 31 And the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over (Z)Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. 32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.
Footnotes
- Genesis 32:2 Or company
- Genesis 32:2 Lit Two Camps, Two Companies
- Genesis 32:3 Lit field
- Genesis 32:9 Lit do good with you
- Genesis 32:10 Lit I am less than all
- Genesis 32:12 Lit do good with
- Genesis 32:13 Lit had come to his hand
- Genesis 32:24 Lit rising
- Genesis 32:26 Lit rising
- Genesis 32:28 Lit he who strives with God, God strives
- Genesis 32:30 Lit the face of God
- Genesis 32:30 Lit soul
Genesis 32
Easy-to-Read Version
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
32 Jacob also left that place. While he was traveling, he saw God’s angels. 2 When he saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp!” So Jacob named that place Mahanaim.[a]
3 Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the hill country of Edom. Jacob sent messengers to Esau. 4 He told them, “Tell this to my master Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have lived with Laban all these years. 5 I have many cattle, donkeys, flocks, and servants. Sir, I am sending you this message to ask you to accept us.’”
6 The messengers came back to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you. He has 400 men with him.”
7 Jacob was very frightened and worried. He divided the people who were with him and all the flocks, herds, and camels into two groups. 8 Jacob thought, “If Esau comes and destroys one group, the other group can run away and be saved.”
9 Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, you told me to come back to my country and to my family. You said that you would do good to me. 10 You have been very kind to me. You did many good things for me. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I owned nothing—only my walking stick. But now I own enough things to have two full groups. 11 I ask you to please save me from my brother Esau. I am afraid that he will come and kill us all, even the mothers with the children. 12 Lord, you said to me, ‘I will be good to you. I will increase your family and make your children as many as the sands of the sea. There will be too many to count.’”
13 Jacob stayed in that place for the night. He prepared some things to give to Esau as a gift. 14 He took 200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep. 15 He took 30 camels and their colts, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys. 16 He gave each flock of animals to his servants. Then he said to them, “Separate each group of animals. Go ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” 17 Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals he said, “When Esau my brother comes to you and asks you, ‘Whose animals are these? Where are you going? Whose servant are you?’ 18 then you should answer, ‘These animals belong to your servant Jacob. He sent them as a gift to you, my master Esau. And he also is coming behind us.’”
19 Jacob also ordered the second servant, the third servant, and all the other servants to do the same thing. He said, “You will say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 You will say, ‘This is a gift to you, and your servant Jacob is behind us.’”
Jacob thought, “If I send these men ahead with gifts, maybe Esau will forgive me and accept me.” 21 So Jacob sent the gifts to Esau, but he stayed that night in the camp.
22 During the night, Jacob got up and began moving his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven sons across the Jabbok River at the crossing. 23 After he sent his family across the river, he sent across everything he had.
The Fight With God
24 Jacob was left alone, and a man came and wrestled with him. The man fought with him until the sun came up. 25 When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob, he touched Jacob’s leg and put it out of joint.
26 Then the man said to Jacob, “Let me go. The sun is coming up.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go. You must bless me.”
27 And the man said to him, “What is your name?”
And Jacob said, “My name is Jacob.”
28 Then the man said, “Your name will not be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel.[b] I give you this name because you have fought with God and with men, and you have won.”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But the man said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then the man blessed Jacob at that place.
30 So Jacob named that place Peniel.[c] He said, “At this place, I saw God face to face, but my life was spared.” 31 Then the sun came up as Jacob left Peniel. He was limping because of his leg. 32 So even today, the people of Israel don’t eat the muscle that is on the hip joint, because this is the muscle where Jacob was hurt.
Footnotes
- Genesis 32:2 Mahanaim This name means “two camps.”
- Genesis 32:28 Israel This name might mean “he fights for God,” “he fights with God,” or “God fights.”
- Genesis 32:30 Peniel A name that means “the face of God.”
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