Genesis 33
New King James Version
Jacob and Esau Meet
33 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, (A)Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. 2 And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then he crossed over before them and (B)bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
4 (C)But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, (D)and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?”
So he said, “The children (E)whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.
8 Then Esau said, “What do you mean by (F)all this company which I met?”
And he said, “These are (G)to find favor in the sight of my lord.”
9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”
10 And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I (H)have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. 11 Please, take (I)my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt (J)graciously with me, and because I have [a]enough.” (K)So he urged him, and he took it.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. 14 Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, [b]are able to endure, until I come to my lord (L)in Seir.”
15 And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.”
But he said, “What need is there? (M)Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 And Jacob journeyed to (N)Succoth, built himself a house, and made [c]booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called [d]Succoth.
Jacob Comes to Canaan
18 Then Jacob came [e]safely to (O)the city of (P)Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. 19 And (Q)he bought the parcel of [f]land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money. 20 Then he erected an altar there and called it (R)El[g] Elohe Israel.
Footnotes
- Genesis 33:11 Lit. all
- Genesis 33:14 can stand
- Genesis 33:17 shelters
- Genesis 33:17 Lit. Booths
- Genesis 33:18 Or to Shalem, a city of
- Genesis 33:19 Lit. the field
- Genesis 33:20 Lit. God, the God of Israel
Genesis 33
New Living Translation
Jacob and Esau Make Peace
33 Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. 2 He put the servant wives and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. 4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
5 Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?”
“These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. 6 Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. 7 Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him.
8 “And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked.
Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to ensure your friendship.”
9 “My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.”
10 But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! 11 Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift.
12 “Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead the way.”
13 But Jacob replied, “You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. 14 Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.”
15 “All right,” Esau said, “but at least let me assign some of my men to guide and protect you.”
Jacob responded, “That’s not necessary. It’s enough that you’ve received me warmly, my lord!”
16 So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day. 17 Jacob, on the other hand, traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was named Succoth (which means “shelters”).
18 Later, having traveled all the way from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. 19 Jacob bought the plot of land where he camped from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver.[a] 20 And there he built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel.[b]
Genesis 33
Amplified Bible
Jacob Meets Esau
33 Then Jacob looked up, and saw Esau coming with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. 2 He put the maids and their children in front, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3 Then Jacob crossed over [the stream] ahead of them and bowed himself to the ground seven times [bowing and moving forward each time], until he approached his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and hugged his neck and kissed him, and they wept [for joy].(A) 5 Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So Jacob replied, “They are the children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the maids approached with their children, and they bowed down. 7 Leah also approached with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel approached, and they bowed down. 8 Esau asked, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” And he answered, “[These are] to find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 Jacob replied, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then accept my gift [as a blessing] from my hand, for I see your face as if I had seen the face of God, and you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept my blessing (gift) which has been brought to you, for God has dealt graciously with me and I have everything [that I could possibly want].” So Jacob kept urging him and Esau accepted it.
12 Then Esau said, “Let us get started on our journey and I will go in front of you [to lead the way].” 13 But Jacob replied, “You know, my lord, that the children are frail and need gentle care, and the nursing flocks and herds [with young] are of concern to me; for if the men should drive them hard for a single day, all the flocks will die. 14 Please let my lord go on ahead of his servant, and I will move on slowly, governed by the pace of the livestock that are in front of me and according to the endurance of the children, [a]until I come to my lord in Seir [in Edom].”
15 Then Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But Jacob said, “[b]What need is there [for it]? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau turned back [toward the south] that day on his way to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed [north] to Succoth, and built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock; so the name of the place is Succoth (huts, shelters).
Jacob Settles in Shechem
18 When Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely and in peace at the city of Shechem, in the land of Canaan, and camped in front of the [walled] city. 19 Then he bought the piece of land on which he had pitched his tents from [c]the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred [d]pieces of money. 20 There he erected an altar and called it [e]El-Elohe-Israel.
Footnotes
- Genesis 33:14 Jacob must have been concerned about traveling through Edom and used this excuse to avoid following Esau to Seir. Indeed, he heads in the opposite direction.
- Genesis 33:15 Lit Why this?
- Genesis 33:19 Lit the hand of the sons.
- Genesis 33:19 Heb qesitah, an uncertain measure of weight; a rabbi once reported hearing the ma’ah, a small coin worth 1/12 of a shekel, called a qesitah.
- Genesis 33:20 I.e. God, the mighty God of Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
