Genesis 32
New King James Version
Esau Comes to Meet Jacob
32 So Jacob went on his way, and (A)the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s (B)camp.” And he called the name of that place [a]Mahanaim.
3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother (C)in the land of Seir, (D)the [b]country of Edom. 4 And he commanded them, saying, (E)“Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. 5 (F)I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that (G)I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”
6 Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and (H)he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 So Jacob was greatly afraid and (I)distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. 8 And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and [c]attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”
9 (J)Then Jacob said, (K)“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord (L)who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the (M)mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with (N)my staff, and now I have become two companies. 11 (O)Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and [d]attack me and (P)the mother with the children. 12 For (Q)You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the (R)sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”
13 So he lodged there that same night, and took what [e]came to his hand as (S)a present for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. 16 Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” 17 And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ 18 then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” 19 So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; 20 and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will (T)appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
Wrestling with God
22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, (U)and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them [f]over the brook, and sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and (V)a Man wrestled with him until the [g]breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He [h]touched the socket of his hip; and (W)the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And (X)He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”
But he said, (Y)“I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
27 So He said to him, “What is your name?”
He said, “Jacob.”
28 And He said, (Z)“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but [i]Israel; for you have (AA)struggled with God and (AB)with men, and have prevailed.”
29 Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”
And He said, (AC)“Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He (AD)blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the name of the place [j]Peniel: “For (AE)I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” 31 Just as he crossed over [k]Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He [l]touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank.
Footnotes
- Genesis 32:2 Lit. Double Camp
- Genesis 32:3 Lit. field
- Genesis 32:8 Lit. strikes
- Genesis 32:11 Lit. strike
- Genesis 32:13 he had received
- Genesis 32:23 across
- Genesis 32:24 dawn
- Genesis 32:25 struck
- Genesis 32:28 Lit. Prince with God
- Genesis 32:30 Lit. Face of God
- Genesis 32:31 Lit. Face of God; same as Peniel, v. 30
- Genesis 32:32 struck
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.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International