⁴¹ Now Esau ^(A)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ^(B)“The days of mourning for my father are approaching; ^(C)then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

Jacob's Dream

¹⁰ Jacob left ^(A)Beersheba and went toward ^(B)Haran. ¹¹ And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² And he ^(C)dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder^[a] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, ^(D)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! ¹³ And behold, ^(E)the Lord stood above it^[b] and said, ^(F)“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. ^(G)The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. ¹⁴ Your offspring shall be like ^(H)the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and ^(I)your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, ^(J)I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and ^(K)will bring you back to this land. For I will ^(L)not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is ^(M)in this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

¹⁸ So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up ^(N)for a pillar ^(O)and poured oil on the top of it. ¹⁹ He called the name of that place ^(P)Bethel,^[c] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. ²⁰ Then Jacob ^(Q)made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ^21 (R)so that I come again to my father's house in peace, ^(S)then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, ^(T)shall be God's house. And ^(U)of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

⁹ And Jacob said, ^(A)“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who ^(B)said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ ^10 (C)I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for ^(D)I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children.

Jacob Wrestles with God

²² The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,^[a] and crossed the ford of the ^(A)Jabbok. ²³ He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. ²⁴ And Jacob was left alone. And ^(B)a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. ²⁵ When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. ²⁶ Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, ^(C)“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ Then he said, ^(D)“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,^[b] for ^(E)you have striven with God and ^(F)with men, and have prevailed.” ²⁹ Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, ^(G)“Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. ³⁰ So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,^[c] saying, “For ^(H)I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” ³¹ The sun rose upon him as he passed ^(I)Penuel, limping because of his hip.