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Genesis 28
New Living Translation

28 So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. 2 Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. 3 May God Almighty[a] bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! 4 May God pass on to you and your descendants[b] the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.”

5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean.

6 Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 7 He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. 9 So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son.

Jacob’s Dream at Bethel

10 Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. 11 At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. 12 As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

13 At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. 14 Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. 15 What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” 17 But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

18 The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. 19 He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.

20 Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, 21 and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

Footnotes

  1. 28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai.
  2. 28:4 Hebrew seed; also in 28:13, 14.
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Genesis 28
New American Standard Bible

Jacob Is Sent Away

28 So Isaac called Jacob and (A)blessed him and commanded him, [a]saying to him, “(B)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of (C)Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May [b](D)God Almighty (E)bless you and (F)make you fruitful and (G)multiply you, so that you may become a (H)multitude of peoples. 4 May He also give you the (I)blessing of Abraham, to you and to your [c]descendants with you, so that you may (J)possess the land where you (K)live as a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then (L)Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, saying, “(M)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So Esau saw that (N)the daughters of Canaan displeased [d]his father Isaac; 9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and [e]married, (O)besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.

Jacob’s Dream

10 Then Jacob departed from (P)Beersheba and went toward (Q)Haran. 11 And he [f]happened upon a [g](R)particular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And (S)he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, (T)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, (U)the Lord was standing [h]above it and said, “I am the Lord, (V)the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give (W)to you and to (X)your [i]descendants. 14 Your [j]descendants will also be like (Y)the dust of the earth, and you will [k]spread out (Z)to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and (AA)in you and in your [l]descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, (AB)I am with you and (AC)will keep you wherever you go, and (AD)will bring you back to this land; for (AE)I will not leave you until I have done what I have [m]promised you.” 16 Then Jacob (AF)awoke from his sleep and said, “(AG)The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “(AH)How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

18 So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took (AI)the stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on its top. 19 Then he named that place [n](AJ)Bethel; but [o]previously the name of the city had been (AK)Luz. 20 Jacob also (AL)made a vow, saying, “(AM)If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I [p]take, and give me [q](AN)food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and (AO)I return to my father’s house in [r]safety, (AP)then the Lord will be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, (AQ)will be God’s house, and (AR)of everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:1 Lit and said to
  2. Genesis 28:3 Heb El Shaddai
  3. Genesis 28:4 Lit seed
  4. Genesis 28:8 Lit in the eyes of his
  5. Genesis 28:9 Lit took for his wife
  6. Genesis 28:11 Lit lighted on
  7. Genesis 28:11 Lit the place
  8. Genesis 28:13 Or beside him
  9. Genesis 28:13 Lit seed
  10. Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
  11. Genesis 28:14 Lit break through
  12. Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
  13. Genesis 28:15 Lit spoken to
  14. Genesis 28:19 I.e., the house of God
  15. Genesis 28:19 Lit at the first
  16. Genesis 28:20 Lit go
  17. Genesis 28:20 Lit bread
  18. Genesis 28:21 Lit peace
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Genesis 27
Genesis 29
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