Genesis 32
Lexham English Bible
Jacob Fears Esau
32 And Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him. 2 And when he saw them, Jacob said, “This is the camp of God!” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to the land of Seir, the territory of Edom. 4 And he instructed them, saying, “Thus you must say to my lord, to Esau, ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, I have dwelled as an alien with Laban, and I have remained there until now. 5 And I have acquired cattle, male donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves, and I have sent to tell my lord, to find favor in your eyes.’” 6 And the messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We came to your brother, to Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 Then Jacob was very frightened and distressed. So he divided the people, flocks, cattle, and camels that were with him into two companies. 8 And he thought, “If Esau comes to one company and destroys it, the remaining company will be able to escape.” 9 Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Yahweh, who said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your family, and I will deal well with you.’ 10 I am not worthy[a] of all the loyal love and all the faithfulness that you have shown[b] your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and attack mother and children alike. 12 Now you yourself said, ‘I will surely deal well with you and make your offspring as the sand of the sea that cannot be counted for abundance.’”
13 And he lodged there that night. Then he took from what he had with him[c] a gift for Esau his brother: 14 two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, 15 thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. 16 And he put them under the hand of his servants, herd by herd,[d] and said to his servants, “Cross on ahead before me, and put some distance between herds.[e] 17 And he instructed the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother comes upon you and asks you, saying, ‘Whose are you and where are you going? To whom do these animals belong ahead of you?’ 18 Then you must say, ‘To your servant, to Jacob. It is a gift sent to my lord, to Esau. Now behold, he is also coming after us.’” 19 And he also instructed the second servant and the third, and everyone else who was behind the herds, saying, “You must speak to Esau according to this word when you find him. 20 And moreover, you shall say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “Let me appease him[f] with the gift going before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will show me favor.”[g] 21 So the gift passed on before him, but he himself spent that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 That night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 And he took them and sent them across the stream. Then he sent across all his possessions. 24 And Jacob remained alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the dawn. 25 And when he[h] saw that he could not prevail against him, he struck his hip socket, so that Jacob’s hip socket was sprained as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he[i] said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 Then he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 And he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,[j] for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked and said, “Please tell me your name.” And he said, “Why do you ask this—for my name?” And he blessed him there. 30 Then Jacob called the name of the place Peniel which means “I have seen God face to face and my life was spared.” 31 Then the sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore the Israelites[k] do not eat the sinew of the sciatic nerve that is upon the socket of the hip unto this day, because he struck the socket of the thigh of Jacob at the sinew of the sciatic nerve.
Footnotes
- Genesis 32:10 Literally “I am small”
- Genesis 32:10 Or “done”
- Genesis 32:13 Literally “from that which was going from his hand”
- Genesis 32:16 Literally “every herd by its own”
- Genesis 32:16 Literally “between a herd and between a herd”
- Genesis 32:20 Literally “let me cover his face”
- Genesis 32:20 Literally “lift up my face”
- Genesis 32:25 That is, the man
- Genesis 32:26 That is, the man
- Genesis 32:28 “Israel” means “he struggles with God,” or “God struggles”
- Genesis 32:32 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
Genesis 32
New American Standard Bible
Jacob’s Fear of Esau
32 Now as Jacob went on his way, (A)the angels of God met him. 2 And when he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s [a]camp.” So he named that place [b](B)Mahanaim.
3 Then Jacob (C)sent messengers ahead of himself to his brother Esau in the land of (D)Seir, the [c]country of (E)Edom. 4 He commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says the following: “I have resided with Laban, and (F)stayed until now; 5 and (G)I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent messengers to tell my lord, (H)so that I may find favor in your sight.”’”
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother 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, the herds, and the camels, into two companies; 8 for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and [d]attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”
9 Then Jacob said, “(K)God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, Lord, who said to me, ‘(L)Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will [e]make you prosper,’ 10 [f]I am unworthy (M)of all the [g]favor and of all the [h]faithfulness, which You have shown to Your servant; for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. 11 (N)Save me, please, (O)from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and [i]attack me and the (P)mothers with the children. 12 For You said, ‘(Q)I will assuredly [j]make you prosper and (R)make your [k]descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be counted.’”
13 So he spent the night there. Then he [l]selected from what [m]he had with him a (S)gift 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, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 Then he placed them in the [n]care of his servants, every flock by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me, and put a space between flocks.” 17 And he commanded the [o]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 gift sent to my lord 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, “In this way 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 him with the gift that goes ahead of me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So the gift passed on ahead of him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.
22 Now he got up that same night and took his two wives, his two female slaves, and his eleven children, and crossed the shallow place of the (T)Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.
Jacob Wrestles
24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man (U)wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of [p]Jacob’s hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is 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 Then (W)he said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but [q]Israel; for you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 And (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 [r]Peniel, for he said, “(Y)I have seen God face to face, yet my [s]life has been [t]spared.” 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over (Z)Penuel, and he was limping on his hip. 32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the tendon of the hip which is on the socket of the hip, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the tendon of the hip.
Footnotes
- Genesis 32:2 Or company
- Genesis 32:2 I.e., Two Camps, or Two Companies
- Genesis 32:3 Lit field
- Genesis 32:8 Lit strikes
- Genesis 32:9 Lit do good with you
- Genesis 32:10 Lit I am less than all
- Genesis 32:10 I.e., generosity
- Genesis 32:10 Or truth
- Genesis 32:11 Lit strike
- Genesis 32:12 Lit do good with you
- Genesis 32:12 Lit seed
- Genesis 32:13 Lit took
- Genesis 32:13 Lit had come to his hand
- Genesis 32:16 Lit hand
- Genesis 32:17 Lit first
- Genesis 32:25 Lit his
- Genesis 32:28 I.e., he who contends with God; or God contends
- Genesis 32:30 I.e., the face of God
- Genesis 32:30 Lit soul
- Genesis 32:30 Lit saved
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