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.

Jacob and Esau Meet

33 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, ^(AF)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 ^(AG)bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

^4 (AH)But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, ^(AI)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 ^(AJ)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 ^(AK)all this company which I met?”

And he said, “These are ^(AL)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 ^(AM)have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. ¹¹ Please, take ^(AN)my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt ^(AO)graciously with me, and because I have ^[m]enough.” ^(AP)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, ^[n]are able to endure, until I come to my lord ^(AQ)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? ^(AR)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 ^(AS)Succoth, built himself a house, and made ^[o]booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called ^[p]Succoth.

Jacob Comes to Canaan

¹⁸ Then Jacob came ^[q]safely to ^(AT)the city of ^(AU)Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city. ¹⁹ And ^(AV)he bought the parcel of ^[r]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 ^(AW)El^[s] Elohe Israel.

The Dinah Incident

34 Now ^(AX)Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. ² And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he ^(AY)took her and lay with her, and violated her. ³ His soul ^[t]was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke ^[u]kindly to the young woman. ⁴ So Shechem ^(AZ)spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.”

⁵ And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob ^(BA)held^[v] his peace until they came. ⁶ Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷ And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he ^(BB)had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, ^(BC)a thing which ought not to be done. ⁸ But Hamor spoke with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as a wife. ⁹ And make marriages with us; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters to yourselves. ¹⁰ So you shall dwell with us, and the land shall be before you. Dwell and trade in it, and acquire possessions for yourselves in it.”

¹¹ Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will give. ¹² Ask me ever so much ^(BD)dowry^[w] and gift, and I will give according to what you say to me; but give me the young woman as a wife.”

¹³ But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father, and spoke ^(BE)deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister. ¹⁴ And they said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is ^(BF)uncircumcised, for ^(BG)that would be a reproach to us. ¹⁵ But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, ¹⁶ then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. ¹⁷ But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone.”

¹⁸ And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son. ¹⁹ So the young man did not delay to do the thing, because he delighted in Jacob’s daughter. He was ^(BH)more honorable than all the household of his father.

²⁰ And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the ^(BI)gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying: ²¹ “These men are at peace with us. Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it. For indeed the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters to us as wives, and let us give them our daughters. ²² Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. ²³ Will not their livestock, their property, and every animal of theirs be ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell with us.” ²⁴ And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son; every male was circumcised, all who ^(BJ)went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵ Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, ^(BK)Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. ²⁶ And they ^(BL)killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. ²⁷ The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. ²⁸ They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, ²⁹ and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses.

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, ^(BM)“You have ^(BN)troubled me ^(BO)by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; ^(BP)and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”

³¹ But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?”

A Song of God’s Majesty and Love

^(A)A Praise of David.

^15 (A)John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ^(B)‘He who comes after me ^[a]is preferred before me, ^(C)for He was before me.’ ”

^16 [b]And of His ^(D)fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷ For ^(E)the law was given through Moses, but ^(F)grace and ^(G)truth came through Jesus Christ. ^18 (H)No one has seen God at any time. ^(I)The only begotten ^[c]Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

A Voice in the Wilderness^(J)

¹⁹ Now this is ^(K)the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”

^20 (L)He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”

²¹ And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you ^(M)the Prophet?”

And he answered, “No.”

²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

²³ He said: ^(N)“I am

as the prophet Isaiah said.”

²⁴ Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. ²⁵ And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶ John answered them, saying, ^(P)“I baptize with water, ^(Q)but there stands One among you whom you do not know. ^27 (R)It is He who, coming after me, ^[d]is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.”

²⁸ These things were done ^(S)in ^[e]Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The Lamb of God^(T)

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! ^(U)The Lamb of God ^(V)who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who ^[f]is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ³¹ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, ^(W)therefore I came baptizing with water.”

^32 (X)And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ³³ I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, ^(Y)this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and testified that this is the ^(Z)Son of God.”

The First Disciples

³⁵ Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. ³⁶ And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, ^(AA)“Behold the Lamb of God!”

³⁷ The two disciples heard him speak, and they ^(AB)followed Jesus. ³⁸ Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”

They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), “where are You staying?”

³⁹ He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

⁴⁰ One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was ^(AC)Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹ He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the ^[g]Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). ⁴² And he brought him to Jesus.

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, “You are Simon the son of ^[h]Jonah. ^(AD)You shall be called Cephas” (which is translated, ^[i]A Stone).

Philip and Nathanael

⁴³ The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found ^(AE)Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” ⁴⁴ Now ^(AF)Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵ Philip found ^(AG)Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom ^(AH)Moses in the law, and also the ^(AI)prophets, wrote—Jesus ^(AJ)of Nazareth, the ^(AK)son of Joseph.”

⁴⁶ And Nathanael said to him, ^(AL)“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, ^(AM)an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”

⁴⁸ Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

⁴⁹ Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, ^(AN)You are the Son of God! You are ^(AO)the King of Israel!”

⁵⁰ Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹ And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, ^(AP)hereafter^[j] you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”