Genesis 33
Legacy Standard Bible
Jacob Meets Esau
33 Then Jacob lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, (A)Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children [a]among Leah and Rachel and the two servant-women. 2 And he put the servant-women and their children first, and Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph after them. 3 But he himself passed on ahead of them and (B)bowed down to the ground seven times, until he (C)came near to his brother.
4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and (D)fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children and said, “[b]Who are these with you?” And he said, “(E)The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the servant-women came near [c]with their children, and they bowed down. 7 Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down. 8 And he said, “What do you mean by (F)all [d]these camps which I have met?” And he said, “(G)To find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “(H)I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.” 10 And Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, [e]for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably. 11 Please take my (I)blessing which has been brought to you, (J)because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have [f]everything.” Thus he urged him, and he took it.
12 Then [g]Esau said, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.” 13 But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are [h]a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will lead on slowly, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at (K)Seir.”
15 Then Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “Why do this? (L)Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to [i](M)Succoth and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth.
Jacob Camps in Shechem
18 Now Jacob came safely to the city of (N)Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from (O)Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. 19 (P)Then he bought a portion of a field where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred [j]qesitah. 20 Then he set up there an altar and called it [k]El-Elohe-Israel.
Footnotes
- Genesis 33:1 Or to
- Genesis 33:5 Or What relation are these to you?
- Genesis 33:6 Lit they and
- Genesis 33:8 Lit this camp
- Genesis 33:10 Lit for therefore I have seen your face like seeing God’s face
- Genesis 33:11 Lit all
- Genesis 33:12 Lit he
- Genesis 33:13 Lit upon me
- Genesis 33:17 Lit booths
- Genesis 33:19 Ancient currency, cf. Josh 24:32; Job 42:11
- Genesis 33:20 God, the God of Israel
Genesis 33
New Living Translation
Jacob and Esau Make Peace
33 Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. 2 He put the servant wives and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. 4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.
5 Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?”
“These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob replied. 6 Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. 7 Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him.
8 “And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked.
Jacob replied, “They are a gift, my lord, to ensure your friendship.”
9 “My brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.”
10 But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! 11 Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift.
12 “Well,” Esau said, “let’s be going. I will lead the way.”
13 But Jacob replied, “You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. 14 Please, my lord, go ahead of your servant. We will follow slowly, at a pace that is comfortable for the livestock and the children. I will meet you at Seir.”
15 “All right,” Esau said, “but at least let me assign some of my men to guide and protect you.”
Jacob responded, “That’s not necessary. It’s enough that you’ve received me warmly, my lord!”
16 So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day. 17 Jacob, on the other hand, traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was named Succoth (which means “shelters”).
18 Later, having traveled all the way from Paddan-aram, Jacob arrived safely at the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. 19 Jacob bought the plot of land where he camped from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver.[a] 20 And there he built an altar and named it El-Elohe-Israel.[b]
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