Genesis 28
Jubilee Bible 2000
28 ¶ Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
2 Arise, go to Padanaram to the house of Bethuel, thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife from there of the daughters of Laban, thy mother’s brother.
3 And may God Almighty bless thee and make thee fruitful and multiply thee that thou may be a congregation of peoples
4 and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee; that thou may inherit the land in which thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham.
5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
6 ¶ And Esau saw how Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padanaram, to take a wife from there for himself, and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan,
7 and that Jacob had hearkened unto his father and his mother and had gone to Padanaram;
8 and Esau, seeing that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac his father,
9 Esau went unto Ishmael and took unto the wives which he had, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
10 ¶ And Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 And he found a certain place and slept there all night because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place and put them for his pillows and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it and said, I AM the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land upon which thou dost lie, to thee will I give it and to thy seed;
14 and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt multiply to the west and to the east and to the Aquilon and to the Negev; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And, behold, I am with thee and will keep thee in all places where thou goest and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16 ¶ And Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place, and I knew it not.
17 And he was afraid and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel, since the name of that city was called Luz at first.
20 And Jacob vowed 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 put on
21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God;
22 and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.
Genesis 28
New King James Version
Jacob Sent to His Uncle Laban
28 Then Isaac called Jacob and (A)blessed him, and [a]charged him, and said to him: (B)“You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 (C)Arise, go to (D)Padan Aram, to the house of (E)Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of (F)Laban your mother’s brother.
3 “May (G)God Almighty bless you,
And make you (H)fruitful and multiply you,
That you may be an assembly of peoples;
4 And give you (I)the blessing of Abraham,
To you and your descendants with you,
That you may inherit the land
(J)In[b] which you are a stranger,
Which God gave to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Esau Marries Mahalath
6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “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 Padan Aram. 8 Also Esau saw (K)that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael and (L)took (M)Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, (N)the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
Jacob’s Vow at Bethel
10 Now Jacob (O)went out from Beersheba and went toward (P)Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he (Q)dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there (R)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 (S)And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: (T)“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; (U)the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your (V)descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad (W)to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and (X)in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, (Y)I am with you and will (Z)keep[c] you wherever you go, and will (AA)bring you back to this land; for (AB)I will not leave you (AC)until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in (AD)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 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, (AE)set it up as a pillar, (AF)and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of (AG)that place [d]Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 (AH)Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If (AI)God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me (AJ)bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that (AK)I come back to my father’s house in peace, (AL)then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar (AM)shall be God’s house, (AN)and of all that You give me I will surely give a [e]tenth to You.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 28:1 commanded
- Genesis 28:4 Lit. Of your sojournings
- Genesis 28:15 protect
- Genesis 28:19 Lit. House of God
- Genesis 28:22 tithe
Genesis 28
English Standard Version
Jacob Sent to Laban
28 Then Isaac called Jacob (A)and blessed him and directed him, (B)“You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. 2 (C)Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of (D)Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother. 3 (E)God Almighty[a] bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. 4 May he give (F)the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of (G)the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!” 5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
Esau Marries an Ishmaelite
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So when Esau saw (H)that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father, 9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, (I)Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of (J)Nebaioth.
Jacob's Dream
10 Jacob left (K)Beersheba and went toward (L)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 (M)dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder[b] set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, (N)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! 13 And behold, (O)the Lord stood above it[c] and said, (P)“I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. (Q)The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 14 Your offspring shall be like (R)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 (S)your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, (T)I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and (U)will bring you back to this land. For I will (V)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 (W)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 (X)for a pillar (Y)and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place (Z)Bethel,[d] but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob (AA)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 (AB)so that I come again to my father's house in peace, (AC)then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, (AD)shall be God's house. And (AE)of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 28:3 Hebrew El Shaddai
- Genesis 28:12 Or a flight of steps
- Genesis 28:13 Or beside him
- Genesis 28:19 Bethel means the house of God
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
