Genesis 32
21st Century King James Version
32 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s host.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim [that is, Two hosts or camps].
3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
4 And he commanded them, saying, “Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau, ‘Thy servant Jacob saith thus: I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now,
5 and I have oxen and asses, flocks and menservants and womenservants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.’”
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.”
7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and the camels into two bands.
8 And he said, “If Esau come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.”
9 And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who saidst unto me, ‘Return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee’—
10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which Thou hast shown unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two bands.
11 Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children.
12 And Thou saidst, ‘I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”
13 And he lodged there that same night, and took from that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother:
14 two hundred shegoats and twenty hegoats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
15 thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty sheasses and ten foals.
16 And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said unto his servants, “Pass over before me, and put a space between drove and drove.”
17 And he commanded the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother meeteth thee and asketh thee, saying, ‘Whose art thou? And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee?’
18 then thou shalt say, ‘They are thy servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent unto my lord Esau; and behold also, he is behind us.’”
19 And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner shall ye speak unto Esau when ye find him.
20 And say ye moreover, ‘Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the presents that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”
21 So went the presents over before him, and he himself lodged that night in the company.
22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives and his two womenservants and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
23 And he took them and sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.
24 And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25 And when the man saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.
26 And the man said, “Let me go, for the day breaketh.” And he said, “I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me.”
27 And he said unto him, “What is thy name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
28 And he said, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”
29 And Jacob asked him, and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.” And he said, “Why is it that thou dost ask after my name?” And he blessed him there.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [that is, The face of God]: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he limped upon his thigh.
32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
Genesis 32
Expanded Bible
Jacob Meets Esau
32 When Jacob also went his way, the ·angels [messengers] of God met him. 2 When he saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim [C sounds like “two camps” in Hebrew; a city in the hill country of Gilead; Josh. 13:26, 30].
3 Jacob’s brother Esau was living in the area called Seir in the country of Edom [14:6]. Jacob sent messengers to Esau, 4 telling them, “Give this message to my ·master [lord] Esau: ‘This is what Jacob, your servant, says: I have ·lived [sojourned; lived as an alien] with Laban and have ·remained [or been detained] there until now. 5 I have cattle, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. I send this message to ·you [my master/lord] ·and ask you to accept us [L to find grace in your eyes].’ ”
6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.”
7 Then Jacob was very afraid and ·worried [distressed]. He divided the people who were with him and all the flocks, herds, and camels into two camps. 8 Jacob thought, “Esau might come and ·destroy [strike; attack] one camp, but the ·other camp can run away and [L the camp that is left] ·be saved [escape].”
9 Then Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham! God of my father Isaac! Lord, ·you told [did you not tell…?] me to return to my country and my family. You said that you would treat me well. 10 I am not worthy of the ·kindness [loyalty; covenant love] and ·continual goodness [faithfulness] you have shown ·me [L your servant]. The first time I traveled across the Jordan River, I had only my walking stick, but now I own enough to have two camps. 11 Please ·save [rescue; deliver] me from [L the hand of] my brother Esau. I am afraid he will come and ·kill [strike; attack] all of us, even the mothers with the children. 12 You said to me, ‘I will treat you well and will make your ·children [L seed] as many as the sand of the seashore [22:17]. There will be too many to count.’ ”
13 Jacob stayed there for the night and prepared ·a gift [or tribute] for Esau from what he had with him: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ·female sheep [ewes] and twenty ·male sheep [rams], 15 thirty female camels and their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. 16 Jacob gave each separate flock of animals to one of his servants and said to them, “·Go [Pass] ahead of me and keep some space between each herd.” 17 Jacob gave them their orders. To the servant with the first group of animals he said, “My brother Esau will come to you and ask, ‘·Whose servant are you [L To whom do you belong]? Where are you going and whose ·animals are these [L are these ahead of you]?’ 18 Then you will answer, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He sent them as a ·gift [or tribute] to you, my ·master [lord] Esau, and he also is coming behind us.’ ”
19 Jacob ordered the second servant, the third servant, and all the ·other servants [L others who followed the droves of animals] to do the same thing. He said, “Say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 Say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’ ” Jacob thought, “If I send ·these gifts [or this tribute] ahead of me, maybe ·Esau will forgive me [L I will appease/propitiate him]. Then when I see ·him [L his face], perhaps he will accept me.” 21 So Jacob ·sent [passed ahead of him] the ·gifts [or tribute] to Esau, but he himself stayed that night in the camp.
Jacob Wrestles with God
22 During the night Jacob rose and crossed the Jabbok River [C a tributary of the Jordan about 15 miles north of the Dead Sea in the Transjordan] at the crossing, taking with him his two wives, his two slave girls, and his eleven sons. 23 He sent his family and everything he had across the ·river [wadi; ravine]. 24 So Jacob was alone, and a man came and wrestled with him until ·the sun came up [daybreak]. 25 When the man saw he could not defeat Jacob, he struck Jacob’s ·hip [hip socket] and put it out of joint [L as he wrestled with him]. 26 Then he said to Jacob, “Let me go. ·The sun is coming up [Daybreak is coming].”
But Jacob said, “I will ·let you go if you will [L not let you go unless you] bless me.”
27 The man said to him, “What is your name?”
And he answered, “Jacob.”
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. Your name will now be Israel [C sounds like “he wrestled/fought/strove with God” in Hebrew], because you have ·wrestled [fought; strove] with God and with people, and you have ·won [prevailed].”
29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But ·the man [L he] said, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
30 So Jacob named that place Peniel [C sounds like “face of God” in Hebrew], saying, “I have seen God face to face, but my life was ·saved [spared].” 31 Then the sun rose as he was leaving that place, and Jacob was limping because of his ·leg [hip]. 32 So even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle that is on the hip joint of animals [C the sciatic muscle], because Jacob was touched there.
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The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.