Genesis 32:1-21
New Living Translation
32 [a]As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, “This is God’s camp!” So he named the place Mahanaim.[b]
Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau
3 Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir in the land of Edom. 4 He told them, “Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban, 5 and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform my lord of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to me.’”
6 After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!” 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups. 8 He thought, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, perhaps the other group can escape.”
9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ 10 I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! 11 O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”
13 Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau: 14 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 15 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. 16 He divided these animals into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me with the animals, but keep some distance between the herds.”
17 He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’ 18 You must reply, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master Esau. Look, he is coming right behind us.’”
19 Jacob gave the same instructions to the second and third herdsmen and to all who followed behind the herds: “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’”
Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.” 21 So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp.
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Genesis 32:1-21
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.
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- 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”
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