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Genesis 32:3-12
New International Version
Genesis 32:3-12
New International Version
3 Jacob sent messengers(A) ahead of him to his brother Esau(B) in the land of Seir,(C) the country of Edom.(D) 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord(E) Esau: ‘Your servant(F) Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban(G) and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants.(H) Now I am sending this message to my lord,(I) that I may find favor in your eyes.(J)’”
6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”(K)
7 In great fear(L) and distress(M) Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,[a](N) and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,[b] the group[c] that is left may escape.”
9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham,(O) God of my father Isaac,(P) Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’(Q) 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness(R) you have shown your servant. I had only my staff(S) when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.(T) 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid(U) he will come and attack me,(V) and also the mothers with their children.(W) 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand(X) of the sea, which cannot be counted.(Y)’”
Footnotes
- Genesis 32:7 Or camps
- Genesis 32:8 Or camp
- Genesis 32:8 Or camp
Genesis 32:3-12
King James Version
Genesis 32:3-12
King James Version
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 that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
8 And 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 which 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 shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am 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.
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