^20:1And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar. ^20:2And Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. ^20:3But God came to Abimelech in a dream in the night, and said to him, Truly you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man's wife. ^20:4Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said, Lord, will you put to death an upright nation? ^20:5Did he not say to me himself, She is my sister? and she herself said, He is my brother: with an upright heart and clean hands have I done this. ^20:6And God said to him in the dream, I see that you have done this with an upright heart, and I have kept you from sinning against me: for this reason I did not let you come near her. ^20:7So now, give the man back his wife, for he is a prophet, and let him say a prayer for you, so your life may be safe: but if you do not give her back, be certain that death will come to you and all your house. ^20:8So Abimelech got up early in the morning and sent for all his servants and gave them word of these things, and they were full of fear. ^20:9Then Abimelech sent for Abraham, and said, What have you done to us? what wrong have I done you that you have put on me and on my kingdom so great a sin? You have done to me things which are not to be done. ^20:10And Abimelech said to Abraham, Why did you do this thing? ^20:11And Abraham said, Because it seemed to me that there was no fear of God in this place, and that they might put me to death because of my wife. ^20:12And, in fact, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife: ^20:13And when God sent me wandering from my father's house, I said to her, Let this be the sign of your love for me; wherever we go, say of me, He is my brother. ^20:14Then Abimelech gave to Abraham sheep and oxen and men-servants and women-servants, and gave him back his wife Sarah. ^20:15And Abimelech said, See, all my land is before you; take whatever place seems good to you. ^20:16And he said to Sarah, See, I have given to your brother a thousand bits of silver so that your wrong may be put right; now your honour is clear in the eyes of all. ^20:17Then Abraham made prayer to God, and God made Abimelech well again, and his wife and his women-servants, so that they had children. ^20:18For the Lord had kept all the women of the house of Abimelech from having children, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

^21:1And the Lord came to Sarah as he had said and did to her as he had undertaken. ^21:2And Sarah became with child, and gave Abraham a son when he was old, at the time named by God. ^21:3And Abraham gave to his son, to whom Sarah had given birth, the name Isaac. ^21:4And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham made him undergo circumcision, as God had said to him. ^21:5Now Abraham was a hundred years old when the birth of Isaac took place. ^21:6And Sarah said, God has given me cause for laughing, and everyone who has news of it will be laughing with me. ^21:7And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would have a child at her breast? for see, I have given him a son now when he is old. ^21:8And when the child was old enough to be taken from the breast, Abraham made a great feast. ^21:9And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with Isaac. ^21:10So she said to Abraham, Send away that woman and her son: for the son of that woman is not to have a part in the heritage with my son Isaac. ^21:11And this was a great grief to Abraham because of his son. ^21:12But God said, Let it not be a grief to you because of the boy and Hagar his mother; give ear to whatever Sarah says to you, because it is from Isaac that your seed will take its name. ^21:13And I will make a nation of the son of your servant-woman, because he is your seed. ^21:14And early in the morning Abraham got up, and gave Hagar some bread and a water-skin, and put the boy on her back, and sent her away: and she went, wandering in the waste land of Beer-sheba. ^21:15And when all the water in the skin was used up, she put the child down under a tree. ^21:16And she went some distance away, about an arrow flight, and seating herself on the earth, she gave way to bitter weeping, saying, Let me not see the death of my child. ^21:17And the boy's cry came to the ears of God; and the angel of God said to Hagar from heaven, Hagar, why are you weeping? have no fear, for the child's cry has come to the ears of God. ^21:18Come, take your child in your arms, for I will make of him a great nation. ^21:19Then God made her eyes open, and she saw a water-spring, and she got water in the skin and gave the boy a drink. ^21:20And God was with the boy, and he became tall and strong, and he became a bowman, living in the waste land. ^21:21And while he was in the waste land of Paran, his mother got him a wife from the land of Egypt. ^21:22Now at that time, Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, said to Abraham, I see that God is with you in all you do. ^21:23Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living. ^21:24And Abraham said, I will give you my oath. ^21:25But Abraham made a protest to Abimelech because of a water-hole which Abimelech's servants had taken by force. ^21:26But Abimelech said, I have no idea who has done this thing; you never gave me word of it, and I had no knowledge of it till this day. ^21:27And Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement together. ^21:28And Abraham put seven young lambs of the flock on one side by themselves. ^21:29Then Abimelech said, What are these seven lambs which you have put on one side? ^21:30And he said, Take these seven lambs from me as a witness that I have made this water-hole. ^21:31So he gave that place the name Beer-sheba, because there the two of them had given their oaths. ^21:32So they made an agreement at Beer-sheba, and Abimelech and Phicol, the captain of his army, went back to the land of the Philistines. ^21:33And Abraham, after planting a holy tree in Beer-sheba, gave worship to the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. ^21:34And Abraham went on living in the land of the Philistines as in a strange country.

^22:1Now after these things, God put Abraham to the test, and said to him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. ^22:2And he said to him, Take your son, your dearly loved only son Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and give him as a burned offering on one of the mountains of which I will give you knowledge. ^22:3And Abraham got up early in the morning, and made ready his ass, and took with him two of his young men and Isaac, his son, and after the wood for the burned offering had been cut, he went on his way to the place of which God had given him word. ^22:4And on the third day, Abraham, lifting up his eyes, saw the place a long way off. ^22:5Then he said to his young men, Keep here with the ass; and I and the boy will go on and give worship and come back again to you. ^22:6And Abraham put the wood for the burned offering on his son's back, and he himself took the fire and the knife in his hand, and the two of them went on together. ^22:7Then Isaac said to Abraham, My father; and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, We have wood and fire here, but where is the lamb for the burned offering? ^22:8And Abraham said, God himself will give the lamb for the burned offering: so they went on together. ^22:9And they came to the place of which God had given him knowledge; and there Abraham made the altar and put the wood in place on it, and having made tight the bands round Isaac his son, he put him on the wood on the altar. ^22:10And stretching out his hand, Abraham took the knife to put his son to death. ^22:11But the voice of the angel of the Lord came from heaven, saying, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. ^22:12And he said, Let not your hand be stretched out against the boy to do anything to him; for now I am certain that the fear of God is in your heart, because you have not kept back your son, your only son, from me. ^22:13And lifting up his eyes, Abraham saw a sheep fixed by its horns in the brushwood: and Abraham took the sheep and made a burned offering of it in place of his son. ^22:14And Abraham gave that place the name Yahweh-yireh: as it is said to this day, In the mountain the Lord is seen. ^22:15And the voice of the angel of the Lord came to Abraham a second time from heaven, ^22:16Saying, I have taken an oath by my name, says the Lord, because you have done this and have not kept back from me your dearly loved only son, ^22:17That I will certainly give you my blessing, and your seed will be increased like the stars of heaven and the sand by the seaside; your seed will take the land of those who are against them; ^22:18And your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth, because you have done what I gave you orders to do. ^22:19Then Abraham went back to his young men and they went together to Beer-sheba, the place where Abraham was living. ^22:20After these things, Abraham had news that Milcah, the wife of his brother Nahor, had given birth to children; ^22:21Uz the oldest, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel, the father of Aram, ^22:22And Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel. ^22:23Bethuel was the father of Rebekah: these eight were the children of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham's brother. ^22:24And his servant Reumah gave birth to Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.

^23:1Now the years of Sarah's life were a hundred and twenty-seven. ^23:2And Sarah's death took place in Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, in the land of Canaan: and Abraham went into his house, weeping and sorrowing for Sarah. ^23:3And Abraham came from his dead and said to the children of Heth, ^23:4I am living among you as one from a strange country: give me some land here as my property, so that I may put my dead to rest. ^23:5And in answer the children of Heth said to Abraham, ^23:6My lord, truly you are a great chief among us; take the best of our resting-places for your dead; not one of us will keep back from you a place where you may put your dead to rest. ^23:7And Abraham got up and gave honour to the children of Heth, the people of that land. ^23:8And he said to them, If you will let me put my dead to rest here, make a request for me to Ephron, the son of Zohar, ^23:9That he will give me the hollow in the rock named Machpelah, which is his property at the end of his field; let him give it to me for its full price as a resting-place for my dead among you. ^23:10Now Ephron was seated among the children of Heth: and Ephron the Hittite gave Abraham his answer in the hearing of the children of Heth, and of all those who came into his town, saying, ^23:11No, my lord, I will give you the field with the hollow in the rock; before all the children of my people will I give it to you for a resting-place for your dead. ^23:12And Abraham went down on his face before the people of the land. ^23:13And Abraham said to Ephron, in the hearing of the people of the land, If only you will give ear to me, I will give you the price of the field; take it, and let me put my dead to rest there. ^23:14So Ephron said to Abraham, ^23:15My lord, give ear to me: the value of the land is four hundred shekels; what is that between me and you? so put your dead to rest there. ^23:16And Abraham took note of the price fixed by Ephron in the hearing of the children of Heth, and gave him four hundred shekels in current money. ^23:17So Ephron's field at Machpelah near Mamre, with the hollow in the rock and all the trees in the field and round it, ^23:18Became the property of Abraham before the eyes of the children of Heth and of all who came into the town. ^23:19Then Abraham put Sarah his wife to rest in the hollow rock in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, that is, Hebron in the land of Canaan. ^23:20And the field and the hollow rock were handed over to Abraham as his property by the children of Heth.

^24:1Now Abraham was old and far on in years: and the Lord had given him everything in full measure. ^24:2And Abraham said to his chief servant, the manager of all his property, Come now, put your hand under my leg: ^24:3And take an oath by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not get a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living; ^24:4But that you will go into my country and to my relations and get a wife there for my son Isaac. ^24:5And the servant said, If by chance the woman will not come with me into this land, am I to take your son back again to the land from which you came? ^24:6And Abraham said, Take care that you do not let my son go back to that land. ^24:7The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and made an oath to me, saying, To your seed I will give this land: he will send his angel before you and give you a wife for my son in that land. ^24:8And if the woman will not come with you, then you are free from this oath; only do not take my son back there. ^24:9And the servant put his hand under Abraham's leg, and gave him his oath about this thing. ^24:10And the servant took ten of his master's camels, and all sorts of good things of his master's, and went to Mesopotamia, to the town of Nahor. ^24:11And he made the camels take their rest outside the town by the water-spring in the evening, at the time when the women came to get water. ^24:12And he said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, let me do well in what I have undertaken this day, and give your mercy to my master Abraham. ^24:13See, I am waiting here by the water-spring; and the daughters of the town are coming out to get water: ^24:14Now, may the girl to whom I say, Let down your vessel and give me a drink, and who says in answer, Here is a drink for you and let me give water to your camels: may she be the one marked out by you for your servant Isaac: so may I be certain that you have been good to my master Abraham. ^24:15And even before his words were ended, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, who was the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her water-vessel on her arm. ^24:16She was a very beautiful girl, a virgin, who had never been touched by a man: and she went down to the spring to get water in her vessel. ^24:17And the servant came running to her and said, Give me a little water from your vessel. ^24:18And she said, Take a drink, my lord: and quickly letting down her vessel onto her hand, she gave him a drink. ^24:19And having done so, she said, I will get water for your camels till they have had enough. ^24:20And after putting the water from her vessel into the animals' drinking-place, she went quickly back to the spring and got water for all the camels. ^24:21And the man, looking at her, said nothing, waiting to see if the Lord had given his journey a good outcome. ^24:22And when the camels had had enough, the man took a gold nose-ring, half a shekel in weight, and two ornaments for her arms of ten shekels weight of gold; ^24:23And said to her, Whose daughter are you? is there room in your father's house for us? ^24:24And she said to him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, Nahor's wife. ^24:25And she said, We have a great store of dry grass and cattle-food, and there is room for you. ^24:26And with bent head the man gave worship to the Lord; ^24:27And said, Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has given a sign that he is good and true to my master, by guiding me straight to the house of my master's family. ^24:28So the girl went running and took the news of these things to her mother's house ^24:29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban, and he came out quickly to the man at the water-spring. ^24:30And when he saw the nose-ring and the ornaments on his sister's hands, and when she gave him word of what the man had said to her, then he went out to the man who was waiting with the camels by the water-spring. ^24:31And he said to him, Come in, you on whom is the blessing of the Lord; why are you waiting outside? for I have made the house ready for you, and a place for the camels. ^24:32Then the man came into the house, and Laban took their cords off the camels and gave them dry grass and food, and he gave to him and the men who were with him water for washing their feet. ^24:33And meat was put before him, but he said, I will not take food till I have made my business clear to you. And they said, Do so. ^24:34And he said, I am Abraham's servant. ^24:35The Lord has given my master every blessing, and he has become great: he has given him flocks and herds and silver and gold, and men-servants and women-servants and camels and asses. ^24:36And when Sarah, my master's wife, was old, she gave birth to a son, to whom he has given all he has. ^24:37And my master made me take an oath, saying, Do not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am living; ^24:38But go to my father's house and to my relations for a wife for my son. ^24:39And I said to my master, What if the woman will not come with me? ^24:40And he said, The Lord, whom I have ever kept before me, will send his angel with you, who will make it possible for you to get a wife for my son from my relations and my father's house; ^24:41And you will be free from your oath to me when you come to my people; and if they will not give her to you, you will be free from your oath. ^24:42And I came today to the water-spring, and I said, O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if it is your purpose to give a good outcome to my journey, ^24:43Let it come about that, while I am waiting here by the water-spring, if a girl comes to get water and I say to her, Give me a little water from your vessel, and she says, ^24:44Take a drink, and I will get water for your camels; let her be the woman marked out by the Lord for my master's son. ^24:45And even while I was saying this to myself, Rebekah came out with her vessel on her arm; and she went down to the spring to get water; and I said to her, Give me a drink. ^24:46And straight away she took down her vessel from her arm, and said, Take a drink, and I will get water for your camels. ^24:47And questioning her, I said, Whose daughter are you? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, and Milcah his wife. Then I put the ring on her nose and the ornaments on her hands. ^24:48And with bent head I gave worship and praise to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, by whom I had been guided in the right way, to get the daughter of my master's brother for his son. ^24:49And now, say if you will do what is good and right for my master or not, in order that it may be clear to me what I have to do. ^24:50Then Laban and Bethuel said in answer, This is the Lord's doing: it is not for us to say Yes or No to you. ^24:51See, here is Rebekah: take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as the Lord has said. ^24:52And at these words, Abraham's servant went down on his face and gave praise to the Lord. ^24:53Then he took jewels of silver and jewels of gold and fair robes and gave them to Rebekah: and he gave things of value to her mother and her brother. ^24:54Then he and the men who were with him had food and drink, and took their rest there that night; and in the morning he got up, and said, Let me now go back to my master. ^24:55But her brother and her mother said, Let the girl be with us a week or ten days, and then she may go. ^24:56And he said, Do not keep me; the Lord has given a good outcome to my journey; let me now go back to my master. ^24:57And they said, We will send for the girl, and let her make the decision. ^24:58And they sent for Rebekah and said to her, Are you ready to go with this man? And she said, I am ready. ^24:59So they sent their sister Rebekah and her servant with Abraham's servant and his men. ^24:60And they gave Rebekah their blessing, saying, O sister, may you be the mother of thousands and ten thousands; and may your seed overcome all those who make war against them. ^24:61So Rebekah and her servant-women went with the man, seated on the camels; and so the servant took Rebekah and went on his way. ^24:62Now Isaac had come through the waste land to Beer-lahai-roi; for he was living in the South. ^24:63And when the evening was near, he went wandering out into the fields, and lifting up his eyes he saw camels coming. ^24:64And when Rebekah, looking up, saw Isaac, she got down from her camel, ^24:65And said to the servant, Who is that man coming to us through the field? And the servant said, It is my master: then she took her veil, covering her face with it. ^24:66Then the servant gave Isaac the story of all he had done. ^24:67And Isaac took Rebekah into his tent and she became his wife; and in his love for her, Isaac was comforted after his father's death.

^25:1And Abraham took another wife named Keturah. ^25:2She became the mother of Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. ^25:3And Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. And from Dedan came the Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. ^25:4And from Midian came Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the offspring of Keturah. ^25:5Now Abraham gave all his property to Isaac; ^25:6But to the sons of his other women he gave offerings, and sent them away, while he was still living, into the east country. ^25:7Now the years of Abraham's life were a hundred and seventy-five. ^25:8And Abraham came to his death, an old man, full of years; and he was put to rest with his people. ^25:9And Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, put him to rest in the hollow rock of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, near Mamre; ^25:10The same field which Abraham got from the children of Heth: there Abraham was put to rest with Sarah, his wife. ^25:11Now after the death of Abraham, the blessing of God was with Isaac, his son. ^25:12Now these are the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar the Egyptian, the servant of Sarah: ^25:13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their generations: Ishmael's first son was Nebaioth; then Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam ^25:14And Mishma and Dumah and Massa, ^25:15Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: ^25:16These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names in their towns and their tent-circles; twelve chiefs with their peoples. ^25:17And the years of Ishmael's life were a hundred and thirty-seven: and he came to his end, and was put to rest with his people. ^25:18And their country was from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt: they took their place to the east of all their brothers. ^25:19Now these are the generations of Abraham's son Isaac: ^25:20Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramaean of Paddan-aram, and the sister of Laban the Aramaean, to be his wife. ^25:21Isaac made prayer to the Lord for his wife because she had no children; and the Lord gave ear to his prayer, and Rebekah became with child. ^25:22And the children were fighting together inside her, and she said, If it is to be so, why am I like this? So she went to put her question to the Lord. ^25:23And the Lord said to her, Two nations are in your body, and two peoples will come to birth from you: the one will be stronger than the other, and the older will be the servant of the younger. ^25:24And when the time came for her to give birth, there were two children in her body. ^25:25And the first came out red from head to foot like a robe of hair, and they gave him the name of Esau. ^25:26And after him, his brother came out, gripping Esau's foot; and he was named Jacob: Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them. ^25:27And the boys came to full growth; and Esau became a man of the open country, an expert bowman; but Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. ^25:28Now Isaac's love was for Esau, because Esau's meat was greatly to his taste: but Rebekah had more love for Jacob. ^25:29And one day Jacob was cooking some soup when Esau came in from the fields in great need of food; ^25:30And Esau said to Jacob, Give me a full meal of that red soup, for I am overcome with need for food: for this reason he was named Edom. ^25:31And Jacob said, First of all give me your birthright. ^25:32And Esau said, Truly, I am at the point of death: what profit is the birthright to me? ^25:33And Jacob said, First of all give me your oath; and he gave him his oath, handing over his birthright to Jacob. ^25:34Then Jacob gave him bread and soup; and he took food and drink and went away, caring little for his birthright.

^26:1Then came a time of great need in the land, like that which had been before in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. ^26:2And the Lord came to him in a vision and said, Do not go down to Egypt; keep in the land of which I will give you knowledge: ^26:3Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham; ^26:4I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth; ^26:5Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws. ^26:6So Isaac went on living in Gerar; ^26:7And when he was questioned by the men of the place about his wife, he said, She is my sister; fearing to say, She is my wife; for, he said, the men of the place may put me to death on account of Rebekah; because she is very beautiful. ^26:8And when he had been there for some time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking through a window, saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife. ^26:9And he said to Isaac, It is clear that she is your wife: why then did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said, For fear that I might be put to death because of her. ^26:10Then Abimelech said, What have you done to us? one of the people might well have had connection with your wife, and the sin would have been ours. ^26:11And Abimelech gave orders to his people that anyone touching Isaac or his wife was to be put to death. ^26:12Now Isaac, planting seed in that land, got in the same year fruit a hundred times as much, for the blessing of the Lord was on him. ^26:13And his wealth became very great, increasing more and more; ^26:14For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy. ^26:15Now all the water-holes, which his father's servants had made in the days of Abraham, had been stopped up with earth by the Philistines. ^26:16And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are stronger than we are. ^26:17So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there. ^26:18And he made again the water-holes which had been made in the days of Abraham his father, and which had been stopped up by the Philistines; and he gave them the names which his father had given them. ^26:19Now Isaac's servants made holes in the valley, and came to a spring of flowing water. ^26:20But the herdmen of Gerar had a fight with Isaac's herdmen, for they said, The spring is ours: so he gave the spring the name of Esek, because there was a fight about it. ^26:21Then they made another water-hole, and there was a fight about that, so he gave it the name of Sitnah. ^26:22Then he went away from there, and made another water-hole, about which there was no fighting: so he gave it the name of Rehoboth, for he said, Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will have fruit in this land. ^26:23And from there he went on to Beer-sheba. ^26:24That night the Lord came to him in a vision, and said, I am the God of your father Abraham: have no fear for I am with you, blessing you, and your seed will be increased because of my servant Abraham. ^26:25Then he made an altar there, and gave worship to the name of the Lord, and he put up his tents there, and there his servants made a water-hole. ^26:26And Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol, the captain of his army. ^26:27And Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing that in your hate for me you sent me away from you? ^26:28And they said, We saw clearly that the Lord was with you: so we said, Let there be an oath between us and you, and let us make an agreement with you; ^26:29That you will do us no damage, even as we put no hand on you, and did you nothing but good, and sent you away in peace: and now the blessing of the Lord is on you. ^26:30Then he made a feast for them, and they all had food and drink. ^26:31And early in the morning they took an oath one to the other: then Isaac sent them away and they went on their way in peace. ^26:32And that day Isaac's servants came to him and gave him word of the water-hole which they had made, and said to him, We have come to water. ^26:33And he gave it the name of Shibah: so the name of that town is Beer-sheba to this day. ^26:34And when Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite: ^26:35And Isaac and Rebekah had grief of mind because of them.

^27:1Now when Isaac was old and his eyes had become clouded so that he was not able to see, he sent for Esau, his first son, and said to him, My son: and he said, Here am I. ^27:2And he said, See now, I am old, and my death may take place at any time: ^27:3So take your arrows and your bow and go out to the field and get meat for me; ^27:4And make me food, good to the taste, such as is pleasing to me, and put it before me, so that I may have a meal and give you my blessing before death comes to me. ^27:5Now Isaac's words to his son were said in Rebekah's hearing. Then Esau went out to get the meat. ^27:6And Rebekah said to Jacob, her son, Your father said to your brother Esau in my hearing, ^27:7Go and get some roe's meat and make me a good meal, so that I may be full, and give you my blessing before the Lord before my death. ^27:8Now, my son, do what I say. ^27:9Go to the flock and get me two fat young goats; and I will make of them a meal to your father's taste: ^27:10And you will take it to him, so that he may have a good meal and give you his blessing before his death. ^27:11And Jacob said to Rebekah, his mother, But Esau my brother is covered with hair, while I am smooth: ^27:12If by chance my father puts his hand on me, it will seem to him that I am tricking him, and he will put a curse on me in place of a blessing. ^27:13And his mother said, Let the curse be on me, my son: only do as I say, and go and get them for me. ^27:14So he went and got them and took them to his mother: and she made a meal to his father's taste. ^27:15And Rebekah took the fair robes of her oldest son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son: ^27:16And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck: ^27:17And she gave into the hand of Jacob, her son, the meat and the bread which she had made ready. ^27:18And he came to his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I: who are you, my son? ^27:19And Jacob said, I am Esau, your oldest son; I have done as you said: come now, be seated and take of my meat, so that you may give me a blessing. ^27:20And Isaac said, How is it that you have got it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord your God made it come my way. ^27:21And Isaac said, Come near so that I may put my hand on you, my son, and see if you are truly my son Esau or not. ^27:22And Jacob went near his father Isaac: and he put his hands on him; and he said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. ^27:23And he did not make out who he was, because his hands were covered with hair like his brother Esau's hands: so he gave him a blessing. ^27:24And he said, Are you truly my son Esau? And he said, I am. ^27:25And he said, Put it before me and I will take of my son's meat, so that I may give you a blessing. And he put it before him and he took it; and he gave him wine, and he had a drink. ^27:26And his father Isaac said to him, Come near now, my son, and give me a kiss. ^27:27And he came near and gave him a kiss; and smelling the smell of his clothing, he gave him a blessing, and said, See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field on which the blessing of the Lord has come: ^27:28May God give you the dew of heaven, and the good things of the earth, and grain and wine in full measure: ^27:29Let peoples be your servants, and nations go down before you: be lord over your brothers, and let your mother's sons go down before you: a curse be on everyone by whom you are cursed, and a blessing on those who give you a blessing. ^27:30And when Isaac had come to the end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had not long gone away from Isaac his father, Esau came in from the field. ^27:31And he made ready a meal, good to the taste, and took it to his father, and said to him, Let my father get up and take of his son's meat, so that you may give me a blessing. ^27:32And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you? And he said, I am your oldest son, Esau. ^27:33And in great fear Isaac said, Who then is he who got meat and put it before me, and I took it all before you came, and gave him a blessing, and his it will be? ^27:34And hearing the words of his father, Esau gave a great and bitter cry, and said to his father, Give a blessing to me, even to me, O my father! ^27:35And he said, Your brother came with deceit, and took away your blessing. ^27:36And he said, Is it because he is named Jacob that he has twice taken my place? for he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not kept a blessing for me? ^27:37And Isaac answering said, But I have made him your master, and have given him all his brothers for servants; I have made him strong with grain and wine: what then am I to do for you, my son? ^27:38And Esau said to his father, Is that the only blessing you have, my father? give a blessing to me, even me! And Esau was overcome with weeping. ^27:39Then Isaac his father made answer and said to him, Far from the fertile places of the earth, and far from the dew of heaven on high will your living-place be: ^27:40By your sword will you get your living and you will be your brother's servant; but when your power is increased his yoke will be broken from off your neck. ^27:41So Esau was full of hate for Jacob because of his father's blessing; and he said in his heart, The days of weeping for my father are near; then I will put my brother Jacob to death. ^27:42Then Rebekah, hearing what Esau had said, sent for Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, It seems that your brother Esau is purposing to put you to death. ^27:43So now, my son, do what I say: go quickly to Haran, to my brother Laban; ^27:44And be there with him for a little time, till your brother's wrath is turned away; ^27:45Till the memory of what you have done to him is past and he is no longer angry: then I will send word for you to come back; are the two of you to be taken from me in one day? ^27:46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, My life is a weariness to me because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob takes a wife from among the daughters of Heth, such as these, the women of this land, of what use will my life be to me?

^28:1Then Isaac sent for Jacob, and blessing him, said, Do not take a wife from among the women of Canaan; ^28:2But go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and there get yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. ^28:3And may God, the Ruler of all, give you his blessing, giving you fruit and increase, so that you may become an army of peoples. ^28:4And may God give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed, so that the land of your wanderings, which God gave to Abraham, may be your heritage. ^28:5So Isaac sent Jacob away: and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramaean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. ^28:6So when Esau saw that Isaac had given Jacob his blessing, and sent him away to Paddan-aram to get a wife for himself there, blessing him and saying to him, Do not take a wife from among the women of Canaan; ^28:7And that Jacob had done as his father and mother said and had gone to Paddan-aram; ^28:8It was clear to Esau that his father had no love for the women of Canaan, ^28:9So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had. ^28:10So Jacob went out from Beer-sheba to go to Haran. ^28:11And coming to a certain place, he made it his resting-place for the night, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones which were there, and putting it under his head he went to sleep in that place. ^28:12And he had a dream, and in his dream he saw steps stretching from earth to heaven, and the angels of God were going up and down on them. ^28:13And he saw the Lord by his side, saying, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac: I will give to you and to your seed this land on which you are sleeping. ^28:14Your seed will be like the dust of the earth, covering all the land to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south: you and your seed will be a name of blessing to all the families of the earth. ^28:15And truly, I will be with you, and will keep you wherever you go, guiding you back again to this land; and I will not give you up till I have done what I have said to you. ^28:16And Jacob, awaking from his sleep, said, Truly, the Lord is in this place and I was not conscious of it. ^28:17And fear came on him, and he said, This is a holy place; this is nothing less than the house of God and the doorway of heaven. ^28:18And early in the morning Jacob took the stone which had been under his head, and put it up as a pillar and put oil on it. ^28:19And he gave that place the name of Beth-el, but before that time the town was named Luz. ^28:20Then Jacob took an oath, and said, If God will be with me, and keep me safe on my journey, and give me food and clothing to put on, ^28:21So that I come again to my father's house in peace, then I will take the Lord to be my God, ^28:22And this stone which I have put up for a pillar will be God's house: and of all you give me, I will give a tenth part to you.

^29:1Then Jacob went on his journey till he came to the land of the children of the East. ^29:2And there he saw a water-hole in a field, and by the side of it three flocks of sheep, for there they got water for the sheep: and on the mouth of the water-hole there was a great stone. ^29:3And all the flocks would come together there, and when the stone had been rolled away, they would give the sheep water, and put the stone back again in its place on the mouth of the water-hole. ^29:4Then Jacob said to the herdmen, My brothers, where do you come from? And they said, From Haran. ^29:5And he said to them, Have you any knowledge of Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, We have. ^29:6And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep. ^29:7Then Jacob said, The sun is still high and it is not time to get the cattle together: get water for the sheep and go and give them their food. ^29:8And they said, We are not able to do so till all the flocks have come together and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the water-hole; then we will get water for the sheep. ^29:9While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she took care of them. ^29:10Then when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, coming with Laban's sheep, he came near, and rolling the stone away from the mouth of the hole, he got water for Laban's flock. ^29:11And weeping for joy, Jacob gave Rachel a kiss. ^29:12And Rachel, hearing from Jacob that he was her father's relation and that he was the son of Rebekah, went running to give her father news of it. ^29:13And Laban, hearing news of Jacob, his sister's son, came running, and took Jacob in his arms, and kissing him, made him come into his house. And Jacob gave him news of everything. ^29:14And Laban said to him, Truly, you are my bone and my flesh. And he kept Jacob with him for the space of a month. ^29:15Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my brother are you to be my servant for nothing? say now, what is your payment to be? ^29:16Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ^29:17And Leah's eyes were clouded, but Rachel was fair in face and form. ^29:18And Jacob was in love with Rachel; and he said, I will be your servant seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter. ^29:19And Laban said, It is better for you to have her than another man: go on living here with me. ^29:20And Jacob did seven years' work for Rachel; and because of his love for her it seemed to him only a very little time. ^29:21Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife so that I may have her, for the days are ended. ^29:22And Laban got together all the men of the place and gave a feast. ^29:23And in the evening he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him, and he went in to her. ^29:24And Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her waiting-woman. ^29:25And in the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What have you done to me? was I not working for you so that I might have Rachel? why have you been false to me? ^29:26And Laban said, In our country we do not let the younger daughter be married before the older. ^29:27Let the week of the bride-feast come to its end and then we will give you the other in addition, if you will be my servant for another seven years. ^29:28And Jacob did so; and when the week was ended, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel for his wife. ^29:29And Laban gave Rachel his servant-girl Bilhah to be her waiting-woman. ^29:30Then Jacob took Rachel as his wife, and his love for her was greater than his love for Leah; and he went on working for Laban for another seven years. ^29:31Now the Lord, seeing that Leah was not loved, gave her a child; while Rachel had no children. ^29:32And Leah was with child, and gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name Reuben: for she said, The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me. ^29:33Then she became with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Because it has come to the Lord's ears that I am not loved, he has given me this son in addition: and she gave him the name Simeon. ^29:34And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Now at last my husband will be united to me, because I have given him three sons: so he was named Levi. ^29:35And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son: and she said, This time I will give praise to the Lord: so he was named Judah; after this she had no more children for a time.

^30:1Now Rachel, because she had no children, was full of envy of her sister; and she said to Jacob, If you do not give me children I will not go on living. ^30:2But Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said, Am I in the place of God, who has kept your body from having fruit? ^30:3Then she said, Here is my servant Bilhah, go in to her, so that she may have a child on my knees, and I may have a family by her. ^30:4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. ^30:5And Bilhah became with child, and gave birth to a son. ^30:6Then Rachel said, God has been my judge, and has given ear to my voice, and has given me a son; so he was named Dan. ^30:7And again Bilhah, Rachel's servant, was with child, and gave birth to a second son. ^30:8And Rachel said, I have had a great fight with my sister, and I have overcome her: and she gave the child the name Naphtali. ^30:9When it was clear to Leah that she would have no more children for a time, she gave Zilpah, her servant, to Jacob as a wife. ^30:10And Zilpah, Leah's servant, gave birth to a son. ^30:11And Leah said, It has gone well for me: and she gave him the name Gad. ^30:12And Zilpah, Leah's servant, gave birth to a second son. ^30:13And Leah said, Happy am I! and all women will give witness to my joy: and she gave him the name Asher. ^30:14Now at the time of the grain-cutting, Reuben saw some love-fruits in the field, and took them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to her, Let me have some of your son's love-fruits. ^30:15But Leah said to her, Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband from me? and now would you take my son's love-fruits? Then Rachel said, You may have him tonight in exchange for your son's love-fruits. ^30:16In the evening, when Jacob came in from the field, Leah went out to him and said, Tonight you are to come to me, for I have given my son's love-fruits as a price for you. And he went in to her that night. ^30:17And God gave ear to her and she became with child, and gave Jacob a fifth son. ^30:18Then Leah said, God has made payment to me for giving my servant-girl to my husband: so she gave her son the name Issachar. ^30:19And again Leah became with child, and she gave Jacob a sixth son. ^30:20And she said, God has given me a good bride-price; now at last will I have my husband living with me, for I have given him six sons: and she gave him the name Zebulun. ^30:21After that she had a daughter, to whom she gave the name Dinah. ^30:22Then God gave thought to Rachel, and hearing her prayer he made her fertile. ^30:23And she was with child, and gave birth to a son: and she said, God has taken away my shame. ^30:24And she gave him the name Joseph, saying, May the Lord give me another son. ^30:25Now after the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Let me go away to my place and my country. ^30:26Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have been your servant, and let me go: for you have knowledge of all the work I have done for you. ^30:27And Laban said, If you will let me say so, do not go away; for I have seen by the signs that the Lord has been good to me because of you. ^30:28Say then what your payment is to be and I will give it. ^30:29Then Jacob said, You have seen what I have done for you, and how your cattle have done well under my care. ^30:30For before I came you had little, and it has been greatly increased; and the Lord has given you a blessing in everything I have done; but when am I to do something for my family? ^30:31And Laban said, What am I to give you? And Jacob said, Do not give me anything; but I will again take up the care of your flock if you will only do this for me: ^30:32Let me go through all your flock today, taking out from among them all the sheep which are marked or coloured or black, and all the marked or coloured goats: these will be my payment. ^30:33And so you will be able to put my honour to the test in time to come; if you see among my flocks any goats which are not marked or coloured, or any sheep which is not black, you may take me for a thief. ^30:34And Laban said, Let it be as you say. ^30:35So that day he took all the he-goats which were banded or coloured, and all the she-goats which were marked or coloured or had white marks, and all the black sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons; ^30:36And sent them three days' journey away: and Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flock. ^30:37Then Jacob took young branches of trees, cutting off the skin so that the white wood was seen in bands. ^30:38And he put the banded sticks in the drinking-places where the flock came to get water; and they became with young when they came to the water. ^30:39And because of this, the flock gave birth to young which were marked with bands of colour. ^30:40These lambs Jacob kept separate; and he put his flock in a place by themselves and not with Laban's flock. ^30:41And whenever the stronger ones of the flock became with young, Jacob put the sticks in front of them in the drinking-places, so that they might become with young when they saw the sticks. ^30:42But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put the sticks before them; so that the feebler flocks were Laban's and the stronger were Jacob's. ^30:43So Jacob's wealth was greatly increased; he had great flocks and women-servants and men-servants and camels and asses.

^31:1Now it came to the ears of Jacob that Laban's sons were saying, Jacob has taken away all our father's property, and in this way he has got all this wealth. ^31:2And Jacob saw that Laban's feeling for him was no longer what it had been before. ^31:3Then the Lord said to Jacob, Go back to the land of your fathers, and to your relations, and I will be with you. ^31:4And Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come to him in the field among his flock. ^31:5And he said to them, It is clear to me that your father's feeling is no longer what it was to me; but the God of my father has been with me ^31:6And you have seen how I have done all in my power for your father, ^31:7But your father has not kept faith with me, and ten times he has made changes in my payment; but God has kept him from doing me damage. ^31:8If he said, All those in the flock which have marks are to be yours, then all the flock gave birth to marked young; and if he said, All the banded ones are to be yours, then all the flock had banded young. ^31:9So God has taken away your father's cattle and has given them to me. ^31:10And at the time when the flock were with young, I saw in a dream that all the he-goats which were joined with the she-goats were banded and marked and coloured. ^31:11And in my dream the angel of the Lord said to me, Jacob: and I said, Here am I. ^31:12And he said, See how all the he-goats are banded and marked and coloured: for I have seen what Laban has done to you. ^31:13I am the God of Beth-el, where you put oil on the pillar and took an oath to me: now then, come out of this land and go back to the country of your birth. ^31:14Then Rachel and Leah said to him in answer, What part or heritage is there for us in our father's house? ^31:15Are we not as people from a strange country to him? for he took a price for us and now it is all used up. ^31:16For the wealth which God has taken from him is ours and our children's; so now, whatever God has said to you, do. ^31:17Then Jacob put his wives and his sons on camels; ^31:18And sending on before him all his cattle and his property which he had got together in Paddan-aram, he made ready to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. ^31:19Now Laban had gone to see to the cutting of the wool of his sheep; so Rachel secretly took the images of the gods of her father's house. ^31:20And Jacob went away secretly, without giving news of his flight to Laban the Aramaean. ^31:21So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead. ^31:22And on the third day Laban had news of Jacob's flight. ^31:23And taking the men of his family with him, he went after him for seven days and overtook him in the hill-country of Gilead. ^31:24Then God came to Laban in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob. ^31:25Now when Laban overtook him, Jacob had put up his tent in the hill-country; and Laban and his brothers put up their tents in the hill-country of Gilead. ^31:26And Laban said to Jacob, Why did you go away secretly, taking my daughters away like prisoners of war? ^31:27Why did you make a secret of your flight, not giving me word of it, so that I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with melody and music? ^31:28You did not even let me give a kiss to my sons and my daughters. This was a foolish thing to do. ^31:29It is in my power to do you damage: but the God of your father came to me this night, saying, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob. ^31:30And now, it seems, you are going because your heart's desire is for your father's house; but why have you taken my gods? ^31:31And Jacob, in answer, said to Laban, My fear was that you might take your daughters from me by force. ^31:32As for your gods, if anyone of us has them, let him be put to death: make search before us all for what is yours, and take it. For Jacob had no knowledge that Rachel had taken them. ^31:33So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent, and into the tents of the two servant-women, but they were not there; and he came out of Leah's tent and went into Rachel's. ^31:34Now Rachel had taken the images, and had put them in the camels' basket, and was seated on them. And Laban, searching through all the tent, did not come across them. ^31:35And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry because I do not get up before you, for I am in the common condition of women. And with all his searching, he did not come across the images. ^31:36Then Jacob was angry with Laban, and said, What crime or sin have I done that you have come after me with such passion? ^31:37Now that you have made search through all my goods, what have you seen which is yours? Make it clear now before my people and your people, so that they may be judges between us. ^31:38These twenty years I have been with you; your sheep and your goats have had young without loss, not one of your he-goats have I taken for food. ^31:39Anything which was wounded by beasts I did not take to you, but myself made up for the loss of it; you made me responsible for whatever was taken by thieves, by day or by night. ^31:40This was my condition, wasted by heat in the day and by the bitter cold at night; and sleep went from my eyes. ^31:41These twenty years I have been in your house; I was your servant for fourteen years because of your daughters, and for six years I kept your flock, and ten times was my payment changed. ^31:42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away with nothing in my hands. But God has seen my troubles and the work of my hands, and this night he kept you back. ^31:43Then Laban, answering, said, These women are my daughters and these children my children, the flocks and all you see are mine: what now may I do for my daughters and for their children? ^31:44Come, let us make an agreement, you and I; and let it be for a witness between us. ^31:45Then Jacob took a stone and put it up as a pillar. ^31:46And Jacob said to his people, Get stones together; and they did so; and they had a meal there by the stones. ^31:47And the name Laban gave it was Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob gave it the name of Galeed. ^31:48And Laban said, These stones are a witness between you and me today. For this reason its name was Galeed, ^31:49And Mizpah, for he said, May the Lord keep watch on us when we are unable to see one another's doings. ^31:50If you are cruel to my daughters, or if you take other wives in addition to my daughters, then though no man is there to see, God will be the witness between us. ^31:51And Laban said, See these stones and this pillar which I have put between you and me; ^31:52They will be witness that I will not go over these stones to you, and you will not go over these stones or this pillar to me, for any evil purpose. ^31:53May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, be our judge. Then Jacob took an oath by the Fear of his father Isaac. ^31:54And Jacob made an offering on the mountain, and gave orders to his people to take food: so they had a meal and took their rest that night on the mountain. ^31:55And early in the morning Laban, after kissing and blessing his daughters, went on his way back to his country.

^32:1And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God. ^32:2And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God: so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim. ^32:3Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom; ^32:4And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban: ^32:5And I have oxen and asses and flocks and men-servants and women-servants: and I have sent to give my lord news of these things so that I may have grace in his eyes. ^32:6When the servants came back they said, We have seen your brother Esau and he is coming out to you, and four hundred men with him. ^32:7Then Jacob was in great fear and trouble of mind: and he put all the people and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups; ^32:8And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely. ^32:9Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you: ^32:10I am less than nothing in comparison with all your mercies and your faith to me your servant; for with only my stick in my hand I went across Jordan, and now I have become two armies. ^32:11Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child. ^32:12And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered. ^32:13Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau, ^32:14Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep, ^32:15Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses. ^32:16These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another. ^32:17And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds? ^32:18Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us. ^32:19And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him; ^32:20And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes. ^32:21So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people. ^32:22And in the night he got up, and taking with him his two wives and the two servant-women and his eleven children, he went over the river Jabbok. ^32:23He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had. ^32:24Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn. ^32:25But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged. ^32:26And he said to him, Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said, I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. ^32:27Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. ^32:28And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome. ^32:29Then Jacob said, What is your name? And he said, What is my name to you? Then he gave him a blessing. ^32:30And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living. ^32:31And while he was going past Peniel, the sun came up. And he went with unequal steps because of his damaged leg. ^32:32For this reason the children of Israel, even today, never take that muscle in the hollow of the leg as food, because the hollow of Jacob's leg was touched.

^33:1Then Jacob, lifting up his eyes, saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. So he made a division of the children between Leah and Rachel and the two women-servants. ^33:2He put the servants and their children in front, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph at the back. ^33:3And he himself, going before them, went down on his face to the earth seven times till he came near his brother. ^33:4Then Esau came running up to him, and folding him in his arms, gave him a kiss: and the two of them were overcome with weeping. ^33:5Then Esau, lifting up his eyes, saw the women and the children, and said, Who are these with you? And he said, The children whom God in his mercy has given to your servant. ^33:6Then the servants and their children came near, and went down on their faces. ^33:7And Leah came near with her children, and then Joseph and Rachel, and they did the same. ^33:8And he said, What were all those herds which I saw on the way? And Jacob said, They were an offering so that I might have grace in my lord's eyes. ^33:9But Esau said, I have enough; keep what is yours, my brother, for yourself. ^33:10And Jacob said, Not so; but if I have grace in your eyes, take them as a sign of my love, for I have seen your face as one may see the face of God, and you have been pleased with me. ^33:11Take my offering then, with my blessing; for God has been very good to me and I have enough: so at his strong request, he took it. ^33:12And he said, Let us go on our journey together, and I will go in front. ^33:13But Jacob said, My lord may see that the children are only small, and there are young ones in my flocks and herds: one day's over-driving will be the destruction of all the flock. ^33:14Do you, my lord, go on before your servant; I will come on slowly, at the rate at which the cattle and the children are able to go, till I come to my lord at Seir. ^33:15And Esau said, Then keep some of my men with you. And he said, What need is there for that, if my lord is pleased with me? ^33:16So Esau, turning back that day, went on his way to Seir. ^33:17And Jacob went on to Succoth, where he made a house for himself and put up tents for his cattle: for this reason the place was named Succoth. ^33:18So Jacob came safely from Paddan-aram to the town of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and put up his tents near the town. ^33:19And for a hundred bits of money he got from the children of Hamor, the builder of Shechem, the field in which he had put up his tents. ^33:20And there he put up an altar, naming it El, the God of Israel.

^34:1Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had by Jacob, went out to see the women of that country. ^34:2And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite who was the chief of that land, saw her, he took her by force and had connection with her. ^34:3Then his heart went out in love to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he said comforting words to her. ^34:4And Shechem said to Hamor, his father, Get me this girl for my wife. ^34:5Now Jacob had word of what Shechem had done to his daughter; but his sons were in the fields with the cattle, and Jacob said nothing till they came. ^34:6Then Hamor, the father of Shechem, came out to have a talk with Jacob. ^34:7Now the sons of Jacob came in from the fields when they had news of it, and they were wounded and very angry because of the shame he had done in Israel by having connection with Jacob's daughter; and they said, Such a thing is not to be done. ^34:8But Hamor said to them, Shechem, my son, is full of desire for your daughter: will you then give her to him for a wife? ^34:9And let our two peoples be joined together; give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves. ^34:10Go on living with us, and the country will be open to you; do trade and get property there. ^34:11And Shechem said to her father and her brothers, If you will give ear to my request, whatever you say I will give to you. ^34:12However great you make the bride-price and payment, I will give it; only let me have the girl for my wife. ^34:13But the sons of Jacob gave a false answer to Shechem and Hamor his father, because of what had been done to Dinah their sister. ^34:14And they said, It is not possible for us to give our sister to one who is without circumcision, for that would be a cause of shame to us: ^34:15But on this condition only will we come to an agreement with you: if every male among you becomes like us and undergoes circumcision; ^34:16Then we will give our daughters to you and take your daughters to us and go on living with you as one people. ^34:17But if you will not undergo circumcision as we say, then we will take our daughter and go. ^34:18And their words were pleasing to Hamor and his son Shechem. ^34:19And without loss of time the young man did as they said, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter, and he was the noblest of his father's house. ^34:20Then Hamor and Shechem, his son, went to the meeting-place of their town, and said to the men of the town, ^34:21It is the desire of these men to be at peace with us; let them then go on living in this country and doing trade here, for the country is wide open before them; let us take their daughters as wives and let us give them our daughters. ^34:22But these men will make an agreement with us to go on living with us and to become one people, only on the condition that every male among us undergoes circumcision as they have done. ^34:23Then will not their cattle and their goods and all their beasts be ours? so let us come to an agreement with them so that they may go on living with us. ^34:24Then all the men of the town gave ear to the words of Hamor and Shechem his son; and every male in the town underwent circumcision. ^34:25But on the third day after, before the wounds were well, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came into the town by surprise and put all the males to death. ^34:26And Hamor and his son they put to death with the sword, and they took Dinah from Shechem's house and went away. ^34:27And the sons of Jacob came on them when they were wounded and made waste the town because of what had been done to their sister; ^34:28They took their flocks and their herds and their asses and everything in their town and in their fields, ^34:29And all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives; everything in their houses they took and made them waste. ^34:30And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, You have made trouble for me and given me a bad name among the people of this country, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and because we are small in number they will come together against me and make war on me; and it will be the end of me and all my people. ^34:31But they said, Were we to let him make use of our sister as a loose woman?

^35:1And God said to Jacob, Go up now to Beth-el and make your living-place there: and put up an altar there to the God who came to you when you were in flight from your brother Esau. ^35:2Then Jacob said to all his people, Put away the strange gods which are among you, and make yourselves clean, and put on a change of clothing: ^35:3And let us go up to Beth-el: and there I will make an altar to God, who gave me an answer in the day of my trouble, and was with me wherever I went. ^35:4Then they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which they had, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob put them away under the holy tree at Shechem. ^35:5So they went on their journey: and the fear of God was on the towns round about, so that they made no attack on the sons of Jacob. ^35:6And Jacob came to Luz in the land of Canaan (which is the same as Beth-el), he and all his people. ^35:7And there he made an altar, naming the place El-beth-el: because it was there he had the vision of God when he was in flight from his brother. ^35:8And Deborah, the servant who had taken care of Rebekah from her birth, came to her end, and was put to rest near Beth-el, under the holy tree: and they gave it the name of Allon-bacuth. ^35:9Now when Jacob was on his way from Paddan-aram, God came to him again and, blessing him, said, ^35:10Jacob is your name, but it will be so no longer; from now your name will be Israel; so he was named Israel. ^35:11And God said to him, I am God, the Ruler of all: be fertile, and have increase; a nation, truly a group of nations, will come from you, and kings will be your offspring; ^35:12And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you; and to your seed after you I will give the land. ^35:13Then God went up from him in the place where he had been talking with him. ^35:14And Jacob put up a pillar in the place where he had been talking with God, and put a drink offering on it, and oil. ^35:15And he gave to the place where God had been talking with him, the name of Beth-el. ^35:16So they went on from Beth-el; and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, the pains of birth came on Rachel and she had a hard time. ^35:17And when her pain was very great, the woman who was helping her said, Have no fear; for now you will have another son. ^35:18And in the hour when her life went from her (for death came to her), she gave the child the name Ben-oni: but his father gave him the name of Benjamin. ^35:19So Rachel came to her end and was put to rest on the road to Ephrath (which is Beth-lehem). ^35:20And Jacob put up a pillar on her resting-place; which is named, The Pillar of the resting-place of Rachel, to this day. ^35:21And Israel went journeying on and put up his tents on the other side of the tower of the flock. ^35:22Now while they were living in that country, Reuben had connection with Bilhah, his father's servant-woman: and Israel had news of it. ^35:23Now Jacob had twelve sons: the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's first son, and Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun; ^35:24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; ^35:25The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali; ^35:26The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher; these are the sons whom Jacob had in Paddan-aram. ^35:27And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, at Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had been living. ^35:28And Isaac was a hundred and eighty years old. ^35:29Then Isaac came to his end and was put to rest with his father's people, an old man after a long life: and Jacob and Esau, his sons, put him in his last resting-place.

^36:1Now these are the generations of Esau, that is to say, Edom. ^36:2Esau's wives were women of Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite, ^36:3And Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth. ^36:4Adah had a son Eliphaz; and Basemath was the mother of Reuel; ^36:5Oholibamah was the mother of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the sons of Esau, whose birth took place in the land of Canaan. ^36:6Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters, and all the people of his house, and his beasts and his cattle and all his goods which he had got together in the land of Canaan, and went into the land of Seir, away from his brother Jacob. ^36:7For their wealth was so great that the land was not wide enough for the two of them and all their cattle. ^36:8So Esau made his living-place in the hill-country of Seir (Esau is Edom). ^36:9And these are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in the hill-country of Seir: ^36:10These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau's wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau's wife Basemath. ^36:11The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ^36:12And Eliphaz, the son of Esau, had connection with a woman named Timna, who gave birth to Amalek: all these were the children of Esau's wife Adah. ^36:13And these are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah: they were the children of Esau's wife Basemath. ^36:14And these are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon: she was the mother of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. ^36:15These were the chiefs among the sons of Esau: the sons of Eliphaz, Esau's first son: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ^36:16Korah, Gatam, Amalek: all these were chiefs in the land of Edom, the offspring of Eliphaz, the seed of Adah. ^36:17And these are the sons of Esau's son Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah: these were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom, the children of Esau's wife Basemath. ^36:18And these are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah: these were the chiefs who came from Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah. ^36:19These were the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these were their chiefs. ^36:20These are the sons of Seir the Horite who were living in that country; Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ^36:21Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan: these are the chiefs of the Horites, offspring of Seir in the land of Edom. ^36:22The children of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; Lotan's sister was Timna. ^36:23And these are the children of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ^36:24And these are the children of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; that same Anah who made the discovery of the water-springs in the waste land, when he was looking after the asses of his father Zibeon. ^36:25And these are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah his daughter. ^36:26These are the children of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. ^36:27These are the children of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. ^36:28These are the children of Dishan: Uz and Aran. ^36:29These were the Horite chiefs: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ^36:30Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Such were the Horite chiefs in their order in the land of Seir. ^36:31And these are the kings who were ruling in the land of Edom before there was any king over the children of Israel. ^36:32Bela, son of Beor, was king in Edom, and the name of his chief town was Dinhabah. ^36:33At his death, Jobab, son of Zerah of Bozrah, became king in his place. ^36:34And at the death of Jobab, Husham, from the country of the Temanites, became king in his place. ^36:35And at the death of Husham, Hadad, son of Bedad, who overcame the Midianites in the field of Moab, became king; his chief town was named Avith. ^36:36And at the death of Hadad, Samlah of Masrekah became king. ^36:37And at the death of Samlah, Shaul of Rehoboth by the River became king in his place. ^36:38And at the death of Shaul, Baal-hanan, son of Achbor, became king. ^36:39And at the death of Baal-hanan, Hadar became king in his place; his chief town was named Pau, and his wife's name was Mehetabel; she was the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab. ^36:40These are the names of the chiefs of Esau in the order of their families and their places: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ^36:41Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ^36:42Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ^36:43Magdiel, Iram; these are the Edomite chiefs, in their places in their heritage; this is Esau, the father of the Edomites.

^37:1Now Jacob was living in the land where his father had made a place for himself, in the land of Canaan. ^37:2These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a boy seventeen years old, was looking after the flock, together with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph gave their father a bad account of them. ^37:3Now the love which Israel had for Joseph was greater than his love for all his other children, because he got him when he was an old man: and he had a long coat made for him. ^37:4And because his brothers saw that Joseph was dearer to his father than all the others, they were full of hate for him, and would not say a kind word to him. ^37:5Now Joseph had a dream, and he gave his brothers an account of it, which made their hate greater than ever. ^37:6And he said to them, Let me give you the story of my dream. ^37:7We were in the field, getting the grain stems together, and my grain kept upright, and yours came round and went down on the earth before mine. ^37:8And his brothers said to him, Are you to be our king? will you have authority over us? And because of his dream and his words, their hate for him became greater than ever. ^37:9Then he had another dream, and gave his brothers an account of it, saying, I have had another dream: the sun and the moon and eleven stars gave honour to me. ^37:10And he gave word of it to his father and his brothers; but his father protesting said, What sort of a dream is this? am I and your mother and your brothers to go down on our faces to the earth before you? ^37:11And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind. ^37:12Now his brothers went to keep watch over their father's flock in Shechem. ^37:13And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers with the flock in Shechem? come, I will send you to them. And he said to him, Here am I. ^37:14And he said to him, Go now, and see if your brothers are well and how the flock is; then come back and give me word. So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ^37:15And a man saw him wandering in the country, and said to him, What are you looking for? ^37:16And he said, I am looking for my brothers; please give me word of where they are keeping their flock. ^37:17And the man said, They have gone away from here, for they said in my hearing, Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after them and came up with them at Dothan. ^37:18But they saw him when he was a long way off, and before he came near them they made a secret design against him to put him to death; ^37:19Saying to one another, See, here comes this dreamer. ^37:20Let us now put him to death and put his body into one of these holes, and we will say, An evil beast has put him to death: then we will see what becomes of his dreams. ^37:21But Reuben, hearing these words, got him out of their hands, saying, Let us not take his life. ^37:22Do not put him to a violent death, but let him be placed in one of the holes; this he said to keep him safe from their hands, with the purpose of taking him back to his father again. ^37:23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they took off his long coat which he had on; ^37:24And they took him and put him in the hole: now the hole had no water in it. ^37:25Then seating themselves, they took their meal: and looking up, they saw a travelling band of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt, with spices and perfumes on their camels. ^37:26And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there in putting our brother to death and covering up his blood? ^37:27Let us give him to these Ishmaelites for a price, and let us not put violent hands on him, for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brothers gave ear to him. ^37:28And some traders from Midian went by; so pulling Joseph up out of the hole, they gave him to the Ishmaelites for twenty bits of silver, and they took him to Egypt. ^37:29Now when Reuben came back to the hole, Joseph was not there; and giving signs of grief, ^37:30He went back to his brothers, and said, The child is gone; what am I to do? ^37:31Then they took Joseph's coat, and put on it some of the blood from a young goat which they had put to death, ^37:32And they took the coat to their father, and said, We came across this; is it your son's coat or not? ^37:33And he saw that it was, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast has put him to death; without doubt Joseph has come to a cruel end. ^37:34Then Jacob, giving signs of grief, put on haircloth, and went on weeping for his son day after day. ^37:35And all his sons and all his daughters came to give him comfort, but he would not be comforted, saying with weeping, I will go down to the underworld to my son. So great was his father's sorrow for him. ^37:36And in Egypt the men of Midian gave him for a price to Potiphar, a captain of high position in Pharaoh's house.

^38:1Now at that time, Judah went away from his brothers and became the friend of a man of Adullam named Hirah. ^38:2And there he saw the daughter of a certain man of Canaan named Shua, and took her as his wife. ^38:3And she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Er. ^38:4And again she gave birth to a son, and he gave him the name Onan. ^38:5Then she had another son, to whom she gave the name Shelah; she was at Chezib when the birth took place. ^38:6And Judah took a wife for his first son Er, and her name was Tamar. ^38:7Now Er, Judah's first son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death. ^38:8Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife and do what it is right for a husband's brother to do; make her your wife and get offspring for your brother. ^38:9But Onan, seeing that the offspring would not be his, went in to his brother's wife, but let his seed go on to the earth, so that he might not get offspring for his brother. ^38:10And what he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death, like his brother. ^38:11Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Go back to your father's house and keep yourself as a widow till my son Shelah becomes a man: for he had in his mind the thought that death might come to him as it had come to his brothers. So Tamar went back to her father's house. ^38:12And after a time, Bath-shua, Judah's wife, came to her end; and after Judah was comforted for her loss, he went to Timnah, where they were cutting the wool of his sheep, and his friend Hirah of Adullam went with him. ^38:13And when Tamar had news that her father-in-law was going up to Timnah to the wool-cutting, ^38:14She took off her widow's clothing, and covering herself with her veil, she took her seat near Enaim on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was now a man, but she had not been made his wife. ^38:15When Judah saw her he took her to be a loose woman of the town, because her face was covered. ^38:16And turning to her by the roadside, he said to her, Let me come in to you; for he had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me as my price? ^38:17And he said, I will give you a young goat from the flock. And she said, What will you give me as a sign till you send it? ^38:18And he said, What would you have? And she said, Your ring and its cord and the stick in your hand. So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she became with child by him. ^38:19Then she got up and went away and took off her veil and put on her widow's clothing. ^38:20Then Judah sent his friend Hirah with the young goat, to get back the things which he had given as a sign to the woman: but she was not there. ^38:21And he put questions to the men of the place, saying, Where is the loose woman who was in Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There was no such woman there. ^38:22So he went back to Judah, and said, I have not seen her, and the men of the place say that there is no such woman there. ^38:23And Judah said, Let her keep the things, so that we may not be shamed; I sent the young goat, but you did not see the woman. ^38:24Now about three months after this, word came to Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, had been acting like a loose woman and was with child. And Judah said, Take her out and let her be burned. ^38:25And while she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, The man whose property these things are, is the father of my child: say then, whose are this ring and this cord and this stick? ^38:26Then Judah said openly that they were his, and said, She is more upright than I am, for I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he had no more connection with her. ^38:27And when the time came for her to give birth, it was clear that there were two children in her body. ^38:28And while she was in the act of giving birth, one of them put out his hand; and the woman who was with her put a red thread round his hand, saying, This one came out first. ^38:29But then he took his hand back again, and his brother came first to birth: and the woman said, What an opening you have made for yourself! So he was named Perez. ^38:30And then his brother came out, with the red thread round his hand, and he was named Zerah.

^39:1Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar the Egyptian, a captain of high position in Pharaoh's house, got him for a price from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. ^39:2And the Lord was with Joseph, and he did well; and he was living in the house of his master the Egyptian. ^39:3And his master saw that the Lord was with him, making everything he did go well. ^39:4And having a high opinion of Joseph as his servant, he made him the overseer of his house and gave him control over all he had. ^39:5And from the time when he made him overseer and gave him control of all his property, the blessing of the Lord was with the Egyptian, because of Joseph; the blessing of the Lord was on all he had, in the house and in the field. ^39:6And he gave Joseph control of all his property, keeping no account of anything, but only the food which was put before him. Now Joseph was very beautiful in form and face. ^39:7And after a time, his master's wife, looking on Joseph with desire, said to him, Be my lover. ^39:8But he would not, and said to her, You see that my master keeps no account of what I do in his house, and has put all his property in my control; ^39:9So that no one has more authority in this house than I have; he has kept nothing back from me but you, because you are his wife; how then may I do this great wrong, sinning against God? ^39:10And day after day she went on requesting Joseph to come to her and be her lover, but he would not give ear to her. ^39:11Now one day he went into the house to do his work; and not one of the men of the house was inside. ^39:12And pulling at his coat, she said, Come to my bed; but slipping out of his coat, he went running away. ^39:13And when she saw that he had got away, letting her keep his coat, ^39:14She sent for the men of her house and said to them, See, he has let a Hebrew come here and make sport of us; he came to my bed, and I gave a loud cry; ^39:15And hearing it he went running out without his coat. ^39:16And she kept his coat by her, till his master came back. ^39:17Then she gave him the same story, saying, The Hebrew servant whom you have taken into our house came in to make sport of me; ^39:18And when I gave a loud cry he went running out without his coat. ^39:19And hearing his wife's account of what his servant had done, he became very angry. ^39:20And Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, in the place where the king's prisoners were kept in chains, and he was there in the prison-house. ^39:21But the Lord was with Joseph, and was good to him, and made the keeper of the prison his friend. ^39:22And the keeper of the prison put all the prisoners under Joseph's control, and he was responsible for whatever was done there. ^39:23And the keeper of the prison gave no attention to anything which was under his care, because the Lord was with him; and the Lord made everything he did go well.