Bible in Basic English

GENESIS, 25
Death of Abraham

25:1     And Abraham took another wife named Keturah. 2 She became the mother of Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. And from Dedan came the Asshurim and Letushim and Leummim. 4 And from Midian came Ephah and Epher and Hanoch and Abida and Eldaah. All these were the offspring of Keturah. 5 Now Abraham gave all his property to Isaac ; 6 But to the sons of his other women he gave offerings, and sent them away, while he was still living, into the east country.
25:7     Now the years of Abraham's life were a hundred and seventy-five. 8 And Abraham came to his death, an old man, full of years ; and he was put to rest with his people. 9 And 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 ; 10 The same field which Abraham got from the children of Heth : there Abraham was put to rest with Sarah, his wife. 11 Now after the death of Abraham, the blessing of God was with Isaac, his son.
25:12     Now these are the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar the Egyptian, the servant of Sarah : 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their generations : Ishmael's first son was Nebaioth ; then Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam 14 And Mishma and Dumah and Massa, 15 Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah : 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names in their towns and their tent-circles ; twelve chiefs with their peoples. 17 And 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. 18 And their country was from Havilah to Shur which is east of Egypt : they took their place to the east of all their brothers.
25:19     Now these are the generations of Abraham's son Isaac : 20 Isaac 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. 21 Isaac 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. 22 And 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. 23 And 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. 24 And when the time came for her to give birth, there were two children in her body. 25 And the first came out red from head to foot like a robe of hair, and they gave him the name of Esau. 26 And 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.
25:27     And 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. 28 Now Isaac's love was for Esau, because Esau's meat was greatly to his taste : but Rebekah had more love for Jacob.
25:29     And one day Jacob was cooking some soup when Esau came in from the fields in great need of food ; 30 And 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. 31 And Jacob said, First of all give me your birthright. 32 And Esau said, Truly, I am at the point of death : what profit is the birthright to me ? 33 And Jacob said, First of all give me your oath ; and he gave him his oath, handing over his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave him bread and soup ; and he took food and drink and went away, caring little for his birthright.

GENESIS, 26

26:1     Then 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. 2 And 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: 3 Keep 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 ; 4 I 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 ; 5 Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws.
26:6     So Isaac went on living in Gerar ; 7 And 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. 8 And when he had been there for some time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking through a window, saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife. 9 And 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. 10 Then 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. 11 And Abimelech gave orders to his people that anyone touching Isaac or his wife was to be put to death.
26:12     Now 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. 13 And his wealth became very great, increasing more and more ; 14 For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants ; so that the Philistines were full of envy. 15 Now 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. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are stronger than we are.
26:17     So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there. 18 And 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. 19 Now Isaac's servants made holes in the valley, and came to a spring of flowing water. 20 But 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. 21 Then they made another water-hole, and there was a fight about that, so he gave it the name of Sitnah. 22 Then 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.
26:23     And from there he went on to Beer-sheba. 24 That 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. 25 Then 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.
26:26     And Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol, the captain of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing that in your hate for me you sent me away from you? 28 And 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 ; 29 That 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. 30 Then he made a feast for them, and they all had food and drink. 31 And 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. 32 And 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. 33 And he gave it the name of Shibah : so the name of that town is Beer-sheba to this day.
26:34     And 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: 35 And Isaac and Rebekah had grief of mind because of them.

GENESIS, 27
Easu and Jacob

27:1     Now 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. 2 And he said, See now, I am old, and my death may take place at any time: 3 So take your arrows and your bow and go out to the field and get meat for me ; 4 And 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.
27:5     Now Isaac's words to his son were said in Rebekah's hearing. Then Esau went out to get the meat. 6 And Rebekah said to Jacob, her son, Your father said to your brother Esau in my hearing, 7 Go 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. 8 Now, my son, do what I say. 9 Go to the flock and get me two fat young goats ; and I will make of them a meal to your father's taste: 10 And you will take it to him, so that he may have a good meal and give you his blessing before his death. 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah, his mother, But Esau my brother is covered with hair, while I am smooth: 12 If 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. 13 And his mother said, Let the curse be on me, my son : only do as I say, and go and get them for me. 14 So he went and got them and took them to his mother : and she made a meal to his father's taste. 15 And Rebekah took the fair robes of her oldest son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son: 16 And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck: 17 And she gave into the hand of Jacob, her son, the meat and the bread which she had made ready.
27:18     And he came to his father, and said, My father : and he said, Here am I : who are you, my son? 19 And 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. 20 And 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. 21 And 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. 22 And 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. 23 And 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. 24 And he said, Are you truly my son Esau ? And he said, I am. 25 And 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. 26 And his father Isaac said to him, Come near now, my son, and give me a kiss. 27 And 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: 28 May God give you the dew of heaven, and the good things of the earth, and grain and wine in full measure: 29 Let 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.
27:30     And 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. 31 And 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. 32 And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you ? And he said, I am your oldest son, Esau. 33 And 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? 34 And 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! 35 And he said, Your brother came with deceit, and took away your blessing. 36 And 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? 37 And 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? 38 And 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.
27:39     Then 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: 40 By 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.
27:41     So 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. 42 Then 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. 43 So now, my son, do what I say : go quickly to Haran, to my brother Laban ; 44 And be there with him for a little time, till your brother's wrath is turned away ; 45 Till 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?
27:46     Then 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 ?

GENESIS, 28
Jacob's dream at Bethel

28:1     Then Isaac sent for Jacob, and blessing him, said, Do not take a wife from among the women of Canaan ; 2 But 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. 3 And may God, the Ruler of all, give you his blessing, giving you fruit and increase, so that you may become an army of peoples. 4 And 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. 5 So 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.
28:6     So 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 ; 7 And that Jacob had done as his father and mother said and had gone to Paddan-aram ; 8 It was clear to Esau that his father had no love for the women of Canaan, 9 So 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.
28:10     So Jacob went out from Beer-sheba to go to Haran. 11 And 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. 12 And 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. 13 And 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. 14 Your 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. 15 And 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. 16 And Jacob, awaking from his sleep, said, Truly, the Lord is in this place and I was not conscious of it. 17 And 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.
28:18     And 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. 19 And he gave that place the name of Beth-el, but before that time the town was named Luz. 20 Then 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, 21 So that I come again to my father's house in peace, then I will take the Lord to be my God, 22 And 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.

GENESIS, 29
Jacob served seven years for Rachel

29:1     Then Jacob went on his journey till he came to the land of the children of the East. 2 And 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. 3 And 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.
29:4     Then Jacob said to the herdmen, My brothers, where do you come from ? And they said, From Haran. 5 And he said to them, Have you any knowledge of Laban, the son of Nahor ? And they said, We have. 6 And he said to them, Is he well ? And they said, He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep. 7 Then 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. 8 And 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.
29:9     While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she took care of them. 10 Then 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. 11 And weeping for joy, Jacob gave Rachel a kiss. 12 And 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.
29:13     And 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. 14 And Laban said to him, Truly, you are my bone and my flesh. And he kept Jacob with him for the space of a month.
29:15     Then 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? 16 Now Laban had two daughters : the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 And Leah's eyes were clouded, but Rachel was fair in face and form. 18 And Jacob was in love with Rachel ; and he said, I will be your servant seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter. 19 And Laban said, It is better for you to have her than another man : go on living here with me. 20 And Jacob did seven years' work for Rachel ; and because of his love for her it seemed to him only a very little time.
29:21     Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife so that I may have her, for the days are ended. 22 And Laban got together all the men of the place and gave a feast. 23 And in the evening he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him, and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her waiting-woman. 25 And 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? 26 And Laban said, In our country we do not let the younger daughter be married before the older. 27 Let 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. 28 And Jacob did so ; and when the week was ended, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel for his wife. 29 And Laban gave Rachel his servant-girl Bilhah to be her waiting-woman. 30 Then 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.
29:31     Now the Lord, seeing that Leah was not loved, gave her a child ; while Rachel had no children. 32 And 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. 33 Then 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. 34 And 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. 35 And 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.

GENESIS, 30
Jacob's love for Rachel

30:1     Now 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. 2 But Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said, Am I in the place of God, who has kept your body from having fruit? 3 Then 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. 4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah became with child, and gave birth to a son. 6 Then 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. 7 And again Bilhah, Rachel's servant, was with child, and gave birth to a second son. 8 And Rachel said, I have had a great fight with my sister, and I have overcome her : and she gave the child the name Naphtali.
30:9     When 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. 10 And Zilpah, Leah's servant, gave birth to a son. 11 And Leah said, It has gone well for me : and she gave him the name Gad. 12 And Zilpah, Leah's servant, gave birth to a second son. 13 And Leah said, Happy am I ! and all women will give witness to my joy : and she gave him the name Asher.
30:14     Now 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. 15 But 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. 16 In 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. 17 And God gave ear to her and she became with child, and gave Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, God has made payment to me for giving my servant-girl to my husband : so she gave her son the name Issachar. 19 And again Leah became with child, and she gave Jacob a sixth son. 20 And 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. 21 After that she had a daughter, to whom she gave the name Dinah. 22 Then God gave thought to Rachel, and hearing her prayer he made her fertile. 23 And she was with child, and gave birth to a son : and she said, God has taken away my shame. 24 And she gave him the name Joseph, saying, May the Lord give me another son.
30:25     Now after the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Let me go away to my place and my country. 26 Give 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. 27 And 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. 28 Say then what your payment is to be and I will give it. 29 Then Jacob said, You have seen what I have done for you, and how your cattle have done well under my care. 30 For 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? 31 And 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: 32 Let 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. 33 And 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. 34 And Laban said, Let it be as you say. 35 So 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 ; 36 And sent them three days' journey away : and Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flock.
30:37     Then Jacob took young branches of trees, cutting off the skin so that the white wood was seen in bands. 38 And 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. 39 And because of this, the flock gave birth to young which were marked with bands of colour. 40 These lambs Jacob kept separate ; and he put his flock in a place by themselves and not with Laban's flock. 41 And 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. 42 But 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. 43 So Jacob's wealth was greatly increased ; he had great flocks and women-servants and men-servants and camels and asses.

GENESIS, 31
Jabob goes with his family

31:1     Now 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. 2 And Jacob saw that Laban's feeling for him was no longer what it had been before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, Go back to the land of your fathers, and to your relations, and I will be with you. 4 And Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come to him in the field among his flock. 5 And 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 6 And you have seen how I have done all in my power for your father, 7 But 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. 8 If 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. 9 So God has taken away your father's cattle and has given them to me. 10 And 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. 11 And in my dream the angel of the Lord said to me, Jacob : and I said, Here am I. 12 And he said, See how all the he-goats are banded and marked and coloured : for I have seen what Laban has done to you. 13 I 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. 14 Then Rachel and Leah said to him in answer, What part or heritage is there for us in our father's house? 15 Are we not as people from a strange country to him ? for he took a price for us and now it is all used up. 16 For the wealth which God has taken from him is ours and our children's ; so now, whatever God has said to you, do.
31:17     Then Jacob put his wives and his sons on camels ; 18 And 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. 19 Now 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. 20 And Jacob went away secretly, without giving news of his flight to Laban the Aramaean. 21 So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead.
31:22     And on the third day Laban had news of Jacob's flight. 23 And taking the men of his family with him, he went after him for seven days and overtook him in the hill-country of Gilead. 24 Then God came to Laban in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob.
31:25     Now 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. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, Why did you go away secretly, taking my daughters away like prisoners of war? 27 Why 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? 28 You did not even let me give a kiss to my sons and my daughters. This was a foolish thing to do. 29 It 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. 30 And 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 And Jacob, in answer, said to Laban, My fear was that you might take your daughters from me by force. 32 As 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.
31:33     So 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. 34 Now 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. 35 And 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.
31:36     Then Jacob was angry with Laban, and said, What crime or sin have I done that you have come after me with such passion? 37 Now 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. 38 These 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. 39 Anything 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. 40 This was my condition, wasted by heat in the day and by the bitter cold at night ; and sleep went from my eyes. 41 These 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. 42 If 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.
31:43     Then 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? 44 Come, let us make an agreement, you and I ; and let it be for a witness between us. 45 Then Jacob took a stone and put it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his people, Get stones together ; and they did so ; and they had a meal there by the stones. 47 And the name Laban gave it was Jegar-sahadutha : but Jacob gave it the name of Galeed. 48 And Laban said, These stones are a witness between you and me today. For this reason its name was Galeed, 49 And Mizpah, for he said, May the Lord keep watch on us when we are unable to see one another's doings. 50 If 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.
31:51     And Laban said, See these stones and this pillar which I have put between you and me ; 52 They 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. 53 May 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. 54 And 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.
31:55     And early in the morning Laban, after kissing and blessing his daughters, went on his way back to his country.

GENESIS, 32
Jacob gains the name Israel

32:1     And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God. 2 And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God : so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim. 3 Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom ; 4 And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau : Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban: 5 And 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.
32:6     When 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. 7 Then 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 ; 8 And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely.
32:9     Then 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: 10 I 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. 11 Be 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. 12 And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered.
32:13     Then he put up his tent there for the night ; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau, 14 Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep, 15 Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses. 16 These 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. 17 And 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? 18 Then 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. 19 And 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 ; 20 And 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. 21 So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people.
32:22     And 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. 23 He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had. 24 Then Jacob was by himself ; and a man was fighting with him till dawn. 25 But 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. 26 And 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. 27 Then he said, What is your name ? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel : for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome. 29 Then Jacob said, What is your name ? And he said, What is my name to you ? Then he gave him a blessing. 30 And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living. 31 And while he was going past Peniel, the sun came up. And he went with unequal steps because of his damaged leg. 32 For 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.
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