¹⁶ He entrusted them into the care of his servants, one herd at a time.^[a] Then he told his servants, “Go in front of me, making sure there’s plenty of space between herds.”

¹⁷ To the first group he said, “When you meet my brother Esau, if he asks, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And to whom do these herds^[b] belong?’ ¹⁸ then you are to reply, ‘We’re from^[c] your servant Jacob. The herds^[d] are a gift. He’s sending them to my master, Esau. Look! There he is, coming along behind us.’”