¹⁷ He commanded the one leading, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals belong?’ ¹⁸ then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is also behind us.’ ”

¹⁹ Likewise he commanded the second and the third and all that followed the droves, saying, “This is what you are to say to Esau when you find him.