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Then Jacob prayed,[a] “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said[b] to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’[c] 10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love[d] you have shown[e] your servant. With only my walking stick[f] I crossed the Jordan,[g] but now I have become two camps. 11 Rescue me,[h] I pray, from the hand[i] of my brother Esau,[j] for I am afraid he will come[k] and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children.[l]

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “said.”
  2. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “the one who said.”
  3. Genesis 32:9 tn Heb “I will cause good” or “I will treat well [or “favorably”].” The idea includes more than prosperity, though that is its essential meaning. Here the form is subordinated to the preceding imperative and indicates purpose or result. Jacob is reminding God of his promise in the hope that God will honor his word.
  4. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “the loving deeds and faithfulness” (see 24:27, 49).
  5. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “you have done with.”
  6. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “for with my staff.” The Hebrew word מַקֵל (maqel), traditionally translated “staff,” has been rendered as “walking stick” because a “staff” in contemporary English refers typically to the support personnel in an organization.
  7. Genesis 32:10 tn Heb “this Jordan.”
  8. Genesis 32:11 tn The imperative has the force of a prayer here, not a command.
  9. Genesis 32:11 tn The “hand” here is a metonymy for “power.”
  10. Genesis 32:11 tn Heb “from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau.”
  11. Genesis 32:11 tn Heb “for I am afraid of him, lest he come.”
  12. Genesis 32:11 sn Heb “me, [the] mother upon [the] sons.” The first person pronoun “me” probably means here “me and mine,” as the following clause suggests.

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham,(A) God of my father Isaac,(B) Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’(C) 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness(D) you have shown your servant. I had only my staff(E) when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.(F) 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid(G) he will come and attack me,(H) and also the mothers with their children.(I)

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