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Genesis 28
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
Genesis 28
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
28 So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him, You shall not marry one of the women of Canaan.
2 Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take from there as a wife one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.
3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you until you become a group of peoples.
4 May He give the blessing [He gave to] Abraham to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the land He gave to Abraham, in which you are a sojourner.
5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Padan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob and Esau’s mother.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Padan-aram to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;
7 And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan-aram.
8 Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac his father.
9 So Esau went to Ishmael and took to be his wife, [in addition] to the wives he [already] had, Mahalath daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
10 And Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there overnight, because the sun was set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down there to sleep.
12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!
13 And behold, the Lord stood over and beside him and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father [forefather] and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land on which you are lying.
14 And your offspring shall be as [countless as] the dust or sand of the ground, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south; and by you and your Offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed and bless themselves.(A)
15 And behold, I am with you and will keep (watch over you with care, take notice of) you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have told you.
16 And Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.
17 He was afraid and said, How to be feared and reverenced is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and [a]this is the gateway to heaven!
18 And Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone he had put under his head, and he set it up for a pillar (a monument to the vision in his dream), and he poured oil on its top [in dedication].
19 And he named that place Bethel [the house of God]; but the name of that city was Luz at first.
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear,
21 So that I may come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God;
22 And this stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument) shall be God’s house [a sacred place to me], and of all [the increase of possessions] that You give me I will give the tenth to You.
Footnotes
- Genesis 28:17 “There is an open way between heaven and earth for each of us. The movement of the tide and the circulation of the blood are not more regular than the intercommunication between heaven and earth. Jacob may have thought that God was local; now he found Him to be omnipresent. Every lonely spot was His house, filled with angels” (F. B. Meyer, Through the Bible Day by Day). When Jacob found God in his own heart, he found Him everywhere.
Genesis 28
New International Version
Genesis 28
New International Version
28 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed(A) him. Then he commanded him: “Do not marry a Canaanite woman.(B) 2 Go at once to Paddan Aram,[a](C) to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel.(D) Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.(E) 3 May God Almighty[b](F) bless(G) you and make you fruitful(H) and increase your numbers(I) until you become a community of peoples. 4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham,(J) so that you may take possession of the land(K) where you now reside as a foreigner,(L) the land God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way,(M) and he went to Paddan Aram,(N) to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean,(O) the brother of Rebekah,(P) who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”(Q) 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. 8 Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women(R) were to his father Isaac;(S) 9 so he went to Ishmael(T) and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth(U) and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had.(V)
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
10 Jacob left Beersheba(W) and set out for Harran.(X) 11 When he reached a certain place,(Y) he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head(Z) and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream(AA) in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.(AB) 13 There above it[c] stood the Lord,(AC) and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.(AD) I will give you and your descendants the land(AE) on which you are lying.(AF) 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you(AG) will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.(AH) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[d](AI) 15 I am with you(AJ) and will watch over you(AK) wherever you go,(AL) and I will bring you back to this land.(AM) I will not leave you(AN) until I have done what I have promised you.(AO)”(AP)
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep,(AQ) he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!(AR) This is none other than the house of God;(AS) this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head(AT) and set it up as a pillar(AU) and poured oil on top of it.(AV) 19 He called that place Bethel,[e](AW) though the city used to be called Luz.(AX)
20 Then Jacob made a vow,(AY) saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me(AZ) on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear(BA) 21 so that I return safely(BB) to my father’s household,(BC) then the Lord[f] will be my God(BD) 22 and[g] this stone that I have set up as a pillar(BE) will be God’s house,(BF) and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.(BG)”
Footnotes
- Genesis 28:2 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verses 5, 6 and 7
- Genesis 28:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
- Genesis 28:13 Or There beside him
- Genesis 28:14 Or will use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
- Genesis 28:19 Bethel means house of God.
- Genesis 28:21 Or Since God … father’s household, the Lord
- Genesis 28:22 Or household, and the Lord will be my God, 22 then
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