Genesis 32-34

New Life Version

Esau Comes to Meet Jacob

32 Jacob went on his way, and God’s angels met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp!” So he gave the place the name Mahanaim.

³ Jacob sent men to carry news before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He told them, “Say this to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, “I have been living with Laban, and stayed there until now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys and flocks and men and women servants. And I have sent to tell my lord, hoping to find favor in your eyes.’” ⁶ The men that carried the news returned to Jacob and said, “We came to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

⁷ Then Jacob was afraid and troubled. And he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and cattle and camels, into two groups. ⁸ For he said, “If Esau comes to the one group and destroys it, then the other group will get away.” ⁹ Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, Who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to those of your family, and I will bring good to you.’ ¹⁰ I have not earned any of the loving-kindness and faith which You have shown to your servant. For I had crossed this Jordan with only my walking stick. And now I have become two large groups. ¹¹ Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the power of Esau. For I am afraid of him. I am afraid he will come and kill us all, the mothers with the children. ¹² But You said, ‘I will bring good to you. I will make your children like the sand of the sea. There will be too many to number.’”

¹³ So Jacob stayed there that night. Then he chose a gift from what he had for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ Two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred female sheep, twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels and their young ones, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ He put them into the care of his servants, every group of animals by itself. Then he said to his servants, “Go in front of me. And keep the groups of animals apart.” ¹⁷ He told the one in front, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and who owns these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob. It is a gift sent to my lord Esau. And he is coming behind us.’” ¹⁹ He also told the second and the third and all those who followed the animals, “This is what you are to say to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he said, “I will take away his anger with the gift that goes in front of me. Then when I meet him, he might receive me.” ²¹ So the gift went in front of him, while he stayed that night in the tent.

Jacob’s Name Is Changed to Israel

²² But he got up that same night and crossed the Jabbok River, with his two wives, the two women who served him, and his eleven children. ²³ He took them and sent them to the other side of the river with all that he had. ²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone. And a man fought with him until morning. ²⁵ When the man saw that he was not winning he touched the joint of Jacob’s thigh. And Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint while he fought with him. ²⁶ The man said, “Let me go. For the morning has come.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you pray that good will come to me.” ²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ And the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel. For you have fought with God and with men, and have won.” ²⁹ Then Jacob asked him, “Tell me, what is your name?” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he prayed that good would come to Jacob. ³⁰ So Jacob gave the place the name of Peniel. For he said, “I have seen God face to face, and yet I am still alive.”

³¹ The sun rose upon him as he passed through Peniel. It was hard to walk on his leg. ³² So to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the meat from inside the joint of the thigh, because he touched this part of the joint on Jacob’s leg.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two women who served him. ² He put the women who served him and their children in front, and Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ³ Then Jacob went before them. He bowed to the ground seven times, until he came near his brother. ⁴ But Esau ran to meet him and put his arms around him and kissed him. And they cried.

⁵ Then Esau looked up and saw the women and the children. He said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “They are the children whom God, in His loving-favor, has given your servant.” ⁶ Then the women who served Jacob came near with their children, and they bowed to the ground. ⁷ Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed to the ground. Then Joseph and Rachel came near and bowed to the ground.

⁸ Esau said, “What do you mean by all these animals I have met?” And Jacob said, “They are a gift so I may find favor in the eyes of my lord.” ⁹ But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” ¹⁰ But Jacob said, “No, I ask of you, if I have found favor in your eyes, then receive my gift. For I see your face as one sees the face of God. You have received me with favor. ¹¹ Take my gift that has been brought to you. For God has shown loving-kindness to me, and I have all I need.” So he begged him until he took it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way. I will go with you.” ¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak. And there are young ones in my flocks that need milk. If they are made to go a long way in one day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴ Let my lord go in front of his servant. And I will be slow in coming to my lord at Seir. I will go as fast as the cattle in front of me and as the children are able.” ¹⁵ So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But Jacob said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.” ¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷ But Jacob traveled to Succoth. He built his house there, and put up small buildings for his animals. So the name of the place is Succoth.

¹⁸ Now Jacob came in peace from Paddan-aram to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan. And he put up his tents near the city. ¹⁹ He bought the piece of land where he had put up his tents for one hundred pieces of money from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father. ²⁰ He built an altar there, and gave it the name El-Elohe-Israel.

Dinah and Shechem

34 Now Leah’s daughter Dinah, who was born to Jacob, went out to visit the women of the land. ² And she was seen by Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land. He took her and made her lay with him, and she was put to shame. ³ He had much desire for Dinah the daughter of Jacob. He loved the girl and spoke kind words to her. ⁴ So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this young girl for a wife.”

⁵ Now Jacob heard that Shechem had put his daughter Dinah to shame. But his sons were with the flocks in the field, so Jacob kept quiet until they returned. ⁶ Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob. ⁷ Jacob’s sons returned from the field when they heard what had happened. They were full of sorrow and were angry. For Shechem had put Israel to shame by lying with Jacob’s daughter. Such a thing should not be done. ⁸ But Hamor said to them, “The soul of my son Shechem has much desire for your daughter. I ask of you, give her to him in marriage. ⁹ Marry with our people. Give your daughters to us. And take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ May you live with us. And the land will be open to you. Live and trade in it, and buy land in it.”

¹¹ Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your eyes. I will give you whatever you ask. ¹² Make your price and wedding gift as much as you want. I will give you as much as you ask. Only give me the girl to be my wife.”

¹³ But Jacob’s sons lied in their answer to Shechem and his father Hamor because he had put their sister Dinah to shame. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We cannot do this. We cannot give our sister to one who has not gone through the religious act of having his flesh cut. For that would be a shame to us. ¹⁵ We will give you our sister only if you become like us. Every man among you must have this religious act done. ¹⁶ Then we will give our daughters to you. And we will marry your daughters. We will live with you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you will not listen to us and have this religious act done, then we will take our daughter and go.”

¹⁸ Their words pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹ The young man did not wait to do what they asked, because he was in love with Jacob’s daughter. And he was the most honored of all his family. ²⁰ So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city. And they said to the men of their city, ²¹ “These men want to be at peace with us. Let them live in the land and trade in it. For, see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters in marriage, and give our daughters to them. ²² But the men will be willing to live with us and become one people only if every man among us goes through the religious act that they have gone through. ²³ Will not their cattle and all they own, all their animals, be ours? Let us just do what they ask, and they will live with us.” ²⁴ All who went out of the gate of his city listened to Hamor and his son Shechem. And every man went through the religious act of having his flesh cut, all who went out of the gate of his city.

²⁵ But on the third day, when all the men were in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and went into the city in secret. And they killed every man. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword. And they took Dinah from Shechem’s house and went away. ²⁷ Then Jacob’s sons went over the dead men and robbed the city of its riches because its men had put their sister to shame. ²⁸ They took their flocks and cattle and donkeys and whatever was in the city and in the field. ²⁹ They took all their riches, their little ones, their wives, even all that was in the houses.

³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me hated by the people of the land, the Canaanites and Perizzites. My men are few in number. And these people will gather together against me and fight me. I and those of my house will be destroyed.” ³¹ But they said, “Should he act towards our sister as if she were a woman who sells the use of her body?”