Jacob’s Vow at Bethel

¹⁰ Now Jacob ^(A)went out from Beersheba and went toward ^(B)Haran. ¹¹ So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. ¹² Then he ^(C)dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there ^(D)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

^13 (E)And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: ^(F)“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; ^(G)the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ¹⁴ Also your ^(H)descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad ^(I)to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and ^(J)in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. ¹⁵ Behold, ^(K)I am with you and will ^(L)keep^[a] you wherever you go, and will ^(M)bring you back to this land; for ^(N)I will not leave you ^(O)until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in ^(P)this place, and I did not know it.” ¹⁷ And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

¹⁸ Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, ^(Q)set it up as a pillar, ^(R)and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ And he called the name of ^(S)that place ^[b]Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. ^20 (T)Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If ^(U)God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me ^(V)bread to eat and clothing to put on, ²¹ so that ^(W)I come back to my father’s house in peace, ^(X)then the Lord shall be my God. ²² And this stone which I have set as a pillar ^(Y)shall be God’s house, ^(Z)and of all that You give me I will surely give a ^[c]tenth to You.”

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 So Jacob went on his journey ^(AA)and came to the land of the people of the East. ² And he looked, and saw a ^(AB)well in the field; and behold, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks. A large stone was on the well’s mouth. ³ Now all the flocks would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the well’s mouth.

⁴ And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?”

And they said, “We are from ^(AC)Haran.”

⁵ Then he said to them, “Do you know ^(AD)Laban the son of Nahor?”

And they said, “We know him.”

⁶ So he said to them, ^(AE)“Is he well?”

And they said, “He is well. And look, his daughter Rachel ^(AF)is coming with the sheep.”

⁷ Then he said, “Look, it is still ^[d]high day; it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”

⁸ But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.”

⁹ Now while he was still speaking with them, ^(AG)Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and ^(AH)rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. ¹¹ Then Jacob ^(AI)kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. ¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was ^(AJ)her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. ^(AK)So she ran and told her father.

¹³ Then it came to pass, when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister’s son, that ^(AL)he ran to meet him, and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. So he told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ And Laban said to him, ^(AM)“Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, ^(AN)what should your wages be?” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were ^[e]delicate, but Rachel was ^(AO)beautiful of form and appearance.

¹⁸ Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, ^(AP)“I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”

¹⁹ And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob ^(AQ)served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may ^(AR)go in to her.” ²² And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and ^(AS)made a feast. ²³ Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. ²⁴ And Laban gave his maid ^(AT)Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. ²⁵ So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you ^(AU)deceived me?”

²⁶ And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our ^[f]country, to give the younger before the firstborn. ^27 (AV)Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”

²⁸ Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. ²⁹ And Laban gave his maid ^(AW)Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. ³⁰ Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also ^(AX)loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban ^(AY)still another seven years.

The Children of Jacob

³¹ When the Lord ^(AZ)saw that Leah was ^[g]unloved, He ^(BA)opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. ³² So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name ^[h]Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely ^(BB)looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am ^[i]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name ^[j]Simeon. ³⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called ^[k]Levi. ³⁵ And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name ^(BC)Judah.^[l] Then she stopped bearing.

Jacob’s Children

30 Now when Rachel saw that ^(BD)she bore Jacob no children, Rachel ^(BE)envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, ^(BF)or else I die!”

² And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, ^(BG)“Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

³ So she said, “Here is ^(BH)my maid Bilhah; go in to her, ^(BI)and she will bear a child on my knees, ^(BJ)that I also may ^[m]have children by her.” ⁴ Then she gave him Bilhah her maid ^(BK)as wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵ And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has ^(BL)judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name ^[n]Dan. ⁷ And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “With ^[o]great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name ^[p]Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and ^(BM)gave her to Jacob as wife. ¹⁰ And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, ^[q]“A troop comes!” So she called his name ^[r]Gad. ¹² And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters ^(BN)will call me blessed.” So she called his name ^[s]Asher.

¹⁴ Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, ^(BO)“Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But she said to her, ^(BP)“Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?”

And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.

¹⁷ And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name ^[t]Issachar. ¹⁹ Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name ^[u]Zebulun. ²¹ Afterward she bore a ^(BQ)daughter, and called her name ^[v]Dinah.

²² Then God ^(BR)remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and ^(BS)opened her womb. ²³ And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away ^(BT)my reproach.” ²⁴ So she called his name ^[w]Joseph, and said, ^(BU)“The Lord shall add to me another son.”

Jacob’s Agreement with Laban

²⁵ And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, ^(BV)“Send me away, that I may go to ^(BW)my own place and to my country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children ^(BX)for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.”

²⁷ And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for ^(BY)I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.” ²⁸ Then he said, ^(BZ)“Name me your wages, and I will give it.”

²⁹ So Jacob said to him, ^(CA)“You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. ³⁰ For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the Lord has blessed you ^[x]since my coming. And now, when shall I also ^(CB)provide for my own house?”

³¹ So he said, “What shall I give you?”

And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: ³² Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and ^(CC)these shall be my wages. ³³ So my ^(CD)righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.”

³⁴ And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” ³⁵ So he removed that day the male goats that were ^(CE)speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. ³⁶ Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷ Now ^(CF)Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. ³⁸ And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. ³⁹ So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. ⁴⁰ Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s flock.

⁴¹ And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. ⁴² But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. ⁴³ Thus the man ^(CG)became exceedingly prosperous, and ^(CH)had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Jacob Flees from Laban

31 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this ^(CI)wealth.” ² And Jacob saw the ^(CJ)countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not ^(CK)favorable toward him as before. ³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, ^(CL)“Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will ^(CM)be with you.”

⁴ So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, ⁵ and said to them, ^(CN)“I see your father’s ^[y]countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father ^(CO)has been with me. ⁶ And ^(CP)you know that with all my might I have served your father. ⁷ Yet your father has deceived me and ^(CQ)changed my wages ^(CR)ten times, but God ^(CS)did not allow him to hurt me. ⁸ If he said thus: ^(CT)‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then all the flocks bore streaked. ⁹ So God has ^(CU)taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.

¹⁰ “And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. ¹¹ Then ^(CV)the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for ^(CW)I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, ^(CX)where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now ^(CY)arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, ^(CZ)“Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? ¹⁵ Are we not considered strangers by him? For ^(DA)he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. ¹⁶ For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. ¹⁸ And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of ^(DB)Canaan. ¹⁹ Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the ^(DC)household^[z] idols that were her father’s. ²⁰ And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. ²¹ So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and ^(DD)headed^[aa] toward the mountains of Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

²² And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. ²³ Then he took ^(DE)his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁴ But God ^(DF)had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you ^(DG)speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”

²⁵ So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and ^(DH)carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? ²⁷ Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? ²⁸ And you did not allow me ^(DI)to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now ^(DJ)you have done foolishly in so doing. ²⁹ It is in my power to do you harm, but the ^(DK)God of your father spoke to me ^(DL)last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ ³⁰ And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you ^(DM)steal my gods?”

³¹ Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was ^(DN)afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ ³² With whomever you find your gods, ^(DO)do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the ^[ab]household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban ^[ac]searched all about the tent but did not find them. ³⁵ And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot ^(DP)rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the ^[ad]household idols.

³⁶ Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my ^[ae]trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? ³⁷ Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! ³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. ^39 (DQ)That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. ^(DR)You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. ⁴¹ Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I ^(DS)served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and ^(DT)you have changed my wages ten times. ^42 (DU)Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and ^(DV)the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. ^(DW)God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and ^(DX)rebuked you last night.”

Laban’s Covenant with Jacob

⁴³ And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴ Now therefore, come, ^(DY)let us make a ^[af]covenant, ^(DZ)you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob ^(EA)took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶ Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it ^[ag]Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it ^[ah]Galeed. ⁴⁸ And Laban said, ^(EB)“This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, ⁴⁹ also ^(EC)Mizpah,^[ai] because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. ⁵⁰ If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”

⁵¹ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. ⁵³ The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father ^(ED)judge between us.” And Jacob ^(EE)swore by ^(EF)the ^[aj]Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban arose, and ^(EG)kissed his sons and daughters and ^(EH)blessed them. Then Laban departed and ^(EI)returned to his place.

Esau Comes to Meet Jacob

32 So Jacob went on his way, and ^(EJ)the angels of God met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s ^(EK)camp.” And he called the name of that place ^[ak]Mahanaim.

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother ^(EL)in the land of Seir, ^(EM)the ^[al]country of Edom.