Genesis 32
32
Genesis 32
1¶ And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
2And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host; and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3¶ And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
4And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau: Thy slave Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now;
5and I have oxen and asses, flocks, and menslaves, and womenslaves; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.
6And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he comes to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed, and he divided the people that were with him, and the sheep and the cows and the camels, into two bands
8and said, If Esau comes to the one company and smites it, then the other company which is left shall escape.
9¶ And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said unto me, Return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee.
10I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which thou hast showed unto thy slave; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan and now I am become two bands.
11Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him lest he come and smite me and the mother with the children.
12And thou hast said, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
13¶ And he lodged there that same night and took of that which came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:
14two hundred she goats and twenty he goats, two hundred sheep and twenty rams,
15thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.
16And he delivered them into the hand of his slaves, every drove by themselves and said unto his slaves, Pass before me and put a space between drove and drove.
17And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau, my brother, meets thee and asks thee, saying, Whose art thou? And where goest thou? And for whom are these before thee?
18Then thou shalt say, They are thy slave Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau; and, behold, also he is behind us.
19And so commanded he the second and the third and all that followed those droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau when ye find him.
20And ye shall also say, Behold, thy slave Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will reconcile his wrath with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept me.
21So the present went over before him, and he lodged that night in the company.
22And he rose up that night and took his two wives and his two womenservants and his eleven sons and passed over the ford Jabbok.
23And he took them and sent them over the brook and sent over all that he had.
24¶ And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
25And when the man saw that he did not prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was disjointed as he wrestled with him.
26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaks. And he said, I will not let thee go except thou bless me.
27And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28And he said, Thy name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast fought with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29And Jacob asked him and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Why dost thou ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; for I have seen God face to face, and my soul was saved.
31And as he passed over Penuel, the sun rose upon him, and he limped upon his thigh.
32Therefore the sons of Israel do not eat of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Genesis 32
32
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
1As Jacob went on his way, some angels met him. 2When he saw them, he said, “This is God's camp”; so he called the place Mahanaim.#32.2 Mahanaim: This name in Hebrew means “two camps”.
3Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the country of Edom. 4He instructed them to say: “I, Jacob, your obedient servant, report to my master Esau that I have been staying with Laban and that I have delayed my return until now. 5I own cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and slaves. I am sending you word, sir, in the hope of gaining your favour.”
6When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you. He has 400 men with him.” 7Jacob was frightened and worried. He divided into two groups the people who were with him, and also his sheep, goats, cattle, and camels. 8He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks the first group, the other may be able to escape.”
9Then Jacob prayed, “God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac, hear me! You told me, LORD, to go back to my land and to my relatives, and you would make everything go well for me. 10I am not worth all the kindness and faithfulness that you have shown me, your servant. I crossed the Jordan with nothing but a walking stick, and now I have come back with these two groups. 11Save me, I pray, from my brother Esau. I am afraid — afraid that he is coming to attack us and destroy us all, even the women and children. 12#Gen 22.17Remember that you promised to make everything go well for me and to give me more descendants than anyone could count, as many as the grains of sand along the seashore.”
13-15After spending the night there, Jacob chose from his livestock as a present for his brother Esau: 200 female goats and twenty males, 200 female sheep and twenty males, thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten males. 16He divided them into herds and put one of his servants in charge of each herd. He said to them, “Go ahead of me, and leave a space between each herd and the one behind it.” 17He ordered the first servant, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who is your master? Where are you going? Who owns these animals in front of you?’ 18you must answer, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He sends them as a present to his master Esau. Jacob himself is just behind us.’ ” 19He gave the same order to the second, the third, and to all the others who were in charge of the herds: “This is what you must say to Esau when you meet him. 20You must say, ‘Yes, your servant Jacob is just behind us.’ ” Jacob was thinking, “I will win him over with the gifts, and when I meet him, perhaps he will forgive me.” 21He sent the gifts on ahead of him and spent that night in camp.
Jacob Wrestles at Peniel
22That same night Jacob got up, took his two wives, his two concubines, and his eleven children, and crossed the River Jabbok. 23After he had sent them across, he also sent across all that he owned, 24#Hos 12.3–4but he stayed behind, alone.
Then a man came and wrestled with him until just before daybreak. 25When the man saw that he was not winning the struggle, he struck Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint. 26The man said, “Let me go; daylight is coming.”
“I won't, unless you bless me,” Jacob answered.
27“What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 # Gen 35.10 The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so your name will be Israel.”#32.28 Israel: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “he struggles with God” or “God struggles”.
29 # Judg 13.17–18 Jacob said, “Now tell me your name.”
But he answered, “Why do you want to know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob.
30Jacob said, “I have seen God face to face, and I am still alive”; so he named the place Peniel.#32.30 Peniel: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “the face of God”. 31The sun rose as Jacob was leaving Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32Even today the descendants of Israel do not eat the muscle which is on the hip joint, because it was on this muscle that Jacob was struck.
Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.