Genesis 28
1 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Don't marry a Canaanite woman,” he ordered him.
2 Arise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father, and take a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.
“Leave right away and go to Paddan-aram, to the home of Bethuel, your mother's father. Find yourself a wife there—a daughter of Laban, your mother's brother.
3 And the Almighty God bless thee, and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, that thou mayest become a company of peoples.
God Almighty bless you and may your descendants be so numerous that you become the ancestor of many nations.
4 And may he give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, in order that thou mayest possess the land of thy sojourning, which God gave to Abraham!
May he grant you and your descendants the same blessing he gave to Abraham, so that you may take over the land where you now live as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
5 And Isaac sent away Jacob; and he went to Padan-Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
So Isaac sent Jacob on his way. He traveled to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean. Laban was the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 And Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-Aram, to take a wife thence, blessing him, and giving him a charge saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;
Esau found out that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife there, and that when he blessed him he ordered him, “Don't marry a Canaanite woman.”
7 and [that] Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-Aram.
He also discovered that Jacob had done what his father and mother told him and had left for Paddan-aram.
8 And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the sight of Isaac his father.
This made Esau realize how much his father disliked Canaanite women.
9 And Esau went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
So he went to Ishmael's family and married an additional wife—Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.
10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went towards Haran.
In the meantime Jacob had set off from Beersheba on his way to Haran.
11 And he lighted on a certain place, and lodged there, because the sun had set. And he took [one] of the stones of the place, and made [it] his pillow, and lay down in that place.
He arrived after sunset at a particular place and stopped there for the night. He picked up a stone, put it under his head, lay down and went to sleep.
12 And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to the heavens. And behold, angels of God ascended and descended upon it.
He dreamed he saw a stairway that started on earth, and the top reached all the way into heaven. He saw God's angels going up and down on it.
13 And behold, Jehovah stood above it. And he said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
Then he saw the Lord standing over him, who said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham, and the God of Isaac. I'm giving you and your descendants the land you're lying on.
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and will spread out west and east, and north and south. Everyone on earth will be blessed by your descendants.
15 And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all [places] to which thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done what I have spoken to thee of.
Listen! I am with you and will take care of you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this country. I won't leave you because I'm going to do what I've promised you.”
16 And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew [it] not.
When Jacob woke up he said to himself, “The Lord is right here, in this place, and I didn't realize it!”
17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
He became frightened and said, “This is a scary place! It must be the house of God and the entrance to heaven.”
18 And Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had made his pillow, and set it up [for] a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
When Jacob got up in the morning he took the stone he'd put under his head and set it upright as a stone pillar and poured some olive oil on it.
19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el; but the name of that city was Luz at the first.
He named the place “Bethel,” (previously it was called Luz).
20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and keep me on this road that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on,
Jacob also made a solemn promise, saying, “God, if you will be with me, and take care of me on my journey, and give me food to eat and clothes to wear
21 and I come again to my father's house in peace — then shall Jehovah be my God.
so I can return safely to my father's home, then you Lord will be my God.
22 And this stone, which I have set up [for] a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou wilt give me I will without fail give the tenth to thee.
This stone pillar that I've set up will be the house of God, and I will give you one tenth of all you give me.”
