Genesis 32
1 Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God.
2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God's camp,” so he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God: so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, in the region of Edom.
Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom;
4 He commanded them, saying, “This is what you will say to my master Esau: This is what your servant Jacob says: 'I have been staying with Laban, and have delayed my return until now.
And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban:
5 I have oxen, donkeys, and flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent this message to my master, so that I may find favor in your eyes.'”
And I have oxen and asses and flocks and men-servants and women-servants: and I have sent to give my lord news of these things so that I may have grace in his eyes.
6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
When the servants came back they said, We have seen your brother Esau and he is coming out to you, and four hundred men with him.
7 Then Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, and also the flocks, the herds, and the camels.
Then Jacob was in great fear and trouble of mind: and he put all the people and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups;
8 He said, “If Esau comes to one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.”
And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely.
9 Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will prosper you,'
Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you:
10 I am not worthy of all your acts of covenant faithfulness and of all the trustworthiness that you have done for your servant. For with only my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
I am less than nothing in comparison with all your mercies and your faith to me your servant; for with only my stick in my hand I went across Jordan, and now I have become two armies.
11 Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.
Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child.
12 But you said, 'I will certainly make you prosper. I will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for their number.'”
And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered.
13 Jacob stayed there that night. He took some of what he had with him as a gift for Esau, his brother:
Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau,
14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep,
15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses.
16 These he gave these into the hand of his servants, every herd by itself. He said to his servants, “Go on ahead of me and put a space between each of the herds.”
These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another.
17 He instructed the first servant, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? Whose animals are these that are in front of you?'
And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds?
18 Then you will say, 'They are your servant Jacob's. They are a gift sent to my master Esau. See, he is also coming after us.'”
Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us.
19 Jacob also gave instructions to the second group, the third, and all the men who followed the herds. He said, “You will say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.
And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him;
20 You must also say, 'Your servant Jacob is coming after us.'” For he thought, “I will appease him with the gifts that I am sending ahead of me. Then later, when I will see him, perhaps he will receive me.”
And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes.
21 So the gifts went on ahead of him. He himself stayed that night in the camp.
So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people.
22 Jacob got up during the night, and he took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons. He sent them across the ford of the Jabbok.
And in the night he got up, and taking with him his two wives and the two servant-women and his eleven children, he went over the river Jabbok.
23 In this way he sent them across the stream along with all his possessions.
He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had.
24 Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn.
25 When the man saw that he could not defeat him, he struck Jacob's hip. Jacob's hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him.
But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged.
26 The man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
And he said to him, Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said, I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing.
27 The man said to him, “What is your name?” Jacob said, “Jacob.”
Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.
28 The man said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. For you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome.
29 Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” He said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
Then Jacob said, What is your name? And he said, What is my name to you? Then he gave him a blessing.
30 Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is delivered.”
And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living.
31 The sun rose on Jacob as he passed Peniel. He was limping because of his hip.
And while he was going past Peniel, the sun came up. And he went with unequal steps because of his damaged leg.
32 That is why to this day the people of Israel do not eat the ligaments of the hip which are at the hip joint, because the man injured those ligaments while dislocating Jacob's hip.
For this reason the children of Israel, even today, never take that muscle in the hollow of the leg as food, because the hollow of Jacob's leg was touched.
