New International Version | New Living Translation |
1So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. | 1So Isaac called for Jacob, blessed him, and said, “You must not marry any of these Canaanite women. |
2Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. | 2Instead, go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of your uncle Laban’s daughters. |
3May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. | 3May God Almighty bless you and give you many children. And may your descendants multiply and become many nations! |
4May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham." | 4May God pass on to you and your descendants the blessings he promised to Abraham. May you own this land where you are now living as a foreigner, for God gave this land to Abraham.” |
5Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. | 5So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to stay with his uncle Laban, his mother’s brother, the son of Bethuel the Aramean. |
6Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman," | 6Esau knew that his father, Isaac, had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to find a wife, and that he had warned Jacob, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” |
7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. | 7He also knew that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan-aram. |
8Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; | 8It was now very clear to Esau that his father did not like the local Canaanite women. |
9so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had. | 9So Esau visited his uncle Ishmael’s family and married one of Ishmael’s daughters, in addition to the wives he already had. His new wife’s name was Mahalath. She was the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. Jacob’s Dream at Bethel |
10Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. | 10Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. |
11When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. | 11At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. |
12He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. | 12As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. |
13There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. | 13At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, “I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. |
14Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. | 14Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. |
15I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." | 15What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” |
16When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." | 16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” |
17He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." | 17But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” |
18Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. | 18The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. |
19He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. | 19He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz. |
20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear | 20Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, |
21so that I return safely to my father's household, then the LORD will be my God | 21and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the LORD will certainly be my God. |
22and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." | 22And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.” |
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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