Genesis, 28

1. So Isaac summoned Jacob and blessed him; and he gave him this order: 'You are not to marry any of the Canaanite women.

1. Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, "You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women.

2. Go off to Paddan-Aram, the home of Bethuel your mother's father, and there choose a wife for yourself from the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.

2. Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethu'el your mother's father; and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.

3. May El Shaddai bless you; may he make you fruitful and make you multiply so that you become a group of nations.

3. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.

4. May he grant you the blessing of Abraham, you and your descendants after you, so that one day you may own the country where you are now living as a stranger -- which God gave to Abraham.'

4. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your descendants with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings which God gave to Abraham!"

5. Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and Jacob went to Paddan-Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramaean and brother of Rebekah the mother of Jacob and Esau.

5. Thus Isaac sent Jacob away; and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, the son of Bethu'el the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

6. When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-Aram to choose a wife there, and that in blessing him he had given him this order: 'You are not to choose a wife from the Canaanite women,'

6. Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he charged him, "You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women,"

7. and that, in obedience to his father and mother, Jacob had gone to Paddan-Aram,

7. and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.

8. Esau then realised how much his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women.

8. So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father,

9. So Esau went to Ishmael and chose for a wife, in addition to the wives he had, Mahalath daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.

9. Esau went to Ish'mael and took to wife, besides the wives he had, Ma'halath the daughter of Ish'mael Abraham's son, the sister of Neba'ioth.

10. Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.

10. Jacob left Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.

11. When he had reached a certain place, he stopped there for the night, since the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he made it his pillow and lay down where he was.

11. And he came to a certain place, and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.

12. He had a dream: there was a ladder, planted on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and God's angels were going up and down on it.

12. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

13. And there was Yahweh, standing beside him and saying, 'I, Yahweh, am the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The ground on which you are lying I shall give to you and your descendants.

13. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants;

14. Your descendants will be as plentiful as the dust on the ground; you will spread out to west and east, to north and south, and all clans on earth will bless themselves by you and your descendants.

14. and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves.

15. Be sure, I am with you; I shall keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this country, for I shall never desert you until I have done what I have promised you.'

15. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you."

16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Truly, Yahweh is in this place and I did not know!'

16. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place; and I did not know it."

17. He was afraid and said, 'How awe-inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than the abode of God, and this is the gate of heaven!'

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. Early next morning, Jacob took the stone he had used for his pillow, and set it up as a pillar, pouring oil over the top of it.

18. So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone which he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

19. He named the place Bethel, but before that the town had been called Luz.

19. He called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

20. Jacob then made this vow, 'If God remains with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me food to eat and clothes to wear,

20. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

21. and if I come home safe to my father's home, then Yahweh shall be my God.

21. so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God,

22. This stone I have set up as a pillar is to be a house of God, and I shall faithfully pay you a tenth part of everything you give me.'

22. and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou givest me I will give the tenth to thee."