Genesis, 32

1. And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

1. Next morning Laban rose early and, after kissing his sons and daughters, he blessed them and left for home.

2. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This [is] God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

2. As for Jacob, he went on his way and met Angels of God.

3. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

3. On seeing them Jacob exclaimed, "This is God's camp," and he named the place Mahanaim.

4. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

4. And going on his way, he sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

5. And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.

5. Jacob sent Esau this message, "I have been staying with Laban until now. I have oxen, asses, flocks, men-servants and maidservants. I have sent to tell you this, my lord, that you may receive me kindly."

6. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

6. The messenger returned and said to Jacob, "We went to your brother Esau and he is already coming to meet you with four hundred men."

7. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that [was] with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

7. Jacob was full of fear and dis-tressed. He then divided the people with him and the flocks, the herds and camels into two camps,

8. And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

8. thinking, "If Esau attacks one camp, the other will escape."

9. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

9. And Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham and my father Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me: 'Return to your country, to your father's land, and I will make you prosper,'

10. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

10. I am unworthy of the kindness and faithfulness you have shown to me, for with only my staff I crossed the Jordan and now I have enough to form two companies.

11. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, [and] the mother with the children.

11. Deliver me from the hands of my brother Esau for I am afraid lest he come and kill us all, even the mothers and their children.

12. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

12. Yet it was you who said: I will be good to you and make your descendants like the sand on the seashore, so many that they cannot be counted."

13. And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;

13. So Jacob spent the night there. Then he took what he had with him, a present for his brother Esau:

14. Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

14. two hundred she-goats, and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

15. Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

15. thirty camels in milk and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten male donkeys.

16. And he delivered [them] into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

16. He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, "Go ahead of me and leave a space between each herd."

17. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose [art] thou? and whither goest thou? and whose [are] these before thee?

17. He instructed the leader, "When my brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong? And where are you going? Who is the owner of the animals you are driving?'

18. Then thou shalt say, [They be] thy servant Jacob's; it [is] a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he [is] behind us.

18. Then you shall say: They belong to your servant Jacob. It is a present he is sending to my lord Esau. He himself is coming along behind us!"

19. And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

19. Jacob ordered the second and third servants and all who were following the herds in the same way, "That is what you shall say to Esau when you meet him:

20. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

20. Your servant Jacob is following!" For he thought to himself, "I may pacify him with the present I sent ahead, so that when I meet him face to face, he may perhaps receive me kindly."

21. So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.

21. So the present went ahead of him, but he himself spent that night in the camp.

22. And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

22. That same night Jacob got up and taking his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons, crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

23. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

23. He took them and sent them across the stream and likewise everything he had.

24. And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

24. And Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

25. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

25. When the man saw that he could not get the better of Jacob, he struck him in the socket of his hip and dislocated it as he wrestled with him.

26. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

26. The man said, "Let me go, for day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go until you have given me your blessing."

27. And he said unto him, What [is] thy name? And he said, Jacob.

27. The man then said, "What is your name?" "Jacob" was the reply.

28. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

28. He answered, "You will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have been strong-with-God as you have been with men and have prevailed."

29. And Jacob asked [him], and said, Tell [me], I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore [is] it [that] thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

29. Then Jacob asked him, "What is your name?" He answered, "Why do you ask my name?" And he blessed him there.

30. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

30. So Jacob called the place Penuel, saying, "I have seen God face to face and survived."

31. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

31. The sun rose as he passed through Penuel, limping because of his hip.

32. Therefore the children of Israel eat not [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.

32. That is why to this day the Israelites do not eat the sciatic nerve which is in the hip socket because the sciatic nerve in Jacob's hip had been touched.