King James Bible

International Standard Version

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

1 As Jacob went on his way, angels from God met him.

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

2As he was watching them, Jacob said, "This must be God's camp," so he named that place Mahanaim.

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

3Then Jacob sent messengers ahead of him into the land of Seir (that is, into the territory of Edom) to meet his brother Esau.

4And 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:

4He instructed them, "This is what you are to say to my master Esau: 'Your servant Jacob told me to tell you, "I've journeyed to stay with Laban and I've remained there until now.

5And 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.

5I now have cattle, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants. I'm sending this message to you, sir, so that you'll show favor to me."'"

6And 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.

6Later, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, "We went to your brother Esau. He's now coming to meet you—and he has 400 men with him!"

7Then 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;

7Feeling mounting terror and distress, Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, doing the same with the flocks, the cattle, and the camels.

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

8Jacob was thinking, "If Esau comes to one group and attacks it, then the remaining group may escape."

9And 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:

9Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my father Abraham, O God of my father Isaac, O LORD, you who told me, 'Return to your country and to your relatives and I'll cause things to go well for you.'

10I 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.

10I'm unworthy of all your gracious love, your faithfulness, and everything that you've done for your servant. When I first crossed over this river, I had only my staff. But now I've become two groups.

11Deliver 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.

11Deliver me from my brother Esau's control, because I'm terrified of him, and I'm afraid that he's coming to attack me, the mothers, and their children.

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

12Now, you promised me that 'I'm certainly going to cause things to go well with you, and I'm going to make your offspring as numerous as the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.'"

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

13Jacob spent the night there. Out of everything that he had brought with him, he chose a gift for his brother Esau—

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

14200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams,

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

1530 milking camels with their young, 40 cows with ten bulls, and 20 female donkeys with ten male donkeys.

16And 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.

16He entrusted them into the care of his servants, one herd at a time. Then he told his servants, "Go in front of me, making sure there's plenty of space between herds."

17And 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?

17To the first group he said, "When you meet my brother Esau, if he asks, 'To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And to whom do these herds belong?'

18Then 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.

18then you are to reply, 'We're from your servant Jacob. The herds are a gift. He's sending them to my master, Esau. Look! There he is, coming along behind us.'"

19And 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.

19He issued similar instructions to the second and third group, as well as to all the others who drove the herds that followed: "This is how you are to speak to Esau when you find him.

20And 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.

20You are to tell him, 'Look! Your servant Jacob is coming along behind us.'" Jacob was thinking, "I'll pacify him with the presents that are being sent ahead of me. Then, when I meet him, perhaps he'll accept me."

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

21So the presents went ahead of him, while he spent that night in the camp.

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

22Later that night, he woke up, quickly took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven children, and forded the river at Jabbok.

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

23He took them across the river, along with all his possessions.

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

24And so Jacob was left alone, and he struggled with a man until daybreak.

25And 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.

25When the man realized that he hadn't yet won the struggle, he injured the socket of Jacob's thigh, dislocating it as he wrestled with him,

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

26and said, "Let me go, because the dawn has come." "I won't let you go," Jacob replied, "unless you bless me."

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

27Then the man asked him, "What's your name?" "Jacob," he responded

28And 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"Your name won't be Jacob anymore," the man replied, "but Israel, because you exerted yourself against both God and men, and you've emerged victorious."

29And 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"Please," Jacob inquired, "Tell me your name." But he asked, "Why are you asking about my name?" And he blessed Jacob there.

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

30Jacob would later call that place Peniel, because "I saw God face to face, but my life was spared."

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

31The sun was rising above Jacob as he crossed over from Peniel, limping due to his wounded thigh.

32Therefore 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.

32Therefore, to this day the Israelis do not eat the hip tendon that connects to the thigh socket, because he had injured the socket of the thigh where the tendon connected to Jacob's hip.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.