Genesis 28
Authorized (King James) Version
28 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. 3 And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; 4 and give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. 5 And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
6 When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7 and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; 8 and Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 9 then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed 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 raiment to put on, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: 22 and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
Genesis 28
New King James Version
Jacob Sent to His Uncle Laban
28 Then Isaac called Jacob and (A)blessed him, and [a]charged him, and said to him: (B)“You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 (C)Arise, go to (D)Padan Aram, to the house of (E)Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of (F)Laban your mother’s brother.
3 “May (G)God Almighty bless you,
And make you (H)fruitful and multiply you,
That you may be an assembly of peoples;
4 And give you (I)the blessing of Abraham,
To you and your descendants with you,
That you may inherit the land
(J)In[b] which you are a stranger,
Which God gave to Abraham.”
5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Esau Marries Mahalath
6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. 8 Also Esau saw (K)that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael and (L)took (M)Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, (N)the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.
Jacob’s Vow at Bethel
10 Now Jacob (O)went out from Beersheba and went toward (P)Haran. 11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he (Q)dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there (R)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 (S)And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: (T)“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; (U)the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your (V)descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad (W)to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and (X)in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, (Y)I am with you and will (Z)keep[c] you wherever you go, and will (AA)bring you back to this land; for (AB)I will not leave you (AC)until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in (AD)this place, and I did not know it.” 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 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, (AE)set it up as a pillar, (AF)and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of (AG)that place [d]Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20 (AH)Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If (AI)God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me (AJ)bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21 so that (AK)I come back to my father’s house in peace, (AL)then the Lord shall be my God. 22 And this stone which I have set as a pillar (AM)shall be God’s house, (AN)and of all that You give me I will surely give a [e]tenth to You.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 28:1 commanded
- Genesis 28:4 Lit. Of your sojournings
- Genesis 28:15 protect
- Genesis 28:19 Lit. House of God
- Genesis 28:22 tithe
Genesis 28
New American Standard Bible
Jacob Is Sent Away
28 So Isaac called Jacob and (A)blessed him and commanded him, [a]saying to him, “(B)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of (C)Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 3 May [b](D)God Almighty (E)bless you and (F)make you fruitful and (G)multiply you, so that you may become a (H)multitude of peoples. 4 May He also give you the (I)blessing of Abraham, to you and to your [c]descendants with you, so that you may (J)possess the land where you (K)live as a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.” 5 Then (L)Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take to himself a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, saying, “(M)You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. 8 So Esau saw that (N)the daughters of Canaan displeased [d]his father Isaac; 9 and Esau went to Ishmael, and [e]married, (O)besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
Jacob’s Dream
10 Then Jacob departed from (P)Beersheba and went toward (Q)Haran. 11 And he [f]happened upon a [g](R)particular place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and made it a support for his head, and lay down in that place. 12 And (S)he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, (T)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 Then behold, (U)the Lord was standing [h]above it and said, “I am the Lord, (V)the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give (W)to you and to (X)your [i]descendants. 14 Your [j]descendants will also be like (Y)the dust of the earth, and you will [k]spread out (Z)to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and (AA)in you and in your [l]descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 Behold, (AB)I am with you and (AC)will keep you wherever you go, and (AD)will bring you back to this land; for (AE)I will not leave you until I have done what I have [m]promised you.” 16 Then Jacob (AF)awoke from his sleep and said, “(AG)The Lord is certainly in this place, and I did not know it!” 17 And he was afraid and said, “(AH)How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
18 So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took (AI)the stone that he had placed as a support for his head, and set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on its top. 19 Then he named that place [n](AJ)Bethel; but [o]previously the name of the city had been (AK)Luz. 20 Jacob also (AL)made a vow, saying, “(AM)If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I [p]take, and give me [q](AN)food to eat and garments to wear, 21 and (AO)I return to my father’s house in [r]safety, (AP)then the Lord will be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up as a memorial stone, (AQ)will be God’s house, and (AR)of everything that You give me I will assuredly give a tenth to You.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 28:1 Lit and said to
- Genesis 28:3 Heb El Shaddai
- Genesis 28:4 Lit seed
- Genesis 28:8 Lit in the eyes of his
- Genesis 28:9 Lit took for his wife
- Genesis 28:11 Lit lighted on
- Genesis 28:11 Lit the place
- Genesis 28:13 Or beside him
- Genesis 28:13 Lit seed
- Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
- Genesis 28:14 Lit break through
- Genesis 28:14 Lit seed
- Genesis 28:15 Lit spoken to
- Genesis 28:19 I.e., the house of God
- Genesis 28:19 Lit at the first
- Genesis 28:20 Lit go
- Genesis 28:20 Lit bread
- Genesis 28:21 Lit peace
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
