King James New American Standard Bible
  • 1 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
  • 2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
  • 3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
  • 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:
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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;
  • 8 And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall 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:
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 13 And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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?
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 21 So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.
  • 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.
  • 23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
  • 24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
  • 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.
  • 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
  • 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
  • 31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
  • 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.
  • 1 Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him.
  • 2 Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God's camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim.
  • 3 Then Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
  • 4 He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: 'Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now;
  • 5 I have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.”'”
  • 6 The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
  • 7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies;
  • 8 for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”
  • 9 Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,'
  • 10 I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.
  • 11 “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children.
  • 12 “For You said, 'I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.'”
  • 13 So he spent the night there. Then he selected from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau:
  • 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
  • 15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.
  • 16 He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.”
  • 17 He commanded the one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?'
  • 18 then you shall say, 'These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.'”
  • 19 Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;
  • 20 and you shall say, 'Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.'” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”
  • 21 So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.
  • 22 Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
  • 23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.
  • 24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
  • 25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
  • 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
  • 27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”
  • 28 He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”
  • 29 Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.
  • 30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”
  • 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.
  • 32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission.