1
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Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. |
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2
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When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim. |
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3
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Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. |
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4
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He instructed them, “You are to say to my master Esau, ‘Your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban and have remained there until now. |
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5
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I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, menservants, and maidservants. I have sent this message to inform my master, so that I may find favor in your sight.’” |
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6
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When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you—he and four hundred men with him.” |
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7
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In great fear and distress, Jacob divided his people into two camps, as well as the flocks and herds and camels. |
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8
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He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one camp, then the other camp can escape.” |
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9
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Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’ |
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10
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I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. Indeed, with only my staff I came across the Jordan, but now I have become two camps. |
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11
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Please deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid that he may come and attack me and the mothers and children with me. |
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12
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But You have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to count.’” |
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13
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Jacob spent the night there, and from what he had brought with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau: |
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14
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200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, |
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15
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30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. |
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16
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He entrusted them to his servants in separate herds and told them, “Go on ahead of me, and keep some distance between the herds.” |
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17
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He instructed the one in the lead, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong, where are you going, and whose animals are these before you?’ |
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18
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then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau. And behold, Jacob is behind us.’” |
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19
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He also instructed the second, the third, and all those following behind the herds: “When you meet Esau, you are to say the same thing to him. |
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20
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You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I will appease Esau with the gift that is going before me. After that I can face him, and perhaps he will accept me.” |
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21
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So Jacob’s gifts went on before him, while he spent the night in the camp. |
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22
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During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. |
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23
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He took them and sent them across the stream, along with all his possessions. |
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24
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So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak. |
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25
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When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled. |
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26
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Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” |
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27
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“What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied. |
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28
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Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.” |
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29
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And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there. |
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30
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So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” |
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31
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The sun rose above him as he passed by Penuel, and he was limping because of his hip. |
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32
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Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon which is at the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck near that tendon. |
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