Genesis

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.

1Isaac called his son Jacob and blessed him. Then he told him, "Do not marry a woman from Canaan, the land where we live."

2Arise, go to Padanaram, 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.

2"Go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father. Marry one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother."

3And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;

3"May God Almighty bless you. May he give you many children, so your family grows into many peoples."

4And 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.

4"May God give you the same blessing he gave Abraham. May he give it to you and to your children after you. Then this land will be your family's land, even though you live here now as a visitor. This is the land God gave to Abraham."

5And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

5So Isaac sent Jacob away. Jacob went to Padanaram, to Laban. Laban was the son of Bethuel the Syrian. He was also the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

6When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, 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;

6Esau saw that his father had blessed Jacob. He saw that Isaac sent Jacob to Padanaram to find a wife there. He also heard the order Isaac gave: "Do not marry a woman from Canaan."

7And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;

7Esau saw that Jacob obeyed his father and mother. Jacob had already left for Padanaram.

8And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father;

8And Esau saw that his father Isaac was not pleased with the women of Canaan.

9Then 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.

9So Esau went to the family of Ishmael, who was Abraham's son. He married Mahalath, Ishmael's daughter and Nebajoth's sister. He already had other wives, and she was added to them.

10And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

10Jacob left the town of Beersheba and traveled toward the town of Haran.

11And 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.

11He came to a certain place and stopped there for the night, because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones there and put it under his head. Then he lay down to sleep.

NoteThe old word "pillows" does not mean a soft pillow. Jacob rested his head on a stone.

12And 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.

12He had a dream. He saw a ladder standing on the ground, and its top reached all the way to heaven. God's angels were going up and coming down on it.

13And, 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;

13The LORD stood above the ladder and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land you are lying on, I will give to you and to your children after you."

14And 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.

14"Your family will be as many as the dust on the ground. You will spread out west and east and north and south. Every family on earth will be blessed through you and your children."

15And, 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.

15"Look, I am with you. I will keep you safe everywhere you go. I will bring you back to this land again. I will not leave you until I have done all that I promised you."

16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.

16Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, "The LORD is really here in this place, and I did not know it."

17And 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.

17He was afraid, and he said, "This place fills me with wonder! This is nothing less than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven."

NoteIn old English, "dreadful" meant full of awe and wonder. It did not mean awful or bad.

18And 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.

18Early the next morning Jacob got up. He took the stone he had slept on and stood it up as a marker. Then he poured oil over the top of it.

19And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

19He named that place Bethel. Before this, the town there was called Luz.

NoteBethel is a Hebrew name. It means "house of God."

20And 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,

20Then Jacob made a promise to God. He said, "If God stays with me and keeps me safe on this trip, and gives me food to eat and clothes to wear,

21So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:

21and brings me home to my father's house safely, then the LORD will be my God.

22And 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.

22And this stone I have stood up will be God's house. And of everything you give me, I will give you back one part out of ten."