Esau

1And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids.

Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with four hundred men. So Jacob split the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two servant women.

2And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost.

He put the servant women and their children in front. Leah and her children came next. Rachel and Joseph came last.

3And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

Jacob walked ahead of them all. He bowed down to the ground seven times as he came near his brother.

4And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

But Esau ran to meet him. He threw his arms around him and kissed him. They both cried.

5And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant.

Esau looked up and saw the women and children. He asked, "Who are these with you?" Jacob said, "These are the children God kindly gave me, your servant."

6Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves.

Then the servant women came near with their children, and they bowed down.

7And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves.

Leah and her children came near and bowed down too. Then Joseph and Rachel came near and bowed down.

8And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

Esau asked, "Why did you send all those herds of animals to meet me?" Jacob said, "They are a gift, so you will be pleased with me, my lord."

9And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself.

Esau said, "I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what is yours."

10And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me.

Jacob said, "Please, no. If you are pleased with me, take my gift. Seeing your face is like seeing the face of God, because you welcomed me so kindly."

11Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it.

"Please take the gift I brought you. God has been very kind to me, and I have all I need." Jacob kept asking, so Esau took it.

12And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.

Then Esau said, "Let us start out on our way. I will go ahead of you."

13And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

Jacob said, "My lord, you know the children are small and weak. My sheep and cows have babies that still drink milk. If we push the animals hard for even one day, they will all die."

14Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.

"Please go on ahead of me, your servant. I will travel slowly. I will keep pace with the animals and the children. Then I will come to you at Seir."

15And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

Esau said, "Let me leave some of my men with you." Jacob said, "Why do that? I only want you to be pleased with me, my lord."

16So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.

So that day Esau started back on his way to Seir.

17And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.

But Jacob traveled to Succoth. There he built a house for himself. He made shelters for his animals. That is why the place is called Succoth.

27And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

Jacob came home to his father Isaac at Mamre, near the city of Arbah. That city is also called Hebron. Abraham and Isaac had lived there.

28And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.

Isaac lived one hundred and eighty years.

29And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Then Isaac took his last breath and died. He was very old and had lived a long, full life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

1Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

This is the family list of Esau. Esau was also called Edom.

2Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan; Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;

Esau married women from the land of Canaan. One was Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite. Another was Aholibamah. She was the daughter of Anah and the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite.

3And Bashemath Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.

He also married Bashemath. She was Ishmael's daughter and Nebajoth's sister.

4And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz; and Bashemath bare Reuel;

Adah gave birth to Eliphaz. Bashemath gave birth to Reuel.

5And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these are the sons of Esau, which were born unto him in the land of Canaan.

Aholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These sons of Esau were born in the land of Canaan.

6And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.

Esau took his wives, his sons, and his daughters. He took everyone who lived in his house. He took his cattle, his other animals, and all he owned in Canaan. Then he moved away to another land, away from his brother Jacob.

7For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.

The two brothers owned too much to live in one place. The land where they were living could not feed all their animals.

8Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

So Esau made his home in the hills of Seir. Esau was also called Edom.

1The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.

This is what God showed Obadiah about the land of Edom. The Lord GOD says: We have heard news from the LORD. A messenger has gone out to the nations. He says, "Get up! Let us go and fight against Edom!"

2Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised.

God says to Edom: "Look, I will make you small among the nations. People will look down on you."

3The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

"Your proud heart has fooled you. You live in caves high up in the rocky cliffs. You say to yourself, 'Nobody can pull me down.'"

4Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.

"You may fly up high like an eagle. You may build your nest among the stars. Even from there I will bring you down, says the LORD."

5If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the grapegatherers came to thee, would they not leave some grapes?

"If thieves came to you at night, they would take only what they wanted. If people came to pick your grapes, they would leave some behind. But you will be stripped of everything!"

6How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!

"Esau's people will lose it all. Even the treasures they hid away will be found and taken."

7All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.

"The nations that promised to help you will push you out to the border. Friends who were at peace with you will trick you and beat you. People who ate at your table will set a trap for you. You will never see it coming."

8Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?

"On that day, says the LORD, I will take away the wise men of Edom. No one clever will be left in Esau's mountains."

9And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.

"Teman, your strongest soldiers will be filled with fear. Then everyone in Esau's mountains will be killed in the fighting."

10For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

"You were cruel to your brother Jacob's family. So you will be covered with shame. You will be cut off forever."

1The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

This is the heavy message the LORD sent to Israel. He sent it through Malachi, a man who told people what God said.

2I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

"I have loved you," says the LORD. But you ask, "How have you loved us?" The LORD says, "Wasn't Esau the brother of Jacob? Even so, I loved Jacob,

3And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

but I hated Esau. I turned his mountains into empty, broken land. I left the land his family owned to the wild dogs of the desert."

4Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

The people of Edom, who came from Esau, say, "We are poor and ruined, but we will go back and build again." The LORD who leads heaven's armies says, "They may build, but I will knock it down. People will call their land the Land of Wickedness. They will call them the people the LORD is angry with forever.

5And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

You will see this with your own eyes. Then you will say, 'The LORD is great, even far past the edges of Israel.'"

10And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

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11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

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12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

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13As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

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16Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

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17For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

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