1 Nowe Iaakob went forth on his iourney and the Angels of God met him. 2 And when Iaakob saw them, he said, This is Gods hoste, and called the name of the same place Mahanaim. 3 Then Iaakob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, vnto the land of Seir into the countrey of Edom: 4 To whom he gaue commandement, saying, Thus shall ye speake to my lorde Esau: thy seruant Iaakob sayeth thus, I haue bene a stranger with Laban, and taried vnto this time. 5 I haue beeues also and Asses, sheepe, and men seruantes, and women seruantes, and haue sent to shew my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6 So ye messengers came againe to Iaakob, saying, We came vnto thy brother Esau, and hee also commeth against thee and foure hundreth men with him. 7 Then Iaakob was greatly afraid, and was sore troubled, and deuided the people that was with him, and the sheepe, and the beeues, and the camels into two companies. 8 For he said, If Esau come to ye one company and smite it, the other companie shall escape. 9 Moreouer Iaakob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Izhak: Lord, which saydest vnto me, Returne vnto thy coutrey and to thy kinred, and I will do thee good, 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and al the trueth, which thou hast shewed vnto thy seruant: for with my staffe came I ouer this Iorden, and now haue I gotte two bads. 11 I pray thee, Deliuer me from the hande of my brother, from the hande of Esau: for I feare him, least he will come and smite me, and the mother vpon the children. 12 For thou saydest; I will surely doe thee good, and make thy seede as the sande of the sea, which can not be nombred for multitude. 13 And he taryed there the same night, and tooke of that which came to had, a present for Esau his brother: 14 Two hundreth shee goates and twenty hee goates, two hundreth ewes and twentie rammes: 15 Thirtie mylche camels with their coltes, fourtie kine, and ten bullockes, twentie she asses and ten foles. 16 So he deliuered them into the hande of his seruants, euery droue by themselues, and saide vnto his seruants, Passe before me, and put a space betweene droue and droue. 17 And he commanded the formost, saying, If Esau my brother meete thee, and aske thee, saying, Whose seruant art thou? And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee? 18 Then thou shalt say, They be thy seruant Iaakobs: it is a present sent vnto my lord Esau: and beholde, he him selfe also is behinde vs. 19 So likewise commanded he the seconde and the thirde, and all that followed the droues, saying, After this maner, ye shall speake vnto Esau, when ye finde him. 20 And ye shall say moreouer, Beholde, thy seruant Iaakob commeth after vs (for he thought, I will appease his wrath with the present that goeth before me, and afterwarde I will see his face: it may be that he will accept me.) 21 So went the present before him: but he taried that night with the companie. 22 And he rose vp the same night, and tooke his two wiues, and his two maides, and his eleuen children, and went ouer the forde Iabbok. 23 And he tooke them, and sent them ouer the riuer, and sent ouer that he had. 24 Now when Iaakob was left him selfe alone, there wrestled a man with him vnto the breaking of the day. 25 And he sawe that he could not preuaile against him: therefore he touched the holowe of his thigh, and the holowe of Iaakobs thigh was loosed, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he saide, Let me goe, for the morning appeareth. Who answered, I will not let thee go except thou blesse me. 27 Then said he vnto him, What is thy name? And he said, Iaakob. 28 Then said he, Thy name shalbe called Iaakob no more, but Israel: because thou hast had power with God, thou shalt also preuaile with men. 29 Then Iaakob demaded, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore now doest thou aske my name? and he blessed him there 30 And Iaakob called the name of the place, Peniel: for, saide he, I haue seene God face to face, and my life is preserued. 31 And the sunne rose vp to him as he passed Peniel, and he halted vpon his thigh. 32 Therefore the children of Israel eate not of the sinewe that shranke in the hollowe of the thigh, vnto this day: because he touched the sinew that shranke in the holow of Iaakobs thigh.
Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau
1 As Jacob went on his way, some angels met him. 2 When he saw them, he said, “This is God's camp”; so he named the place Mahanaim.
3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them to say: “I, Jacob, your obedient servant, report to my master Esau that I have been staying with Laban and that I have delayed my return until now. 5 I own cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, and slaves. I am sending you word, sir, in the hope of gaining your favor.”
6 When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you. He has four hundred men with him.” 7 Jacob was frightened and worried. He divided into two groups the people who were with him, and also his sheep, goats, cattle, and camels. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks the first group, the other may be able to escape.”
9 Then Jacob prayed, “God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac, hear me! You told me, Lord, to go back to my land and to my relatives, and you would make everything go well for me. 10 I am not worth all the kindness and faithfulness that you have shown me, your servant. I crossed the Jordan with nothing but a walking stick, and now I have come back with these two groups. 11 Save me, I pray, from my brother Esau. I am afraid—afraid that he is coming to attack us and destroy us all, even the women and children. 12 Remember that you promised to make everything go well for me and to give me more descendants than anyone could count, as many as the grains of sand along the seashore.”
13-15 After spending the night there, Jacob chose from his livestock as a present for his brother Esau: 200 female goats and 20 males, 200 female sheep and 20 males, 30 milk camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 males. 16 He divided them into herds and put one of his servants in charge of each herd. He said to them, “Go ahead of me, and leave a space between each herd and the one behind it.” 17 He ordered the first servant, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who is your master? Where are you going? Who owns these animals in front of you?’ 18 you must answer, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. He sends them as a present to his master Esau. Jacob himself is right behind us.’” 19 He gave the same order to the second, the third, and to all the others who were in charge of the herds: “This is what you must say to Esau when you meet him. 20 You must say, ‘Yes, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” Jacob was thinking, “I will win him over with the gifts, and when I meet him, perhaps he will forgive me.” 21 He sent the gifts on ahead of him and spent that night in camp.
Jacob Wrestles at Peniel
22 That same night Jacob got up, took his two wives, his two concubines, and his eleven children, and crossed the Jabbok River. 23 After he had sent them across, he also sent across all that he owned, 24 but he stayed behind, alone.
Then a man came and wrestled with him until just before daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he was not winning the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint. 26 The man said, “Let me go; daylight is coming.”
“I won't, unless you bless me,” Jacob answered.
27 “What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so your name will be Israel.”
29 Jacob said, “Now tell me your name.”
But he answered, “Why do you want to know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob.
30 Jacob said, “I have seen God face-to-face, and I am still alive”; so he named the place Peniel. 31 The sun rose as Jacob was leaving Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Even today the descendants of Israel do not eat the muscle which is on the hip joint, because it was on this muscle that Jacob was hit.