Genesis Chapter 28
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
1
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Here am I.
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And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death.
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Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison;
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and make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.
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And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
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And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,
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Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death.
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Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
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Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory food for thy father, such as he loveth:
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and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, so that he may bless thee before his death.
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And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
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My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
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And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.
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And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.
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And Rebekah took the goodly garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son;
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and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:
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and she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
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And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?
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And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
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And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God sent me good speed.
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And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
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And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
2
Arise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father, and take a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.
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And the AlmightyGod bless thee, and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, that thou mayest become a company of peoples.
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And may he give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, in order that thou mayest possess the land of thy sojourning, whichGod gave to Abraham!
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And Isaac sent away Jacob; and he went to Padan-Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
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And Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-Aram, to take a wife thence, blessing him, and giving him a charge saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;
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and [that] Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-Aram.
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And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the sight of Isaac his father.
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And Esau went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
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And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went towards Haran.
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And he lighted on a certain place, and lodged there, because the sun had set. And he took [one] of the stones of the place, and made [it] his pillow, and lay down in that place.
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And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to the heavens. And behold, angels ofGod ascended and descended upon it.
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And behold, Jehovah stood above it. And he said, I am Jehovah, theGod of Abraham, thy father, and theGod of Isaac: the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
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And 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.
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And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all [places] to which thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done what I have spoken to thee of.
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And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew [it] not.
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And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house ofGod, and this is the gate of heaven.
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And Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had made his pillow, and set it up [for] a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
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And he called the name of that place Beth-el; but the name of that city was Luz at the first.
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And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, IfGod will be with me, and keep me on this road that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on,
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and I come again to my father's house in peace — then shall Jehovah be myGod.
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And this stone, which I have set up [for] a pillar, shall beGod's house; and of all that thou wilt give me I will without fail give the tenth to thee.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
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And Isaac having called for Jacob, blessed him, and charged him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of the Chananites.
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Rise and depart quickly into Mesopotamia, to the house of Bathuel the father of thy mother, and take to thyself thence a wife of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.
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And may my God bless thee, and increase thee, and multiply thee, and thou shalt become gatherings of nations.
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And may he give thee the blessing of my father Abraam, even to thee and to thy seed after thee, to inherit the land of thy sojourning, which God gave to Abraam.
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So Isaac sent away Jacob, and he went into Mesopotamia to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca the mother of Jacob and Esau.
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And Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Mesopotamia of Syria as he blessed him, to take to himself a wife thence, and [that] he charged him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of the Chananites;
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and [that] Jacob hearkened to his father and his mother, and went to Mesopotamia of Syria.
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And Esau also having seen that the daughters of Chanaan were evil before his father Isaac,
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Esau went to Ismael, and took Maeleth the daughter of Ismael, the son of Abraam, the sister of Nabeoth, a wife in addition to his [other] wives.
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And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan.
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And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took [one] of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place,
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and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it.
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And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of thy father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.
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And thy seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.
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And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee.
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And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.
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And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
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And Jacob rose up in the morning, and took the stone he [had] laid there by his head, and he set it up [as] a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.
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And he called the name of that place, the House of God; and the name of the city before was Ulam-luz.
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And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If the Lord God will be with me, and guard me throughout on this journey, on which I am going, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
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and bring me back in safety to the house of my father, then shall the Lord be for a God to me.
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And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be to me a house of God; and of all whatsoever thou shalt give me, I will tithe a tenth for thee.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
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Vocavit itaque Isaac Iacob, et benedixit eum, præcepitque ei dicens: Noli accipere coniugem de genere Chanaan:
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sed vade, et proficiscere in Mesopotamiam Syriæ, ad domum Bathuel patris matris tuæ, et accipe tibi inde uxorem de filiabus Laban avunculi tui.
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Deus autem omnipotens benedicat tibi, et crescere te faciat, atque multiplicet: ut sis in turbas populorum.
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Et det tibi benedictiones Abrahæ, et semini tuo post te: ut possideas terram peregrinationis tuæ, quam pollicitus est avo tuo.
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Cumque dimisisset eum Isaac, profectus venit in Mesopotamiam Syriæ ad Laban filium Bathuel Syri, fratrem Rebeccæ matris suæ.
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Videns autem Esau quod benedixisset pater suus Iacob, et misisset eum in Mesopotamiam Syriæ, ut inde uxorem duceret; et quod post benedictionem præcepisset ei, dicens: Non accipies uxorem de filiabus Chanaan:
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quodque obediens Iacob parentibus suis isset in Syriam:
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probans quoque quod non libenter aspiceret filias Chanaan pater suus:
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ivit ad Ismaelem, et duxit uxorem absque iis, quas prius habebat, Maheleth filiam Ismael filii Abraham, sororem Nabaioth.
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Igitur egressus Iacob de Bersabee, pergebat Haran.
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Cumque venisset ad quemdam locum, et vellet in eo requiescere post solis occubitum, tulit de lapidibus qui iacebant, et supponens capiti suo, dormivit in eodem loco.
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Viditque in somnis scalam stantem super terram, et cacumen illius tangens cælum: Angelos quoque Dei ascendentes et descendentes per eam,
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et Dominum innixum scalæ dicentem sibi: Ego sum Dominus Deus Abraham patris tui, et Deus Isaac: Terram, in qua dormis, tibi dabo et semini tuo.
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Eritque semen tuum quasi pulvis terræ: dilataberis ad Occidentem, et Orientem, et Septentrionem, et Meridiem: et BENEDICENTUR IN TE et in semine tuo cunctæ tribus terræ.
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Et ero custos tuus quocumque perrexeris, et reducam te in terram hanc: nec dimittam nisi complevero universa quæ dixi.
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Cumque evigilasset Iacob de somno, ait: Vere Dominus est in loco isto, et ego nesciebam.
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Pavensque: Quam terribilis est, inquit, locus iste! non est hic aliud nisi domus Dei, et porta cæli.
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Surgens ergo Iacob mane, tulit lapidem quem supposuerat capiti suo, et erexit in titulum, fundens oleum desuper.
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Appellavitque nomen urbis Bethel, quæ prius Luza vocabatur.
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Vovit etiam votum, dicens: Si fuerit Deus mecum, et custodierit me in via, per quam ego ambulo, et dederit mihi panem ad vescendum, et vestimentum ad induendum,
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reversusque fuero prospere ad domum patris mei: erit mihi Dominus in Deum,
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et lapis iste, quem erexi in titulum, vocabitur Domus Dei: cunctorumque quæ dederis mihi, decimas offeram tibi.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
1
Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
2
Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
3
May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,
4
and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave to Abraham.”
5
Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
6
Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;”
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and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram.
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Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn’t please Isaac, his father.
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So Esau went to Ishmael, and took, in addition to the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.
10
Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.
11
He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12
He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13
Behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring.
14
Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed.
15
Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”
16
Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I didn’t know it.”
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He was afraid, and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18
Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top.
19
He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
20
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 clothing to put on,
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so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and the LORD will be my God,
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then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
1
And Isaac calleth unto Jacob, and blesseth him, and commandeth him, and saith to him, `Thou dost not take a wife of the daughters of Caanan;
2
rise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take for thyself from thence a wife, of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother;
3
and God Almighty doth bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and thou hast become an assembly of peoples;
4
and He doth give to thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, to cause thee to possess the land of thy sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.'
5
And Isaac sendeth away Jacob, and he goeth to Padan-Aram, unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramaean, brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob and Esau.
6
And Esau seeth that Isaac hath blessed Jacob, and hath sent him to Padan-Aram to take to himself from thence a wife--in his blessing him that he layeth a charge upon him, saying, Thou dost not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan--
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that Jacob hearkeneth unto his father and unto his mother, and goeth to Padan-Aram--
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and Esau seeth that the daughters of Canaan are evil in the eyes of Isaac his father,
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and Esau goeth unto Ishmael, and taketh Mahalath, daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, sister of Nebajoth, unto his wives, to himself, for a wife.
10
And Jacob goeth out from Beer-Sheba, and goeth toward Haran,
11
and he toucheth at a <FI>certain<Fi> place, and lodgeth there, for the sun hath gone in, and he taketh of the stones of the place, and maketh <FI>them<Fi> his pillows, and lieth down in that place.
12
And he dreameth, and lo, a ladder set up on the earth, and its head is touching the heavens; and lo, messengers of God are going up and coming down by it;
13
and lo, Jehovah is standing upon it, and He saith, `I <FI>am<Fi> Jehovah, God of Abraham thy father, and God of Isaac; the land on which thou art lying, to thee I give it, and to thy seed;
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and thy seed hath been as the dust of the land, and thou hast broken forth westward, and eastward, and northward, and southward, and all families of the ground have been blessed in thee and in thy seed.
15
`And lo, I <FI>am<Fi> with thee, and have kept thee whithersoever thou goest, and have caused thee to turn back unto this ground; for I leave thee not till that I have surely done that which I have spoken to thee.'
16
And Jacob awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, `Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew not;'
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and he feareth, and saith, `How fearful <FI>is<Fi> this place; this is nothing but a house of God, and this a gate of the heavens.'
18
And Jacob riseth early in the morning, and taketh the stone which he hath made his pillows, and maketh it a standing pillar, and poureth oil upon its top,
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and he calleth the name of that place Bethel, <FI>house of God,<Fi> and yet, Luz <FI>is<Fi> the name of the city at the first.
20
And Jacob voweth a vow, saying, `Seeing God is with me, and hath kept me in this way which I am going, and hath given to me bread to eat, and a garment to put on--
21
when I have turned back in peace unto the house of my father, and Jehovah hath become my God,
22
then this stone which I have made a standing pillar is a house of God, and all that Thou dost give to me--tithing I tithe to Thee.'
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).