Genesis 32; Genesis 33; Genesis 34 (New Living Translation)

1 As Jacob and his household started on their way again, angels of God came to meet him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, "This is God's camp!" So he named the place Mahanaim. 3 Jacob now sent messengers to his brother, Esau, in Edom, the land of Seir. 4 He told them, "Give this message to my master Esau: 'Humble greetings from your servant Jacob! I have been living with Uncle Laban until recently, 5 and now I own oxen, donkeys, sheep, goats, and many servants, both men and women. I have sent these messengers to inform you of my coming, hoping that you will be friendly to us.'" 6 The messengers returned with the news that Esau was on his way to meet Jacob -- with an army of four hundred men! 7 Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps. 8 He thought, "If Esau attacks one group, perhaps the other can escape." 9 Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac -- O LORD, you told me to return to my land and to my relatives, and you promised to treat me kindly. 10 I am not worthy of all the faithfulness and unfailing love you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home, I owned nothing except a walking stick, and now my household fills two camps! 11 O LORD, please rescue me from my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to kill me, along with my wives and children. 12 But you promised to treat me kindly and to multiply my descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore -- too many to count." 13 Jacob stayed where he was for the night and prepared a present for Esau: 14 two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. 16 He told his servants to lead them on ahead, each group of animals by itself, separated by a distance in between. 17 He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: "When you meet Esau, he will ask, 'Where are you going? Whose servants are you? Whose animals are these?' 18 You should reply, 'These belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present for his master Esau! He is coming right behind us.'" 19 Jacob gave the same instructions to each of the herdsmen and told them, "You are all to say the same thing to Esau when you see him. 20 And be sure to say, 'Your servant Jacob is right behind us.'" Jacob's plan was to appease Esau with the presents before meeting him face to face. "Perhaps," Jacob hoped, "he will be friendly to us." 21 So the presents were sent on ahead, and Jacob spent that night in the camp. 22 But during the night Jacob got up and sent his two wives, two concubines, and eleven sons across the Jabbok River. 23 After they were on the other side, he sent over all his possessions. 24 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until dawn. 25 When the man saw that he couldn't win the match, he struck Jacob's hip and knocked it out of joint at the socket. 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is dawn."But Jacob panted, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." 27 "What is your name?" the man asked.He replied, "Jacob." 28 "Your name will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "It is now Israel, because you have struggled with both God and men and have won." 29 "What is your name?" Jacob asked him."Why do you ask?" the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. 30 Jacob named the place Peniel -- "face of God" -- for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared." 31 The sun rose as he left Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 That is why even today the people of Israel don't eat meat from near the hip, in memory of what happened that night. 1 Then, in the distance, Jacob saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. 2 Jacob now arranged his family into a column, with his two concubines and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed low seven times before him. 4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him affectionately and kissed him. Both of them were in tears. 5 Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, "Who are these people with you?""These are the children God has graciously given to me," Jacob replied. 6 Then the concubines came forward with their children and bowed low before him. 7 Next Leah came with her children, and they bowed down. Finally, Rachel and Joseph came and made their bows. 8 "And what were all the flocks and herds I met as I came?" Esau asked.Jacob replied, "They are gifts, my lord, to ensure your goodwill." 9 "Brother, I have plenty," Esau answered. "Keep what you have." 10 "No, please accept them," Jacob said, "for what a relief it is to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the smile of God! 11 Please take my gifts, for God has been very generous to me. I have more than enough." Jacob continued to insist, so Esau finally accepted them. 12 "Well, let's be going," Esau said. "I will stay with you and lead the way." 13 But Jacob replied, "You can see, my lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, they may die. 14 So go on ahead of us. We will follow at our own pace and meet you at Seir." 15 "Well," Esau said, "at least let me leave some of my men to guide and protect you.""There is no reason for you to be so kind to me," Jacob insisted. 16 So Esau started back to Seir that same day. 17 Meanwhile, Jacob and his household traveled on to Succoth. There he built himself a house and made shelters for his flocks and herds. That is why the place was named Succoth. 18 Then they arrived safely at Shechem, in Canaan, and they set up camp just outside the town. 19 Jacob bought the land he camped on from the family of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred pieces of silver. 20 And there he built an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel. 1 One day Dinah, Leah's daughter, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area. 2 But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. 3 But Shechem's love for Dinah was strong, and he tried to win her affection. 4 He even spoke to his father about it. "Get this girl for me," he demanded. "I want to marry her." 5 Word soon reached Jacob that his daughter had been defiled, but his sons were out in the fields herding cattle so he did nothing until they returned. 6 Meanwhile, Hamor, Shechem's father, came out to discuss the matter with Jacob. 7 He arrived just as Jacob's sons were coming in from the fields. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob's family, a thing that should never have been done. 8 Hamor told Jacob and his sons, "My son Shechem is truly in love with your daughter, and he longs for her to be his wife. Please let him marry her. 9 We invite you to let your daughters marry our sons, and we will give our daughters as wives for your young men. 10 And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Settle here and trade with us. You are free to acquire property among us." 11 Then Shechem addressed Dinah's father and brothers. "Please be kind to me, and let me have her as my wife," he begged. "I will give whatever you require. 12 No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I will pay it -- only give me the girl as my wife." 13 But Dinah's brothers deceived Shechem and Hamor because of what Shechem had done to their sister. 14 They said to them, "We couldn't possibly allow this, because you aren't circumcised. It would be a disgrace for her to marry a man like you! 15 But here is a solution. If every man among you will be circumcised like we are, 16 we will intermarry with you and live here and unite with you to become one people. 17 Otherwise we will take her and be on our way." 18 Hamor and Shechem gladly agreed, 19 and Shechem lost no time in acting on this request, for he wanted Dinah desperately. Shechem was a highly respected member of his family, 20 and he appeared with his father before the town leaders to present this proposal. 21 "Those men are our friends," they said. "Let's invite them to live here among us and ply their trade. For the land is large enough to hold them, and we can intermarry with them. 22 But they will consider staying here only on one condition. Every one of us men must be circumcised, just as they are. 23 But if we do this, all their flocks and possessions will become ours. Come, let's agree to this so they will settle here among us." 24 So all the men agreed and were circumcised. 25 But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, took their swords, entered the town without opposition, and slaughtered every man there, 26 including Hamor and Shechem. They rescued Dinah from Shechem's house and returned to their camp. 27 Then all of Jacob's sons plundered the town because their sister had been defiled there. 28 They seized all the flocks and herds and donkeys -- everything they could lay their hands on, both inside the town and outside in the fields. 29 They also took all the women and children and wealth of every kind. 30 Afterward Jacob said to Levi and Simeon, "You have made me stink among all the people of this land -- among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will come and crush us. We will all be killed!" 31 "Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?" they retorted angrily.