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‘Bring me some game and prepare me a tasty dish to eat, so that I may bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die.’

Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so that I can make them into a tasty dish for your father—the kind he loves.

Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am smooth-skinned.

What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”

What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”

What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”

So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.

When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, O my father!”

So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury subsides—

Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.

“Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.

May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.

And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”

Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”

Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”

On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.

And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.

And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.

Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,

And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”

And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”

He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father.

Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.

So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast.

And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”

Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon.

Once again Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.

And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children.

Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”

So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,

…and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.

Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.

And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,

And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

“God has given me a good gift,” she said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun.

After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

…and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.

Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.

When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.

I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up, leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’”

But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

But you did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. Now you have done a foolish thing.

Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”

Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”

So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar,

So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar,

…and he said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate.

Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore the place was called Galeed.

If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me.

This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me.

Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

Jacob spent the night there, and from what he had brought with him, he selected a gift for his brother Esau:

…then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau. And behold, Jacob is behind us.’”

So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

But Jacob replied, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and I must care for sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard for even a day, all the animals will die.

Please let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a comfortable pace for the livestock and children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”

…but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.

And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.

So Shechem told his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as a wife.”

When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.

Demand a high dowry and an expensive gift, and I will give you whatever you ask. Only give me the girl as my wife!”

“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.

“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”

As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.

And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.

And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation—even a company of nations—shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you.

So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.

So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.

So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.

Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.

Later, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people of his household, along with his livestock, all his other animals, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan, and he moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob.

Additionally, Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to Amalek. These are the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.

This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

…a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”

“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”

“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.

And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.

And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.

Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed.

Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.

His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”