1 And Jacob lifteth up his eyes, and looketh, and lo, Esau is coming, and with him four hundred men; and he divideth the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two maid-servants; 2 and he setteth the maid-servants and their children first, and Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. 3 And he himself passed over before them, and boweth himself to the earth seven times, until his drawing nigh unto his brother, 4 and Esau runneth to meet him, and embraceth him, and falleth on his neck, and kisseth him, and they weep; 5 and he lifteth up his eyes, and seeth the women and the children, and saith, 'What [are] these to thee?' And he saith, 'The children with whom God hath favoured thy servant.' 6 And the maid-servants draw nigh, they and their children, and bow themselves; 7 and Leah also draweth nigh, and her children, and they bow themselves; and afterwards Joseph hath drawn nigh with Rachel, and they bow themselves. 8 And he saith, 'What to thee [is] all this camp which I have met?' and he saith, 'To find grace in the eyes of my lord.' 9 And Esau saith, 'I have abundance, my brother, let it be to thyself that which thou hast.' 10 And Jacob saith, 'Nay, I pray thee, if, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, then thou hast received my present from my hand, because that I have seen thy face, as the seeing of the face of God, and thou art pleased with me; 11 receive, I pray thee, my blessing, which is brought to thee, because God hath favoured me, and because I have all [things];' and he presseth on him, and he receiveth, 12 and saith, 'Let us journey and go on, and I go on before thee.' 13 And he saith unto him, 'My lord knoweth that the children [are] tender, and the suckling flock and the herd [are] with me; when they have beaten them one day, then hath all the flock died. 14 Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant, and I -- I lead on gently, according to the foot of the work which [is] before me, and to the foot of the children, until that I come unto my lord, to Seir.' 15 And Esau saith, 'Let me, I pray thee, place with thee some of the people who [are] with me;' and he said, 'Why [is] this? I find grace in the eyes of my lord.' 16 And turn back on that day doth Esau on his way to Seir; 17 and Jacob hath journeyed to Succoth, and buildeth to himself a house, and for his cattle hath made booths, therefore hath he called the name of the place Succoth. 18 And Jacob cometh in to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which [is] in the land of Canaan, in his coming from Padan-Aram, and encampeth before the city, 19 and he buyeth the portion of the field where he hath stretched out his tent, from the hand of the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for a hundred kesitah; 20 and he setteth up there an altar, and proclaimeth at it God -- the God of Israel. | |