Genesis 28

Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 Ref 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 Ref 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 Ref and God Almighty doth bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and thou hast become an assembly of peoples;

4 Ref 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 Ref 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 --

7 Ref that Jacob hearkeneth unto his father and unto his mother, and goeth to Padan-Aram --

8 Ref and Esau seeth that the daughters of Canaan are evil in the eyes of Isaac his father,

9 Ref 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 Ref And Jacob goeth out from Beer-Sheba, and goeth toward Haran,

11 Ref and he toucheth at a `certain' place, and lodgeth there, for the sun hath gone in, and he taketh of the stones of the place, and maketh `them' his pillows, and lieth down in that place.

12 Ref 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 Ref and lo, Jehovah is standing upon it, and He saith, `I `am' 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;

14 Ref 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 Ref `And lo, I `am' 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 Ref And Jacob awaketh out of his sleep, and saith, `Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew not;'

17 Ref and he feareth, and saith, `How fearful `is' this place; this is nothing but a house of God, and this a gate of the heavens.'

18 Ref 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,

19 Ref and he calleth the name of that place Bethel, `house of God,' and yet, Luz `is' the name of the city at the first.

20 Ref 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 Ref when I have turned back in peace unto the house of my father, and Jehovah hath become my God,

22 Ref 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.'

American Standard-ASV1901 (ASV)

1 Ref And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

2 Ref Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father. And take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.

3 Ref And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples.

4 Ref And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee. That thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham.

5 And Isaac sent away Jacob. And he went to Paddan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

6 Ref Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram, to take him a wife from thence. And that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

7 Ref And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram.

8 Ref And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father.

9 Ref And Esau went unto 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.

10 Ref And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.

11 Ref And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set. And he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 Ref And he dreamed. And behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

13 Ref And, behold, Jehovah stood above it, and said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed.

14 Ref 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.

15 Ref And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee, whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land. For I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.

16 Ref And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely Jehovah is in this place. And I knew it not.

17 Ref And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

18 Ref And 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 upon the top of it.

19 Ref And he called the name of that place Beth-el. But the name of the city was Luz at the first.

20 Ref And 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 raiment to put on,

21 Ref so that I come again to my father's house in peace, and Jehovah will be my God,

22 Ref then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Chapter 28 of 50

Begin Your Journey of Faith

We all start at different points in our walk with Christ. No matter where you are, we're here to support you as you grow in faith.

Accept Jesus Christ as Your Savior

If you haven’t made the decision to follow Jesus yet, we want to walk with you as you discover the new life He offers.

Read "A Truly Free Gift"

What Guides Our Walk With Christ

Discover the biblical truths and core beliefs that shape how we live, serve, and walk faithfully with Christ each day.

Explore Our Beliefs

Join a Community of Believers

Don’t walk through life alone. Find others to connect with, whether in person or online, and grow together in Christ.

Discover Where We Meet