1Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.

4But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. ‘Who are these with you?’ he asked.

Jacob answered, ‘They are the children God has graciously given your servant.’

6Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. 7Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.

8Esau asked, ‘What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?’

‘To find favour in your eyes, my lord,’ he said.

9But Esau said, ‘I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.’

10‘No, please!’ said Jacob. ‘If I have found favour in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favourably. 11Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.’ And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.

12Then Esau said, ‘Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.’

13But Jacob said to him, ‘My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. 14So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.’

15Esau said, ‘Then let me leave some of my men with you.’

‘But why do that?’ Jacob asked. ‘Just let me find favour in the eyes of my lord.’

16So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. 17Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.#33:17 Sukkoth means shelters.

18After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,#33:18 That is, North-west Mesopotamia he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. 19For a hundred pieces of silver,#33:19 Hebrew hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value. he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent. 20There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.#33:20 El Elohe Israel can mean El is the God of Israel or mighty is the God of Israel.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®

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Genesis 33

1 Then Jacob, lifting up his eyes, saw Esau arriving, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the sons of Leah and Rachel, and of both the handmaids.

2 And he placed the two handmaids and their children at the beginning. Truly, Leah and her sons were in the second place. Then Rachel and Joseph were last.

3 And advancing, he reverenced prostrate on the ground seven times, until his brother approached.

4 And so Esau ran to meet his brother, and he embraced him. And drawing him by his neck and kissing him, he wept.

5 And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their little ones, and he said: "What do these want for themselves?" and "Are they related to you?" He responded, "These are the little ones that God has given as a gift to me, your servant."

6 Then the handmaids and their sons approached and bowed down.

7 Likewise Leah, with her sons, came near. And when they had reverenced similarly, last of all, Joseph and Rachel reverenced.

8 And Esau said, "What are these companies that I have been meeting?" He responded, "So may I find favor before my lord."

9 But he said, "I have plenty, my brother; let these be for yourself."

10 And Jacob said: "I beg you, let it not be so. But if I have found favor in your eyes, receive a small present from my hands. For I have looked upon your face as I would look upon the countenance of God. Be gracious to me,

11 and take the blessing which I have brought to you, and which God, who bestows all things, has given as a gift to me." Accepting it reluctantly, at the insistence of his brother,

12 he said, "Let us go on together, and I will accompany you on your journey."

13 And Jacob said: "My lord, you know that I have with me tender little ones, and sheep, and cows with young. If I cause these to labor too much in walking, all the flocks will die in one day.

14 May it please my lord to go before his servant. And I will follow gradually in his steps, as much as I see my little ones to be able, until I arrive to my lord in Seir."

15 Esau responded, "I beg you, that at least some of the people who are with me may remain to accompany you on the way." But he said, "There is no need. I have need of one thing only: to find favor in your sight, my lord."

16 And so Esau returned that day, by the way that he had arrived, to Seir.

17 And Jacob went to Succoth, where, having built a house and pitched tents, he called the name of that place Succoth, that is, 'Tents.'

18 And he crossed over to Salem, a city of the Shechemites, which is in the land of Canaan, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria. And he lived near the town.

19 And he bought the part of the field in which he had pitched his tents from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred lambs.

20 And erecting an altar there, he invoked upon it the most strong God of Israel.

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Genesis 33

Genesis 33