1And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2Arise, 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. 3And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples; 4and 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. 5And 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.

6Now 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; 7and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram: 8and Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; 9and Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

10And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11And 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. 12And 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. 13And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD, 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; 14and 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. 15And, 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.

16And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not. 17And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18And 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. 19And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20And 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, 21so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22and 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.

historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society

Learn More

Genesis 28

1Then Isaac called Jacob and #Gen. 27:33blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: #Gen. 24:3“You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2#Hos. 12:12Arise, go to #Gen. 25:20Padan Aram, to the house of #Gen. 22:23Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of #Gen. 24:29; 27:43; 29:5Laban your mother’s brother.

3“May #Gen. 17:16; 35:11; 48:3God Almighty bless you,

And make you #Gen. 26:4, 24fruitful and multiply you,

That you may be an assembly of peoples;

4And give you #Gen. 12:2, 3; 22:17; Gal. 3:8the blessing of Abraham,

To you and your descendants with you,

That you may inherit the land

#Gen. 17:8; 23:4; 36:7; 1 Chr. 29:15; Ps. 39:12In which you are a stranger,

Which God gave to Abraham.”

5So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Esau Marries Mahalath

6Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. 8Also Esau saw #Gen. 24:3; 26:34, 35; 27:46that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9So Esau went to Ishmael and #Gen. 26:34, 35took #Gen. 36:2, 3Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, #Gen. 25:13the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

Jacob’s Vow at Bethel

10Now Jacob #Gen. 26:23; 46:1; Hos. 12:12went out from Beersheba and went toward #Gen. 12:4, 5; 27:43; 29:4; 2 Kin. 19:12; Acts 7:2Haran. 11So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12Then he #Gen. 31:10; 41:1; Num. 12:6dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there #John 1:51; Heb. 1:4, 14the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13#Gen. 35:1; 48:3; Amos 7:7And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: #Gen. 26:24“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; #Gen. 13:15, 17; 26:3; 35:12the land on which you lie I will give to you and your #Gen. 13:16; 22:17descendants. 14Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad #Gen. 13:14, 15; Deut. 12:20to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and #Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; Matt. 1:2; Luke 3:34; Gal. 3:8in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15Behold, #Gen. 26:3, 24; 31:3I am with you and will #Gen. 48:16; Num. 6:24; Ps. 121:5, 7, 8keep you wherever you go, and will #Gen. 35:6; 48:21; Deut. 30:3bring you back to this land; for #Lev. 26:44; Deut. 7:9; 31:6, 8; Josh. 1:5; 1 Kin. 8:57; Heb. 13:5I will not leave you #Num. 23:19until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in #Ex. 3:5; Josh. 5:15; Ps. 139:7–12this place, and I did not know it.” 17And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

18Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, #Gen. 31:13, 45set it up as a pillar, #Lev. 8:10–12and poured oil on top of it. 19And he called the name of #Judg. 1:23, 26that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously. 20#Gen. 31:13; Judg. 11:30; 2 Sam. 15:8Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If #Gen. 28:15God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me #1 Tim. 6:8bread to eat and clothing to put on, 21so that #Judg. 11:31; 2 Sam. 19:24, 30I come back to my father’s house in peace, #Deut. 26:17; 2 Sam. 15:8then the Lord shall be my God. 22And this stone which I have set as a pillar #Gen. 35:7, 14shall be God’s house, #Gen. 14:20; (Lev. 27:30); Deut. 14:22and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Learn More

Choose your language

Genesis 28

Genesis 28