Genesis 32
32
CHAPTER 32
1Forsooth Jacob went forth in the way in which he began, and the angels of the Lord met him.
2And when he had seen them, he said, These be the castles of God; and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
3Soothly Jacob sent before him also messengers to Esau, his brother, into the land of Seir, in the country of Edom;
4and he commanded to them, and said, Thus speak ye to my lord Esau, Thy brother Jacob saith these things, I have been a pilgrim at Laban, and I was till into this present day;
5I have oxen, and asses, and sheep, and menservants, and handmaids, and I send now a message to my lord, that I find grace in thy sight.
6And the messengers turned again to Jacob, and said, We came to Esau, thy brother, and lo! he hasteth him into thy coming, with four hundred men.
7Jacob dreaded greatly, and he was afeared, and he parted the people that was with him, and he parted the flocks, and sheep, and oxen, and camels, into two companies;
8and he said, If Esau shall come to one company, and shall smite it, the other company which is left unsmitten, shall be saved.
9And Jacob said, O! God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O! Lord, that saidest to me, Turn thou again into thy land, and to the place of thy birth, and I shall do well to thee,
10I am less than all thy merciful doings, and than thy truth which thou hast [ful] filled to thy servant; with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I go again with two companies;
11deliver thou me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I dread him greatly, lest he come and smite or slay the mothers with the sons [or with the children].
12Thou spakest that thou shouldest do well to me, and wouldest alarge my seed as [the] gravel of the sea, that may not be numbered for muchliness.
13And when Jacob had slept there in that night, he separated of those things which he had as gifts to Esau, his brother,
14two hundred she goats, and twenty bucks of goats, two hundred sheep, and twenty rams,
15camels full with their foals thirty, forty kine, and twenty bulls, twenty she-asses, and [the] ten foals of them.
16And he sent by the hands of his servants all the flocks by themselves; and he said to his servants, Go ye before me, and a space be betwixt flock and flock.
17And he commanded to the former or first, and said, If thou shalt meet my brother Esau, and he shall ask thee, whose man thou art, or whither thou goest, or whose be these things which thou followest,
18thou shalt answer, Of thy servant Jacob; he hath sent gifts to his lord Esau, and he cometh after us.
19In like manner, he gave command-ments to the second, and to the third, and to all that pursued [or followed] the flocks; and said, Speak ye by the same words to Esau, when ye find him,
20and ye shall add, Also Jacob himself thy servant pursueth [or followeth] our way. For Jacob said, I shall please Esau with gifts that go before, and afterward I shall see him; in hap he shall be merciful to me.
21And so the gifts went before him; soothly he dwelled in that night in the tents.
22And when Jacob had risen hastily, he took his two wives, and so many handmaids, with his eleven sons, and he passed over the ford of Jabbok.
23And when all things that pertained to him were led over,
24Jacob dwelled there alone, and, lo! a man came, and wrestled with him till to the morrowtide.
25And when the man saw that he might not overcome Jacob, he touched the sinew of Jacob’s hip, and it dried anon.
26And he said to Jacob, Let go thou me, for the morrowtide goeth up now. Jacob answered, I shall not let go thee, no but thou bless me.
27Therefore he said, What name is to thee? He answered, Jacob.
28And the man said, Thy name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel; for if thou were strong against God, how much more shalt thou have power against men.
29Jacob asked him, Say thou to me by what name thou art called? He answered, Why askest thou my name, which is wonderful? And he blessed Jacob in the same place.
30And Jacob called the name of that place Penuel, and said, I saw the Lord face to face, and my life is made safe.
31And anon the sun rose to him, after that he had passed over from Penuel; forsooth he halted in the foot.
32For which cause the sons of Israel eat not unto this present day the sinew, like that that dried in the hip of Jacob; for the man touched the sinew of Jacob’s hip, and it dried up.
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Genesis 32: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Genesis 32
32
Chapter 32
Jacob's journey home
1Jacob continued on his journey to his father's house. On his way the angels of God met him. #32:1 Jacob had seen the angels of God before. See Genesis 28:12. Now God sent his angels to meet Jacob again, to show that he was with Jacob. 2When Jacob saw them, he said, ‘This is where God's army has put up their tents!’ So he called that place Mahanaim.
3Jacob sent men with a message to his brother Esau. Esau was living in the land of Seir, also called Edom. 4Jacob told his men, ‘This is what you must say to my master Esau: Your servant Jacob says, “I have been staying with Laban until now. 5I have cows, donkeys, sheep and goats. I have male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord so that you will be happy with me.” ’
6When the men returned, they said to Jacob, ‘We went to your brother Esau. Now he is coming to meet you and he has 400 men with him.’ 7Jacob was very frightened and upset when he heard this. So he separated his people into two groups. He also separated his animals. 8He thought, ‘If Esau attacks one group, the other group may run away safely.’
9Then Jacob prayed, ‘God of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac, Lord, you said to me, “Go back to your country and to your relatives. I will do good things for you there.” 10You have always loved me. You have continued to be kind to me. I do not deserve this. When I crossed the Jordan River to go to Haran, I only had my stick. But now I can make two big groups of people and animals. 11I pray that you will save me from the power of my brother Esau. I am afraid that he will come and attack me. He may also attack my family. 12But you have said, “I will give you many good things. I will give you so many descendants that nobody will be able to count them. They will be as many as the pieces of sand on the shore of the sea.” ’ #32:12 See Genesis 28:14.
13Jacob stayed in that place for the night. He chose some of his animals as a gift for Esau. 14He chose 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep. 15He also chose 30 female camels, with their young ones, 40 cows and ten bulls, 20 female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16He told his servants to take care of them. He separated each group of animals from the other groups. Jacob said to his servants, ‘Go in front of me. Keep some space between each group of animals.’ 17He told the servant who led the first group of animals, ‘When my brother Esau meets you, he may ask, “Who do you belong to? Where are you going? Who do all these animals belong to?” 18Then you must say, “They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift that he has sent to my lord Esau. Jacob himself is coming behind us.” ’ 19Jacob also told the servants who led the other groups of animals, as well as the servants who followed behind them, ‘You are to say the same thing to Esau, when you meet him. 20You must also say “Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.” ’
Jacob thought, ‘Esau will be happy to receive my gifts. He will no longer be angry with me. Then, when I meet him, he will not hurt me.’ 21So Jacob sent the men with his gifts to go on to meet Esau. But he himself stayed in that place for the night.
22During the night Jacob took with him his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons. They went across the Jabbok river where there was a place to cross. #32:22 This part of the Jabbok river was not very deep. It was about 20 miles north of the Dead Sea. 23After Jacob had sent his family across, he also sent all his things across the stream. 24Then Jacob was alone. A man came and fought with him for a long time. #32:24 God came to Jacob as an angel. See Hosea 12:4-5. They continued until dawn.
25The man saw that he was not winning the fight against Jacob. So he hit Jacob's hip while they were fighting. #32:25 The hip is the top of a person's leg, where it joins his body. In that way, Jacob's hip moved out of its proper place. 26Then the man said to Jacob, ‘Now let me go because dawn has come.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’
27The man asked Jacob, ‘What is your name?’ Jacob replied, ‘My name is Jacob.’ 28Then the man said, ‘Your name will not be Jacob any longer. Your name will now be Israel. #32:28 Israel probably means ‘he fights with God’. God changed Jacob's name to give him a new beginning. That is because you have fought with God and you have fought with men. And you have won!’
29Then Jacob said, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But the man said, ‘Why do you want to know my name?’ Then he blessed Jacob in that place. 30So Jacob called the place Peniel. #32:30 Peniel means ‘face of God’. He said, ‘I have seen God face to face, and I am still alive!’
31The sun rose in the sky as Jacob passed through Peniel. He could not walk properly because of his hip.
32Even today, the Israelite people do not eat the meat of an animal where it joins to the hip. This is because God touched Jacob's hip. #32:32 The Israelites were the descendants of Jacob, who was now called Israel. Jacob's 12 sons became the ancestors of Israel's 12 tribes.
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