1Forsooth Jacob raised up his eyes, and saw Esau coming, and four hundred men with him; and he parted the sons of Leah, and of Rachel, and of both the servantesses.

2And he put ever either handmaid, and the free children of them, in the beginning; soothly he put Leah, and her sons, in the second place; forsooth he put Rachel and Joseph the last.

3And Jacob went before, and worshipped or honoured lowly to the earth seven times, till his brother nighed.

4And so Esau ran against his brother, and embraced him, and Esau held his neck, and kissed him, and wept.

5And when Esau’s eyes were raised up, he saw the women, and the little children of them, and said, What will these mean to themselves? and whether they pertain to thee? Jacob answered, They be the little children, which God hath given to me, thy servant.

6And the handmaids and their sons nighed, and were bowed.

7Also Leah nighed with her free children; and when they had worshipped in like manner, Joseph and Rachel last worshipped.

8And Esau said, What be these companies, which I met? And Jacob answered, That I should find grace before my lord.

9And he said, My brother, I have full many things, thy things be to thee.

10And Jacob said, I beseech thee, do not thou so, but if I have found grace in thine eyes, take thou a little gift of mine hands; for I saw so thy face as if I had seen the cheer of God; be thou merciful to me,

11and receive the blessing which I have brought to thee, and which blessing God giving all things gave to me. Scarcely desiring it, while the brother compelled, he received,

12and said, Go we together, and I shall be a fellow of thy way.

13And Jacob said, My lord, thou knowest that I have little children tender, and sheep, and kine with calves with me, and if I shall make them for to travail more in going, all the flocks shall die in one day;

14my lord go before his servant, and I shall pursue [or follow] little and little his steps, as I see that my little children be able, till I come to my lord, into Seir.

15Esau answered, I pray thee, that of the people which is with me, dwell they namely fellows of thy way. Jacob said, It is no need; I have need to this one thing only, that I find grace in thy sight, my lord.

16And so Esau turned again in that day in the way by which he came, into Seir.

17And Jacob came into Succoth, where when he had builded an house, and had set tents, he called the name of that place Succoth, that is, taber-nacles.

18And Jacob passed into Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, after that he turned again from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he dwelled beside the city.

19And he bought for an hundred lambs a part of the field, in which he set tabernacles, of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

20And when he had raised an altar there, he inwardly called on it the full strong God of Israel.

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Genesis 33

1And 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 maidservants;

2and he setteth the maid-servants and their children first, and Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.

3And he himself passed over before them, and boweth himself to the earth seven times, until his drawing nigh unto his brother,

4and Esau runneth to meet him, and embraceth him, and falleth on his neck, and kisseth him, and they weep;

5and 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.’

6And the maid-servants draw nigh, they and their children, and bow themselves;

7and Leah also draweth nigh, and her children, and they bow themselves; and afterwards Joseph hath drawn nigh with Rachel, and they bow themselves.

8And 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.’

9And Esau saith, ‘I have abundance, my brother, let it be to thyself that which thou hast.’

10And 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;

11receive, 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,

12and saith, ‘Let us journey and go on, and I go on before thee.’

13And 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.

14Let 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.’

15And 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.’

16And turn back on that day doth Esau on his way to Seir;

17and 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.

18And 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,

19and 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;

20and he setteth up there an altar, and proclaimeth at it God — the God of Israel.

maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society

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Genesis 33

Genesis 33