The First Book of Moses: Genesis

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 28 -

And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, saying: Take not a wife of the stock of Chanaan:

But go, and take a journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bathuel thy mother’s father, and take thee a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy uncle.

And God almighty bless thee, and make thee to increase, and multiply thee: that thou mayst be a multitude of people.

And give the blessings of Abraham to thee, and to thy seed after thee: that thou mayst possess the land of thy sojournment, which he promised to thy grandfather.

And when Isaac had sent him away, he took his journey and went to Mesopotamia of Syria to Laban the son of Bathuel the Syrian, brother to Rebecca his mother.

Esau Marries Mahalath

And Esau seeing that his father had blessed Jacob, and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to marry a wife thence; and that after the blessing he had charged him, saying: Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Chanaan:

And that Jacob obeying his parents was gone into Syria:

Experiencing also that his father was not well pleased with the daughters of Chanaan:

He went to Ismael, and took to wife, besides them he had before, Maheleth the daughter of Ismael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nabajoth.

Jacob’s Ladder

But Jacob being departed from Bersabee, went on to Haran.

And when he was come to a certain place, and would rest in it after sunset, he took of the stones that lay there, and putting under his head, slept in the same place.

And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it;

And the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land, wherein thou sleepest, I will give to thee and to thy seed.

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth: thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and IN THEE and thy seed all the tribes of the earth SHALL BE BLESSED.

And I will be thy keeper whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee back into this land: neither will I leave thee, till I shall have accomplished all that I have said.

And when Jacob awaked out of sleep, he said: Indeed the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.

And trembling he said: How terrible is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and the gate of heaven.

The Stone of Bethel

And Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone, which he had laid under his head, and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it.

And he called the name of the city Bethel, which before was called Luza.

And he made a vow, saying: If God shall be with me, and shall keep me in the way by which I walk, and shall give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,

And I shall return prosperously to my father’s house: the Lord shall be my God:

And this stone, which I have set up for a title, shall be called the house of God: and of all things that thou shalt give to me, I will offer tithes to thee.

Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and commanded him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.

May God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples,

and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which God gave to Abraham.”

Isaac sent Jacob away. He went to Paddan Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.

Esau Marries Mahalath

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a command, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;”

and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan Aram.

Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn’t please Isaac, his father.

So Esau went to Ishmael, and took, in addition to the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

Jacob’s Ladder

Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran.

He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.

He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give the land you lie on to you and to your offspring.

Your offspring will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your offspring, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”

Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I didn’t know it.”

He was afraid, and said, “How awesome this place is! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”

The Stone of Bethel

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 on its top.

He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

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 clothing to put on,

so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and the LORD will be my God,

then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to you.”