Genesis 32

¹Forsothe Jacob wente forth in the weie in which he began, and the aungels of the Lord metten him.

²And whanne he hadde seyn hem, he seide, These ben the castels of God; and he clepide the name of that place Manaym, that is, castels.

³Sotheli Jacob sente bifore him also messangeris to Esau, his brother, in to the lond of Seir, in the cuntrey of Edom;

⁴and comaundide to hem, and seide, Thus speke ye to my lord Esau, Thi brothir Jacob seith these thingis, Y was a pilgrym at Laban, `and Y was `til in to present dai;

⁵Y haue oxun, and assis, and scheep, and seruauntis, and hand maydis, and Y sende now a message to my lord, that Y fynde grace in thi siyt.

⁶And the messageris turneden ayen to Jacob, and seiden, We camen to Esau, thi brother, and lo! he hastith in to thi comyng, with foure hundrid men.

⁷Jacob dredde greetli, and he was aferd, and departide the puple that was with hym, and he departide the flockis, and scheep, and oxun, and camels, in to twei cumpenyes;

⁸and seide, If Esau schal come to o cumpeny, and schal smyte it, the tothir cumpeny which is residue schal be saued.

⁹And Jacob seide, A! God of my fadir Abraham, and God of my fadir Isaac, A! Lord, that seidist to me, Turne thou ayen in to thi lond, and in to the place of thi birthe, and Y schal do wel to thee,

¹⁰Y am lesse than alle thi merciful doyngis, and than thi treuthe which thou hast fillid to thi seruaunt; with my staf Y passide this Jordan, and now Y go ayen with twei cumpanyes;

¹¹delyuere thou me fro the hond of my brothir Esau, for Y drede him greetli, lest he come and sle the modris with the sones.

¹²Thou spakist that thou schuldist do wel to me, and shuldist alarge my seed as the grauel of the see, that mai not be noumbrid for mychilnesse.

¹³And whanne Jacob hadde slept there in that nyyt, he departide of tho thingis whiche he hadde yiftis to Esau, his brothir,

¹⁴two hundrid geet, and twenti buckis of geet, two hundrid scheep, and twenti rammys,

¹⁵camels fulle with her foolis thretti, fourti kyen, and twenti boolis, twenti sche assis, and ten foolis of hem.

¹⁶And he sente bi the hondis of his seruauntis alle flockis bi hem silf; and he seide to hise children, Go ye bifore me, and a space be betwixe flok and flok.

¹⁷And he comaundide to the formere, and seide, If thou schalt mete my brothir Esau, and he schal axe thee, whos man thou art, ether whidir thou goist, ether whos ben these thingis whiche thou suest,

¹⁸thou schalt answere, Of thi seruaunt Jacob, he hath sent yiftis to his lord Esau, and he cometh aftir vs.

¹⁹In lijk maner, he yaf comaundementis to the secounde, and to the thridde, and to alle that sueden flockis; and seide, Speke ye bi the same wordis to Esau,

²⁰whanne ye fynden hym, and ye schulen adde, Also Jacob hym silf thi seruaunt sueth oure weie. For Jacob seide, Y schal plese Esau with yiftis that goon bifore, and aftirward Y schal se hym; in hap he schal be mercyful to me.

²¹And so the yiftis yeden bifore hym; sotheli he dwellide in that nyyt in the tentis.

²²And whanne Jacob hadde arise auysseli, he took hise twei wyues, and so many seruauntessis with enleuen sones, and passide the forthe of Jaboth.

²³And whanne alle thingis that perteyneden to hym weren led ouer, he dwellide aloone, and, lo!

²⁴a man wrastlide with him til to the morwetid.

²⁵And whanne the man seiy that he miyte not ouercome Jacob, he touchide the senewe of Jacobis hipe, and it driede anoon.

²⁶And he seide to Jacob, Leeue thou me, for the morewtid stieth now. Jacob answeride, Y schal not leeue thee, no but thou blesse me.

²⁷Therfore he seide, What name is to thee? He answeride, Jacob.

²⁸And the man seide, Thi name schal no more be clepid Jacob, but Israel; for if thou were strong ayens God, hou miche more schalt thou haue power ayens men.

²⁹Jacob axide him, Seie thou to me bi what name thou art clepid? He answerde, Whi axist thou my name, whiche is wondirful? And he blesside Jacob in the same place.

³⁰And Jacob clepide the name of that place Fanuel, and seide, Y siy the Lord face to face, and my lijf is maad saaf.

³¹And anoon the sunne roos to hym, aftir that he passide Fanuel; forsothe he haltide in the foot.

³²For which cause the sones of Israel eten not `til in to present day the senewe, that driede in the hipe of Jacob; for the man touchide the senewe of Jacobs hipe, and it driede.

Genesis 32

¹And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

²And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

⁴And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now:

⁵And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.

⁶And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.

⁷Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;

⁸And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.

⁹And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee:

¹⁰I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.

¹¹Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

¹²And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

¹³And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother;

¹⁴Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams,

¹⁵Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals.

¹⁶And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.

¹⁷And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?

¹⁸Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob’s; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us.

¹⁹And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him.

²⁰And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.

²¹So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company.

²²And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

²³And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.

²⁴And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

²⁵And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.

²⁶And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

²⁷And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.

²⁸And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.

²⁹And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

³⁰And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

³¹And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.

³²Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.