^28:16Then Jacob woke up³² and thought,³³ “Surely the Lord is in this place, but I did not realize it!” ^28:17He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

^28:18Early³⁴ in the morning Jacob³⁵ took the stone he had placed near his head³⁶ and set it up as a sacred stone.³⁷ Then he poured oil on top of it. ^28:19He called that place Bethel,³⁸ although the former name of the town was Luz. ^28:20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food³⁹ to eat and clothing to wear, ^28:21and I return safely to my father’s home,⁴⁰ then the Lord will become my God. ^28:22Then this stone⁴¹ that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely⁴² give you back a tenth of everything you give me.”⁴³

Read in Logos

Genesis 28:17: And 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.”

Footnotes

32 Heb “woke up from his sleep.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
33 Heb “said.”
34 Heb “and he got up early … and he took.”
35 Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
36 See the note on this phrase in v. .
37 Heb “standing stone.” Sacred stone. Such a stone could be used as a boundary marker, a burial stone, or as a shrine. Here the stone is intended to be a reminder of the stairway that was “erected” and on which the Lord “stood.” (In Hebrew the word translated “sacred stone” is derived from the verb translated “erected” in v. 12 and “stood” in v. 13. Since the top of the stairway reached the heavens where the Lord stood, Jacob poured oil on the top of the stone. See C. F. Graesser, “Standing Stones in Ancient Palestine,” 35 (1972): 34–63; and E. Stockton, “Sacred Pillars in the Bible,” 20 (1972): 16–32.
38 The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17). For location see ; ; ; ; .
39 Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.
40 Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”
41 The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.
42 The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.
43 Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And 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.”

So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made 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 wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is none other than the house of God. This is the gate of heaven.”

Early in the morning Jacob took the stone that was near his head and set it up as a marker. He poured oil on top of it and named the place Bethel, though previously the city was named Luz. Then Jacob made a vow: “If God will be with me and watch over me during this journey I’m making, if he provides me with food to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return safely to my father’s family, then the Lord will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a marker will be God’s house, and I will give to you a tenth of all that you give me.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”

The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel (which means “house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.

Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Yahweh is indeed in this place and I did not know!” Then he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is nothing else than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” And Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a stone pillar, and poured oil on top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel; however, the name of the city was formerly Luz. And Jacob made a vow saying, “If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear, and if I return in peace to the house of my father, then Yahweh will become my God. And this stone that I have set up as a pillar shall be the house of God, and of all that you give to me I will certainly give a tenth to you.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And 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. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. And 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, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Public Domain