Genesis 32:1–21

Jacob Fears Esau

32And Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him. ²And when he saw them, Jacob said, “This is the camp of God!” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to the land of Seir, the territory of Edom. ⁴And he instructed them, saying, “Thus you must say to my lord, to Esau, ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, I have dwelled as an alien with Laban, and I have remained there until now. ⁵And I have acquired cattle, male donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves, and I have sent to tell my lord, to find favor in your eyes.’ ” ⁶And the messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We came to your brother, to Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” ⁷Then Jacob was very frightened and distressed. So he divided the people, flocks, cattle, and camels that were with him into two companies. ⁸And he thought, “If Esau comes to one company and destroys it, the remaining company will be able to escape.” ⁹Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Yahweh, who said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your family, and I will deal well with you.’ ¹⁰I am not worthy^a of all the loyal love and all the faithfulness that you have shown^b your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and attack me, mother and children alike. ¹²Now you yourself said, ‘I will surely deal well with you and make your offspring as the sand of the sea that cannot be counted for abundance.’ ”

¹³And he lodged there that night. Then he took from what he had with him^c a gift for Esau his brother: ¹⁴two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, ¹⁵thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶And he put them under the hand of his servants, herd by herd,^d and said to his servants, “Cross on ahead before me, and put some distance between herds.^{e 17}And he instructed the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother comes upon you and asks you, saying, ‘Whose are you and where are you going? To whom do these animals belong ahead of you?’ ¹⁸Then you must say, ‘To your servant, to Jacob. It is a gift sent to my lord, to Esau. Now behold, he is also coming after us.’ ” ¹⁹And he also instructed the second servant and the third, and everyone else who was behind the herds, saying, “You must speak to Esau according to this word when you find him. ²⁰And moreover, you shall say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he thought, “Let me appease him^f with the gift going before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will show me favor.”^{g 21}So the gift passed on before him, but he himself spent that night in the camp.