²⁰and Isaac was forty years old when he took ^aRebekah, the ^bdaughter of Bethuel the ¹Aramean of Paddan-aram, the ^csister of Laban the ²Aramean, to be his wife.

²¹And Isaac entreated Yahweh on behalf of his wife because she was barren; and ^aYahweh ¹was moved by his entreaty. So Rebekah his wife ^bconceived.

²²But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to ^ainquire of Yahweh.

²³And Yahweh said to her,

“^aTwo nations are in your womb;

^bAnd two peoples will be separated from your body;

And one people shall be stronger than the other;

And ^cthe older shall serve the younger.”

²⁴And her days to give birth were fulfilled, and behold, there were twins in her womb.

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Footnotes

1Lit begot
1Syrian
2Syrian
1Lit was entreated of him

Cross references

a Matt 1:2
a Gen 24:15, 29, 67
b Gen 22:23
c Gen 24:29
a 1 Sam 1:17; 1 Chr 5:20; 2 Chr 33:13; Ezra 8:23; Ps 127:3
b Rom 9:10
a 1 Sam 9:9; 10:22
a Gen 17:4–6, 16; Num 20:14; Deut 2:4, 8
b Gen 27:29
c Gen 27:40; Mal 1:2, 3; Rom 9:12

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the older shall serve the younger.”

When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

These are the family records of Isaac son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took as his wife Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord was receptive to his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her:

Two nations are in your womb;

two peoples will come from you and be separated.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.

When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.

NLTNew Living Translation

This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.

Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.

And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins!

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now these are the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham fathered Isaac, And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-Aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, as his wife. And Isaac prayed to Yahweh on behalf of his wife, for she was barren. And Yahweh responded to his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children in her womb jostled each other, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, why be pregnant?” And she went to inquire of Yahweh. And Yahweh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from birth shall be divided. And one people shall be stronger than the other. And the elder shall serve the younger.” And when her days to give birth were completed, then—behold—twins were in her womb.

KJV 1900King James Version

And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian. And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said unto her,

Two nations are in thy womb,

And two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;

And the one people shall be stronger than the other people;

And the elder shall serve the younger.

And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

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