33Jacob looked up. And there was Esau, coming with his 400 men! So Jacob separated the children. He put them with Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. ²He put the servants and their children in front. He put Leah and her children next. And he put Rachel and Joseph last.

³He himself went on ahead. As he came near his brother, he bowed down to the ground seven times.

⁴But Esau ran to meet Jacob. He hugged him and threw his arms around his neck. He kissed him, and they cried. ⁵Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these people with you?” he asked.

Jacob answered, “They are the children God has so kindly given to me.”

⁶Then the female servants and their children came near and bowed down. ⁷Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel. They bowed down too.

⁸Esau asked, “Why did you send all of those herds I saw?”

“I hoped I could do something to please you,” Jacob replied.

⁹But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰“No, please!” said Jacob. “If I’ve pleased you, accept this gift from me. Seeing your face is like seeing the face of God. You have welcomed me so kindly. ¹¹Please accept the present that was brought to you. God has been gracious to me. I have everything I need.” Jacob wouldn’t give in. So Esau accepted it.

¹²Then Esau said, “Let’s be on our way. I’ll go with you.”

¹³But Jacob said to him, “You know that the children are young. You also know that I have to take care of the cows and female sheep that are nursing their little ones. If the animals are driven hard for just one day, all of them will die.

¹⁴“So you go on ahead of me. I’ll move along only as fast as the herds and the children can go. I’ll go slowly until I come to you in Seir.”

¹⁵Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”

“Why do that?” Jacob asked. “I just hope I’ve pleased you.”

¹⁶So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. ¹⁷But Jacob went to Succoth. There he built a place for himself. He also made shelters for his livestock. That’s why the place is named Succoth.

¹⁸After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan. He camped where he could see the city. ¹⁹For 100 pieces of silver he bought a piece of land. He got it from the sons of Hamor. Hamor was the father of Shechem. Jacob set up his tent on that piece of land. ²⁰He also set up an altar there. He named it El Elohe Israel.

Simeon and Levi Kill the Men of Shechem

34Dinah was the daughter Leah had by Jacob. Dinah went out to visit the women of the land.

²Hamor the Hivite was the ruler of that area. When his son Shechem saw Dinah, he took her and raped her. ³Then his heart longed for Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He fell in love with her and spoke tenderly to her.

⁴Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me that woman. I want her to be my wife.”

⁵Jacob heard that his daughter Dinah had been made “unclean.” His sons were in the fields with his livestock. So he kept quiet about it until they came home.

⁶Then Shechem’s father Hamor went out to talk with Jacob. ⁷Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields. They came as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with sadness and anger.

Shechem had done a very terrible thing. He had forced Jacob’s daughter to have sex with him. He had done something that should never be done in Israel.

⁸But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem wants your daughter. Please give her to him to be his wife.

⁹“Let your people and ours get married to each other. Give us your daughters as our wives. You can have our daughters as your wives. ¹⁰You can settle among us. Here is the land. Live in it. Trade in it. Buy property in it.”

¹¹Then Shechem spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers. He said, “I want to please you. I’ll give you anything you ask. ¹²Make the price for the bride as high as you want to. I’ll pay anything you ask me. Just give me the woman. I want to get married to her.”

¹³Their sister Dinah had been made “unclean.” So Jacob’s sons lied to Shechem and his father Hamor. ¹⁴They said to them, “We can’t do it. We can’t give our sister to a man who isn’t circumcised. That would bring shame on us. ¹⁵We’ll agree, but only on one condition. You will have to become like us. You will have to circumcise all of your males.

¹⁶“Then we’ll give you our daughters as your wives. And we’ll take your daughters as our wives. We’ll settle among you and become one people with you. ¹⁷But if you won’t agree to it, then we’ll take our sister and go.”

¹⁸Their offer seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹The young man was the most honored of all of the men in his father’s family. He didn’t lose any time in doing what they said, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.

²⁰Hamor and his son Shechem went to the city gate. They spoke to the other men in town. ²¹“These men are friendly toward us,” they said. “Let them live in our land. Let them trade in it. The land has plenty of room for them. We can get married to their daughters. And they can marry ours.

²²“But they will agree to live with us as one people only on one condition. All of our males must be circumcised, just as they are.

²³“Won’t their livestock and their property belong to us? Won’t all of their animals become ours? So let’s say yes to them. Then they’ll settle among us.”

²⁴All of the men who went out through the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So every male in the city was circumcised.

²⁵Three days later, all of them were still in pain. Then Simeon and Levi took their swords. They were Jacob’s sons and Dinah’s brothers. They attacked the city when the people didn’t expect it. They killed every male. ²⁶They also killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords. Then they took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left.

²⁷Jacob’s other sons found the dead bodies. They robbed the city where their sister had been made “unclean.” ²⁸They took the flocks and herds and donkeys. They took everything that was in the city and out in the fields. ²⁹They carried everything away. And they took all of the women and children. They took away everything that was in the houses.

³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me. Now I’m like a very bad smell to the Canaanites and Perizzites who live in this land. There aren’t many of us. They may join together against me and attack me. Then I and my family will be destroyed.”

³¹But they replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”

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