Read the Bible

¹ And Iacob went on his way, and the Angels of God met him. ² And when Iacob saw them, he said, This is Gods hoste: and hee called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³ And Iacob sent messengers before him, to Esau his brother, vnto the land of Seir, the countrey of Edom. ⁴ And he commaunded them, saying, Thus shall ye speake vnto my lord Esau, Thy seruant Iacob saith thus, I haue soiourned with Laban, and stayed there vntill now. ⁵ And I haue oxen, and asses, flockes, and men seruants and women seruants: and I haue sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. ⁶ And the messengers returned to Iacob, saying, Wee came to thy brother Esau, and also he commeth to meet thee, and foure hundred men with him. ⁷ Then Iacob was greatly afraid, and distressed, and he diuided the people that was with him, and the flockes, and herdes, and the camels into two bands, ⁸ And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left, shall escape.

⁹ And Iacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst vnto me, Returne vnto thy countrey, and to thy kinred, and I will deale well with thee: ¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the trueth, which thou hast shewed vnto thy seruant: for with my staffe I passed ouer this Iordan, and now I am become two bands. ¹¹ Deliuer me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I feare him, lest he will come, and smite me, and the mother with the children. ¹² And thou saidst, I will surely doe thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbred for multitude.

¹³ And he lodged there that same night, and tooke of that which came to his hand, a present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ Two hundred shee goats, and twentie hee goats, two hundred ewes, and twentie rammes, ¹⁵ Thirtie milch camels with their colts, fortie kine, and ten bulles, twenty shee ashes, and ten foales. ¹⁶ And hee deliuered them into the hand of his seruants, euery droue by themselues, and said vnto his seruants, Passe ouer before me, and put a space betwixt droue and droue. ¹⁷ And he commanded the formost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? ¹⁸ Then thou shalt say, They be thy seruant Iacobs: it is a present sent vnto my lord Esau: and behold also, he is behind vs. ¹⁹ And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droues, saying, On this maner shal you speake vnto Esau, when you find him. ²⁰ And say ye moreouer, Beholde, thy seruant Iacob is behind vs: for he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peraduenture he will accept of me. ²¹ So went the present ouer before him: and himselfe lodged that night in the company. ²² And hee rose vp that night, and tooke his two wiues, and his two women seruants, and his eleuen sonnes, and passed ouer the foord Iabbok. ²³ And he tooke them, and sent them ouer the brooke, and sent ouer that hee had.

²⁴ And Iacob was left alone: and there wrestled a man with him, vntill the breaking of the day. ²⁵ And when he saw, that he preuailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh: and the hollow of Iacobs thigh was out of ioynt, as hee wrestled with him. ²⁶ And he said, Let me goe, for the day breaketh: and he said, I will not let thee goe, except thou blesse me. ²⁷ And he said vnto him, what is thy name? and he said, Iacob. ²⁸ And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Iacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God, and with men, and hast preuailed. ²⁹ And Iacob asked him, and saide, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name: and he said, wherefore is it, that thou doest aske after my name? and he blessed him there. ³⁰ And Iacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I haue seene God face to face, and my life is preserued. ³¹ And as he passed ouer Penuel, the sunne rose vpon him, and he halted vpon his thigh. ³² Therefore the children of Israel eate not of the sinewe which shranke, which is vpon the hollow of the thigh, vnto this day: because hee touched the hollow of Iacobs thigh, in the sinewe that shranke.