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Jacob Meets Esau

¹ Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, ^(C1)Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children ^(F1)among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.² He put the maids and their children ^(F1)in front, and Leah and her children ^(F2)next, and Rachel and Joseph ^(F2)last.³ But he himself passed on ahead of them and ^(C1)bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

⁴ Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and ^(C1)fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.⁵ He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, "^(F1)Who are these with you?" So he said, "^(C1)The children whom God has graciously given your servant."⁶ Then the maids came near ^(F1)with their children, and they bowed down.⁷ Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down.⁸ And he said, "What do you mean by ^(C1)all this company which I have met?" And he said, "^(C2)To find favor in the sight of my lord."⁹ But Esau said, "^(C1)I have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own."¹⁰ Jacob said, "No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, ^(F1)for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably.¹¹ "Please take my ^(F1)(C1)gift which has been brought to you, ^(C2)because God has dealt graciously with me and because I have ^(F2)plenty." Thus he urged him and he took it.

¹² Then ^(F1)Esau said, "Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you."¹³ But he said to him, "My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are ^(F1)a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die.¹⁴ "Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at ^(C1)Seir."

¹⁵ Esau said, "Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me." But he said, "^(F1)What need is there? ^(C1)Let me find favor in the sight of my lord."¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.¹⁷ Jacob journeyed to ^(F1)(C1)Succoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth.

Jacob Settles in Shechem

¹⁸ Now Jacob came safely to the city of ^(C1)Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from ^(C2)Paddan-aram, and camped before the city.^19 (C1)He bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, for one hundred ^(F1)pieces of money.²⁰ Then he erected there an altar and called it ^(F1)El-Elohe-Israel.