Genesis 28

All 22 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

Read Genesis 28 in the Bible reader, with audio →

  1. 1Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and gave him this instruction: "You must not marry any of the Canaanite women."
  2. 2"Travel to Padanaram, to the household of Bethuel, your mother's father, and find a wife there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother."
  3. 3"May God Almighty bless you, make you fruitful, and multiply you until you become a great community of peoples."
  4. 4"May he grant you the blessing of Abraham — to you and your descendants — so that you may possess the land where you have been living as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham."
  5. 5Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he traveled to Padanaram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Syrian, who was the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
  6. 6Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Padanaram to find a wife there, and that when blessing him, Isaac had commanded him, "You must not marry any of the Canaanite women."
  7. 7He also saw that Jacob had listened to his father and mother and had left for Padanaram.
  8. 8Esau realized that the Canaanite women were displeasing to his father Isaac.
  9. 9So Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael and the sister of Nebajoth, adding her to the wives he already had.
  10. 10Jacob departed from Beersheba and set out for Haran.
  11. 11He came to a certain place and stopped there for the night because the sun had gone down. He took some of the stones from that spot, placed them under his head, and lay down to sleep.
  12. 12He had a dream in which he saw a ladder resting on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and the angels of God were going up and coming down on it.
  13. 13The LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. The ground you are lying on I will give to you and your descendants."
  14. 14"Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, the east, the north, and the south. Through you and your offspring, every family on earth will be blessed."
  15. 15"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not abandon you until I have accomplished everything I have promised you."
  16. 16Jacob woke from his sleep and said, "The LORD is truly in this place, and I did not realize it."
  17. 17He was afraid and said, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."
  18. 18Jacob got up early the next morning, took the stone he had placed under his head, stood it upright as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
  19. 19He named that place Bethel, though the city had previously been known as Luz.
  20. 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and protect me on this journey, and provide me with food to eat and clothing to wear,
  21. 21so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God.
  22. 22This stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of everything you give me, I will surely return a tenth to you."