28Genesis 28

1Isaac called Jacob, greeted him, and told him, “Don't marry a Canaanite.Select Genesis 28:1

2Go instead to Mesopotamia, to the home of your grandfather Bethuel, and marry one of the young women there, one of your uncle Laban's daughters.Select Genesis 28:2

3May Almighty God bless your marriage and give you many children, so that you will become the father of many nations!Select Genesis 28:3

4May he bless you and your descendants as he blessed Abraham, and may you take possession of this land, in which you have lived and which God gave to Abraham!”Select Genesis 28:4

5Isaac sent Jacob away to Mesopotamia, to Laban, who was the son of Bethuel the Aramean and the brother of Rebecca, the mother of Jacob and Esau.Select Genesis 28:5

Esau Takes Another Wife

6Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Mesopotamia to find a wife. He also learned that when Isaac blessed him, he commanded him not to marry a Canaanite woman.Select Genesis 28:6

7He found out that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Mesopotamia.Select Genesis 28:7

8Esau then understood that his father Isaac did not approve of Canaanite women.Select Genesis 28:8

9So he went to Ishmael son of Abraham and married his daughter Mahalath, who was the sister of Nebaioth.Select Genesis 28:9

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

10Jacob left Beersheba and started toward Haran.Select Genesis 28:10

11At sunset he came to a holy place and camped there. He lay down to sleep, resting his head on a stone.Select Genesis 28:11

12He dreamed that he saw a stairway reaching from earth to heaven, with angels going up and coming down on it.Select Genesis 28:12

13And there was the Lord standing beside him. “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham and Isaac,” he said. “I will give to you and to your descendants this land on which you are lying.Select Genesis 28:13

14They will be as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth. They will extend their territory in all directions, and through you and your descendants I will bless all the nations.Select Genesis 28:14

15Remember, I will be with you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done all that I have promised you.”Select Genesis 28:15

16Jacob woke up and said, “The Lord is here! He is in this place, and I didn't know it!”Select Genesis 28:16

17He was afraid and said, “What a terrifying place this is! It must be the house of God; it must be the gate that opens into heaven.”Select Genesis 28:17

18Jacob got up early next morning, took the stone that was under his head, and set it up as a memorial. Then he poured olive oil on it to dedicate it to God.Select Genesis 28:18

19He named the place Bethel. (The town there was once known as Luz.)Select Genesis 28:19

20Then Jacob made a vow to the Lord: “If you will be with me and protect me on the journey I am making and give me food and clothing,Select Genesis 28:20

21and if I return safely to my father's home, then you will be my God.Select Genesis 28:21

22This memorial stone which I have set up will be the place where you are worshiped, and I will give you a tenth of everything you give me.”Select Genesis 28:22