28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him; and he commanded him saying, “You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.¹ 28:2 Depart immediately² for Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethel the father of your mother, and take a wife for yourself from there, from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.³ 28:3 May God Almighty⁴ bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you,⁵ so that you become⁶ a company of people.⁷ 28:4 And may he give to you the blessing of Abraham,⁸ to you and to your descendants⁹ with you, that you may inherit the land¹⁰ which God gave to Abraham, the land of your temporary dwellings.”¹¹ 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way. And he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel, the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

28:6 When¹² Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to take a wife for himself from there, and that¹³ when he blessed him¹⁴ he commanded him saying, “You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 28:7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had departed for Paddan Aram, 28:8 then Esau realized¹⁵ that the daughters of Canaan were displeasing¹⁶ in the eyes of Isaac his father; 28:9 so Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and the daughter of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, for his wife, along with the wives he already had.

28:10 Jacob left¹⁷ Beersheba and started to go¹⁸ to Haran. 28:11 When¹⁹ he came on²⁰ a place he spent the night there because the sun had gone down.²¹ He took²² one²³ of the stones of the place and set it at the place for his head;²⁴ and then lay down in that place. 28:12 And he dreamed, and there was²⁵ a stairway²⁶ standing on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens; and there the angels of God²⁷ were going up and coming down on it; 28:13 and there the LORD stood above it. And he said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying will I give to you and to your descendants.²⁸ 28:14 And your descendants²⁹ will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out³⁰ to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.³¹

28:15 And I am with you,³² and will protect you³³ wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have said to you.”

28:16 Then Jacob woke up from his sleep; and he thought,³⁴ “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I knew it not!” 28:17 He was afraid,³⁵ and he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other³⁶ than the house of God;³⁷ this is the gate of heaven!”

28:18 And early³⁸ in the morning Jacob took the stone³⁹ which he had placed at his head and set it up as a standing stone⁴⁰ and poured oil on the top of it. 28:19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el,⁴¹ although formerly the name of the city was Luz.⁴²

28:20 Then Jacob vowed a vow,⁴³ saying,
“If God will be with me
and protect me on this journey
in which I am going,
and will give me bread to eat
and clothing to wear,
28:21 and I return in peace
to the house of my father,
and the LORD becomes my God,
then⁴⁴ this stone which I have placed
as a standing stone
will be the house of God,
and of all that you give to me
I will indeed give a tenth to you.”