Genesis 28

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Isaac therefore called Jacob, greeted him with a blessing, and charged him: "You shall not marry a Canaanite woman!	1 And so Isaac called for Jacob, and he blessed him, and he instructed him, saying: “Do not be willing to accept a mate from the family of Canaan.
2 Go now to Paddan-aram, to the home of your mother's father Bethuel, and there choose a wife for yourself from among the daughters of your uncle Laban.	2 But go, and journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and there accept for yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your maternal uncle.
3 May God Almighty bless you and make you fertile, multiply you that you may become an assembly of peoples.	3 And may God almighty bless you, and may he cause you to increase and also to multiply, so that you may be influential among the people.
4 May he extend to you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham, so that you may gain possession of the land where you are staying, which he assigned to Abraham."	4 And may he give the blessings of Abraham to you, and to your offspring after you, so that you may possess the land of your sojourning, which he promised to your grandfather.”
5 Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way; he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.	5 And when Isaac had dismissed him, setting out, he went to Mesopotamia of Syria, to Laban, the son of Bethuel, the Syrian, the brother to Rebekah, his mother.
6 Esau noted that Isaac had blessed Jacob when he sent him to Paddan-aram to get himself a wife there, charging him, as he gave him his blessing, not to marry a Canaanite woman,	6 But Esau, seeing that his father had blessed Jacob and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to take a wife from there, and that, after the blessing, he had instructed him, saying: ‘You shall not accept a wife from the daughters of Canaan,’
7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.	7 and that Jacob, obeying his parents, had gone into Syria,
8 Esau realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac,	8 having evidence also that his father did not look with favor upon the daughters of Canaan,
9 so he went to Ishmael, and in addition to the wives he had, married Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.	9 he went to Ishmael, and he took as a wife, beside those he had before, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth.
10 Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.	10 Meanwhile Jacob, having departed from Beersheba, continued on to Haran.
11 When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set, he stopped there for the night. Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep at that spot.	11 And when he had arrived at a certain place, where he would rest after the setting of the sun, he took some of the stones that lay there, and placing them under his head, he slept in the same place.
12 Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God's messengers were going up and down on it.	12 And he saw in his sleep: a ladder standing upon the earth, with its top touching heaven, also, the Angels of God ascending and descending by it,
13 And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying: "I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants.	13 and the Lord, leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land, in which you sleep, I will give to you and to your offspring.
14 These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth, and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south. In you and your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.	14 And your offspring will be like the dust of the earth. You will spread abroad to the West, and to the East, and to the North, and to the Meridian. And in you and in your offspring, all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.
15 Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you."	15 And I will be your guardian wherever you will journey, and I will bring you back into this land. Neither will I dismiss you, until I have accomplished all that I have said.”
16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed, "Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!"	16 And when Jacob had awakened from sleep, he said, “Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!"	17 And being terrified, he said: “How terrible this place is! This is nothing other than the house of God and the gateway of heaven.”
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it.	18 Therefore, Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone which he had placed under his head, and he set it up as monument, pouring oil over it.
19 He called that site Bethel, whereas the former name of the town had been Luz.	19 And he called the name of the city, ‘Bethel,’ which before was called Luz.
20 Jacob then made this vow: "If God remains with me, to protect me on this journey I am making and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,	20 And then he made a vow, saying: “If God will be with me, and will guard me along the way by which I walk, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
21 and I come back safe to my father's house, the LORD shall be my God.	21 and if I will return prosperously to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God,
22 This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God's abode. Of everything you give me, I will faithfully return a tenth part to you."	22 and this stone, which I have set up as a monument, will be called ‘the House of God.’ And from all the things that you will give to me, I will offer tithes to you.”