Genesis 28:1-22 AMP

[1] So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, “You shall not marry one of the women of Canaan. [2] Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take from there as a wife for yourself one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. [3] May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a [great] company of peoples. [4] May He also give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the [promised] land of your sojournings, which He gave to Abraham.” [5] Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. [6] Now Esau noticed that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife for himself from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a prohibition, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” [7] and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. [8] So Esau realized that [his two wives] the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac his father; [9] and [to appease his parents] Esau went to [the family of] Ishmael and took as his wife, in addition to the wives he [already] had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth [Ishmael’s firstborn son]. [10] Now Jacob left Beersheba [never to see his mother again] and traveled toward Haran. [11] And he came to a certain place and stayed overnight there because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down there [to sleep]. [12] He dreamed that there was a ladder (stairway) placed on the earth, and the top of it reached [out of sight] toward heaven; and [he saw] the angels of God ascending and descending on it [going to and from heaven]. [13] And behold, the LORD stood above and around him and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your [father’s] father and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land [of promise] on which you are lying. [14] Your descendants shall be as [countless as] the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south; and all the families (nations) of the earth shall be blessed through you and your descendants. [15] Behold, I am with you and will keep [careful watch over you and guard] you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this [promised] land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” [16] Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, “Without any doubt the LORD is in this place, and I did not realize it.” [17] So he was afraid and said, “How fearful and awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven.” [18] So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took the stone he had put under his head and he set it up as a pillar [that is, a monument to the vision in his dream], and he poured [olive] oil on the top of it [to consecrate it]. [19] He named that place Bethel (the house of God); the previous name of that city was Luz (Almond Tree). [20] Then Jacob made a vow (promise), saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear, [21] and if [He grants that] I return to my father’s house in safety, then the LORD will be my God. [22] This stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument, memorial) will be God’s house [a sacred place to me], and of everything that You give me I will give the tenth to You [as an offering to signify my gratitude and dependence on You].”