Genesis 32

₁Jacob went on and there were angels of God who came to him. ₂When Jacob saw them, he said: ‘This is a camp of God's soldiers’ and he named that place Mahanaim.

₃Jacob sent a message to his brother Esau. Esau was in the land of Seir, the land of the Edomites. ₄Jacob told the men to tell his brother Esau: ‘Sir, I am your servant Jacob. I was a stranger and stayed with Laban, and I have lived there until now. ₅Now I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, goats, slaves and slave women. I am sending you a message now. I want to know if you will be friendly to me.’

₆When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said to him: ‘We came to your brother Esau, but he is already coming to you and there are 400 men with him.’

₇Jacob became afraid and very worried. He divided all the people who were with him into 2 groups, and all the sheep, goats, cattle and camels. ₈He said: ‘If Esau attacks one group, then the other group can flee.’

₉Jacob prayed to God and said: ‘God of my grandfather Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, You told me to go back to my land and to my family and You said that You would be good to me. ₁₀I am not an important man but You were very good to me and You have done everything that You promised me. I have only my staff with me that I had when I went through the Jordan River a long time ago. Now these 2 big groups of people and animals belong to me. ₁₁Lord, please protect me from my brother Esau, because I am afraid of him. I am afraid that he will attack me and the women and children. ₁₂Lord, You have promised and said to me: “I will be good to you. I will make your descendants as many as the grains of sand of the sea. There will be so many that no one will be able to count them.” ’

₁₃Jacob slept there that night. He took some of his animals and he sent a gift to his brother Esau. ₁₄His gift was 20 goat-rams and 200 ewes, 200 sheep ewes and 20 rams, ₁₅30 camel cows and their calves, 40 cows and 10 bulls, and 20 donkey mares and 10 donkey stallions. ₁₆Jacob gave the animals to his servants. He gave a flock of animals to each of them and he told them: ‘Walk before me, but keep each flock of animals separate.’

₁₇Jacob told his first servant: ‘When my brother Esau comes to you and he asks you whose slave you are, where you are going and whose animals these are, ₁₈you must tell him: “Sir, they belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift that he sends to you. He is also coming. He is behind us.” ’

₁₉Jacob said the same to the 2nd slave and the 3rd slave and to all the other slaves who followed the flocks of animals. He told them what they must say to Esau when they came to him. ₂₀They also had to say to Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob is also coming. He is behind us.’ Jacob said to himself: ‘I am sending these gifts for Esau to make him friendly. When I come to him, maybe he will be friendly to me.’ ₂₁Jacob first sent the gifts and then he went himself. That night he stayed in the camp.

₂₂Jacob got up that night. He took his 2 wives, his 2 servant women and his 11 sons, and they went through the Jabbok River. ₂₃He sent them through the river and then he also sent his animals through the river. ₂₄Jacob stayed behind, and he was alone.

A Man came to him and wrestled with him until just before the sun came up the next day. ₂₅When the Man saw that He could not win against Jacob, He touched Jacob's hip. Jacob's hip was hurt so badly that he could not walk well after that. ₂₆The Man said to Jacob: ‘Let Me go because the sun will be coming up and it is almost day.’

But Jacob said to Him: ‘You must first bless me, then I will let You go.’ ₂₇The Man asked Jacob: ‘What is your name?’ And he said: ‘Jacob.’

₂₈The Man said: ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob. From now on you will be Israel.’ The name Israel means: ‘You have wrestled with God and with people and you have won’.

₂₉Jacob asked: ‘Please tell me your name.’ And the Man said: ‘Why do you ask what my name is?’ The Man blessed Jacob there.

₃₀Jacob named that place Peniel. He said: ‘I have seen God. He was so near me that I could see his face and I did not die.’

₃₁The sun came up when Jacob went away from Peniel. Jacob could not walk well because his hip was hurt. ₃₂That is why the Israelites never eat the meat from the muscle in the hip bone of an animal, because the Man touched Jacob's hip.