1 Isaac summoned Jacob, blessed him, and gave him a firm charge, saying, “Do not take a wife {ishah: marriage partner} from the daughters {mibnot: female descendants} of Canaan.”
2 Get up {kum: decisive response} and proceed to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take for yourself a wife from there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother {akhi: maternal uncle}.
3 May God Almighty {El Shaddai, Faithful Blesser} bestow blessing upon you, foster your fruitfulness, and bring about your multiplication, that you may stand as a gathering {kahal: covenant community} of peoples.
4 May God {Elohim, Covenant Blessing Giver} grant you the blessing of Abraham—to you and to your descendants {zara: covenant offspring} with you—so that you may inherit the land where you sojourn, which He gave to Abraham.
5 So Isaac {Yitschak: Laughter Name} sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean {haArammi: Ethnic Identifier}, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob {Yaakov: younger chosen heir} and had sent him to Paddan-aram to take for himself a wife from there, and he observed that, in blessing him, he commanded him, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan {Kena'an: idolatrous region}.”
7 Jacob obeyed {shama: responsive compliance} his father and his mother, and he went on to Paddan-aram {padan-aram: northern homeland region}.
8 And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were displeasing {raot: viewed as unsuitable} in the eyes of Isaac his father {’ābîw: family patriarch}.
9 Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath as his wife, the daughter of Ishmael, son of Abraham {Avraham: Covenant Ancestor}, and sister of Nebaioth, in addition to his wives {nashav: Existing Spouses}.
10 Jacob {yaaqov: heel-grabber name} departed from Beer-Sheba and journeyed toward Haran {charan: trade-route town}.
11 He came upon a certain place {maqom: unspecified location} and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. He took some stones {avnei: loose stones} from that place, set them near his head, and lay down there.
12 He dreamed, and behold, a ladder {sulam: vertical structure} stood on the earth, and its top reached to the heavens; and behold, the angels of God {Elohim, Sovereign Sender} were going up and coming down on it.
13 And behold, the LORD {YHWH, Faithful Promise-Giver} was standing above it, and He said, “I am the LORD, the God {Elohei, God of the Patriarchs} of Abraham your forefather and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying, I will give to you and to your descendants.”
14 Your descendants will become like the dust {kaafar: innumerable multitudes} of the land, and you will extend to the west, east, north, and south; through you and your seed all the clans {mishpechot: clan groups} of the earth will be blessed.
15 And behold, I {YHWH, Faithful Preserver} am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken {dibbarti: solemnly declared} to you.
16 Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD {YHWH, Manifest Presence} is in this place {makom: sacred location}, and I did not know it.”
17 He was afraid and said, “How awe-inspiring is this place {makom: sacred meeting site}! This is nothing other than the house of God {Elohim, Manifest Presence}, and this is the gate of heaven.”
18 Jacob rose early in the morning, took the stone {even: single large stone} he had placed under his head, set it upright as a pillar, and poured oil {shemen: consecrating liquid} on its top.
19 He called the name of that place Bethel {bet-el: house of God}, though Luz was the earlier {la-rishonah: at first} name of the city.
20 Jacob vowed a vow {neder: solemn promise}, saying, “If God {Elohim, Faithful Protector} will be with me and will guard me along this path I am taking, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,”
21 And I return in peace {shalom: full well-being} to my father’s house, then the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Promise Keeper} will be God to me.
22 And this stone that I have set as a pillar will be the house of God {Elohim, Holy Recipient of Worship}, and from all that You give me I will surely give a tenth {a’asrennu: wholehearted tithe} to You.