11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. 12 Then he (A)dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there (B)the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 (C)And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: (D)“I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; (E)the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your (F)descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad (G)to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and (H)in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. 15 Behold, (I)I am with you and will (J)keep[a] you wherever you go, and will (K)bring you back to this land; for (L)I will not leave you (M)until I have done what I have spoken to you.”

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in (N)this place, and I did not know it. 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

18 Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, (O)set it up as a pillar, (P)and poured oil on top of it. 19 And he called the name of (Q)that place [b]Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:15 protect
  2. Genesis 28:19 Lit. House of God

11 When he reached a certain place,(A) he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head(B) and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream(C) in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.(D) 13 There above it[a] stood the Lord,(E) and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac.(F) I will give you and your descendants the land(G) on which you are lying.(H) 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you(I) will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south.(J) All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.[b](K) 15 I am with you(L) and will watch over you(M) wherever you go,(N) and I will bring you back to this land.(O) I will not leave you(P) until I have done what I have promised you.(Q)(R)

16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep,(S) he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place!(T) This is none other than the house of God;(U) this is the gate of heaven.”

18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head(V) and set it up as a pillar(W) and poured oil on top of it.(X) 19 He called that place Bethel,[c](Y) though the city used to be called Luz.(Z)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 28:13 Or There beside him
  2. Genesis 28:14 Or will use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
  3. Genesis 28:19 Bethel means house of God.