Genesis 28:10-22

Contemporary English Version

Jacob's Dream at Bethel

^10 (A) Jacob left the town of Beersheba and started out for Haran. ¹¹ At sunset he stopped for the night and went to sleep, resting his head on a large rock. ^12 (B) In a dream he saw a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, and God's angels were going up and down on it.

^13 (C) The Lord was standing beside the ladder^[a] and said:

I am the Lord God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. ^14 (D) Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.^{[b] 15} Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won't leave you—I will do all I have promised.

¹⁶ Jacob woke up suddenly and thought, “The Lord is in this place, and I didn't even know it.” ¹⁷ Then Jacob became frightened and said, “What a frightening place! It must be the house of God and the gateway to heaven.”

¹⁸ When Jacob got up early the next morning, he took the rock that he had used for a pillow and stood it up as a place of worship. Then he poured olive oil on the rock to dedicate it to God, ¹⁹ and he named the place Bethel.^[c] Before that it had been named Luz.

²⁰ Jacob solemnly promised God, “If you go with me and watch over me as I travel, and if you give me food and clothes ²¹ and bring me safely home again, you will be my God. ²² This rock will be your house, and I will give back to you a tenth of everything you give me.”