Genesis 32:1-21 - Jacob Fears Esau

¹ And Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him. ² And when he saw them, Jacob said, "This [is] the camp of God!" And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to the land of Seir, the territory of Edom. ⁴ And he instructed them, saying, "Thus you must say to my lord, to Esau, 'Thus says your servant Jacob, I have dwelled as an alien with Laban, and I have remained [there] until now. ⁵ And I have acquired cattle, male donkeys, flocks, and male and female slaves, and I have sent to tell my lord, to find favor in your eyes.'"

⁶ And the messengers returned to Jacob [and] said, "We came to your brother, to Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men [are] with him." ⁷ Then Jacob was very frightened and distressed. So he divided the people, flocks, cattle, and camels that [were] with him into two companies. ⁸ And he thought, "If Esau comes to one company and destroys it, the remaining company will be [able] to escape."

⁹ Then Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Yahweh, who said to me, 'Return to your land and to your family, and I will deal well with you.' ¹⁰ {I am not worthy} of all the loyal love and all the faithfulness that you have shown your servant, for with [only] my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Please rescue me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and attack mother and children [alike]. ¹² Now you yourself said, 'I will surely deal well with you and make your offspring as the sand of the sea that cannot be counted for abundance.'"

¹³ And he lodged there that night. Then he took {from what he had with him} a gift for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their young, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten male donkeys. ¹⁶ And he put [them] under the hand of his servants, {herd by herd}, and said to his servants, "Cross on ahead before me, and put some distance {between herds}.

¹⁷ And he instructed the foremost, saying, "When Esau my brother comes upon you and asks you, saying, 'Whose [are] you and where are you going? To whom do these [animals] belong ahead of you?' ¹⁸ Then you must say, 'To your servant, to Jacob. It [is] a gift sent to my lord, to Esau. Now behold, he [is] also [coming] after us.'"

¹⁹ And he also instructed the second [servant] and the third, and everyone [else] who [was] behind the herds, saying, "You must speak to Esau according to this word when you find him. ²⁰ And moreover, you shall say, 'Look, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.'" For he thought, "{Let me appease him} with the gift going before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will {show me favor}."

²¹ So the gift passed on before him, but he himself spent that night in the camp.