Jubilees 27

Esau hated Jacob on account of the blessing his father had given him, and he said in his heart: The days of mourning for my father are near. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.

REF And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him, and he said in his heart: 'The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.'

The intentions of Esau, her elder son, were revealed to Rebekah in a dream. She sent for Jacob, her younger son, and called him to her.

REF And the words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebecca in a dream, and Rebecca sent and called Jacob her younger son,

She said to him: Your brother Esau is planning to take revenge on you by killing you.

REF and said unto him: 'Behold Esau thy brother will take vengeance on thee so as to kill thee.

So now, my son, listen to me. Get up and flee to my brother Laban in Haran,

REF Now, my son, obey my voice; arise and flee to Laban, my brother, to Haran,

and stay with him for a while, until your brother's fury fades and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there.

REF and dwell with him a few days, until thy brother's anger turns away, and he removes his anger from thee, and forgets all that thou hast done to him; then I will send and fetch thee from thence.'

Jacob said: I am not afraid. If he wants to kill me, I will kill him.

REF And Jacob said: 'I am not afraid; if he wishes to kill me, I will kill him.'

Rebekah said to him: Let me not lose both my sons in a single day.

REF And she said unto him: 'Let me not be bereft of both my sons on one day.'

Jacob said to his mother Rebekah: You know that father has grown old and cannot see. If I leave him, it will seem wrong in his eyes — that I abandoned him and left you. My father will be angry and curse me. I will not go unless he sends me himself.

REF And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother: 'Behold, thou knowest that my father has become old, and does not see because his eyes are dull, and if I leave him, it will be evil in his eyes, because I leave him and go away from you, and my father will be angry, and will curse me. I will not go; when he sends me, then only will I go.'

Rebekah said to Jacob: I will go and speak to him, and he will send you on your way.

REF And Rebecca said to Jacob: 'I will go in and speak to him, and he will send thee away.'

Rebekah went in to Isaac and said: I am weary of life because of the Hittite women Esau has married. If Jacob also takes a wife from the daughters of this land — from women like these — why should I go on living? The daughters of Canaan are wicked.

REF And Rebecca went in and said to Isaac: 'I loathe my life because of the two daughters of Heth, whom Esau has taken him as wives; and if Jacob take a wife from among the daughters of the land such as these, for what should I live? for the daughters of Canaan are evil.'

Isaac called Jacob, blessed him, and charged him, saying:

REF And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and admonished him, and said unto him:

Do not take a wife from any of the daughters of Canaan. Get up and go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother.

REF 'Do not take thee a wife of any of the daughters of Canaan; arise and go to Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's father, and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother.

May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you become a company of peoples. May he give you the blessings of Abraham — to you and your offspring after you — so that you may possess the land where you have lived as a foreigner, all the land God gave to Abraham. Go in peace, my son.

REF And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest become a multitude of peoples, and give thee the blessings of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed after thee, that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings and all the land which God gave to Abraham: go, my son, in peace.'

So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he journeyed to Mesopotamia, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's mother.

REF And Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Mesopotamia, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca, Jacob's mother.

After Jacob set out for Mesopotamia, Rebekah's spirit was stricken with grief for her son, and she wept.

REF And it came to pass after Jacob had risen to go to Mesopotamia that the spirit of Rebecca was grieved after her son, and she wept.

Isaac said to Rebekah: My sister, do not weep for Jacob our son. He goes in peace, and in peace he will return.

REF And Isaac said to Rebecca: 'My sister, weep not on account of Jacob, my son; he goeth in peace, and in peace will he return.

The Most High God will guard him from all harm and will be with him, for he will never abandon him all his days.

REF The Most High God will preserve him from all evil, and will be with him; for He will not forsake him all his days;

I know that his ways will prosper in everything, wherever he goes, until he returns to us safely and we see him in peace.

REF For I know that his ways will be prospered in all things wherever he goes, until he return in peace to us, and we see him in peace.

Do not be afraid for him, my sister, for he walks the upright path and is a blameless man. He is faithful and will not perish. Do not weep.

REF Fear not on his account, my sister, for he is on the upright path and he is a perfect man: and he is faithful and will not perish. Weep not.'

Isaac comforted Rebekah concerning her son Jacob, and he blessed him.

REF And Isaac comforted Rebecca on account of her son Jacob, and blessed him.

Jacob departed from Beer-sheba to go to Haran, in the first year of the second week of the forty-fourth jubilee. He arrived at Luz in the hill country — that is, Bethel — at the new moon of the first month of this week. He came to the place at evening and turned off the road to the west. He slept there, for the sun had set.

REF And Jacob went from the Well of the Oath to go to Haran in the first year of the second week of the forty-fourth jubilee, and he came to Luz on the mountains, that is, Bethel, on the new moon of the first month of this week, and he came to the place at even and turned from the way to the west of the road that night: and he slept there; for the sun had set.

He took one of the stones from that place and laid it under the tree, for he was traveling alone, and he fell asleep.

REF And he took one of the stones of that place, and laid under the tree, for he was travelling alone, and he slept.

That night he had a dream: a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of the Lord were going up and down on it. And there above it stood the Lord.

REF And he dreamed that night, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and behold, the angels of the Lord ascended and descended on it: and behold, the Lord stood upon it.

He spoke to Jacob and said: I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying — I will give it to you and to your offspring after you. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and the east, to the north and the south. In you and in your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.

REF And He spake to Jacob and said: 'I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou art sleeping, to thee will I give it and to thy seed after thee, and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the nations be blessed.

I am with you. I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land in safety. I will not leave you until I have done everything I have promised you.

REF And behold, I will be with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and I will bring thee again into this land in peace; for I will not leave thee, until I do that which I have told thee of.'

Jacob woke from his sleep and said: Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it!

REF And Jacob awaked from his sleep, and said, 'Truly this place is the house of God, and I knew it not.'

He was awestruck and said: How awesome is this place! This is nothing less than the house of God — this is the gate of heaven. Then Jacob made a vow: If God will be with me and guard me on this journey, and give me food to eat and clothing to wear, so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of everything you give me, I will set apart a tenth for you.

REF And he was afraid and said: 'How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.' And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: 'If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God, and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house, and of all that Thou givest me I will give the tenth unto Thee.'