4. May the Lord give you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham. Then you may own the land where you are now living as a stranger. This is the land God gave to Abraham.”
5. So Isaac sent Jacob to Northwest Mesopotamia. Jacob went to Laban, the brother of Rebekah. Bethuel, the Aramean, was the father of Laban and Rebekah. And Rebekah was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6. Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Northwest Mesopotamia. Jacob went to find a wife there. Esau also learned that Isaac had commanded Jacob not to marry a Canaanite woman.
7. And Esau learned that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother. He had gone to Northwest Mesopotamia.
8. So Esau saw that his father Isaac did not want his sons to marry Canaanite women.
9. Now Esau already had wives. But he went to Ishmael son of Abraham. And he married Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter. Mahalath was the sister of Nebaioth.
10. Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
11. He came to a place and spent the night there because the sun had set. He found a stone there and laid his head on it to go to sleep.
12. Jacob dreamed that there was a ladder resting on the earth and reaching up into heaven. And he saw angels of God going up and coming down the ladder.
13. And then Jacob saw the Lord standing above the ladder. The Lord said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your grandfather. And I am the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are now sleeping.
14. Your descendants will be as many as the dust of the earth. They will spread west and east, north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.
15. I am with you, and I will protect you everywhere you go. And I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16. Then Jacob woke from his sleep. He said, “Surely the Lord is in this place. But I did not know it.”
17. Jacob was afraid. He said, “This place frightens me! It is surely the house of God and the gate of heaven.”