9. Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’
10. I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps!
11. O lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children.
12. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”
13. Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau:
14. 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams,
15. 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys.
16. He divided these animals into herds and assigned each to different servants. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me with the animals, but keep some distance between the herds.”
17. He gave these instructions to the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, he will ask, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’
18. You must reply, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob, but they are a gift for his master Esau. Look, he is coming right behind us.’”
19. Jacob gave the same instructions to the second and third herdsmen and to all who followed behind the herds: “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him.
20. And be sure to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’”Jacob thought, “I will try to appease him by sending gifts ahead of me. When I see him in person, perhaps he will be friendly to me.”
21. So the gifts were sent on ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp.