Jacob

After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.

Because Isaac had a taste for wild game, he loved Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished.

He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

“First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied.

“Swear to me first,” Jacob said. So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright.

Then Jacob gave some bread and lentil stew to Esau, who ate and drank and then got up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I overheard your father saying to your brother Esau,

Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am smooth-skinned.

And Rebekah took the finest clothes in the house that belonged to her older son Esau, and she put them on her younger son Jacob.

Then she handed her son Jacob the tasty food and bread she had made.

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”

Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau, or not?”

So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt.

So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.

Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.

So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”

and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.

Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.

When Jacob woke up, he said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”

Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,

Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.

“My brothers,” Jacob asked the shepherds, “where are you from?” “We are from Haran,” they answered.

As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.

Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father.

When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him all that had happened.

Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”

Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.

Finally Jacob said to Laban, “Grant me my wife, for my time is complete, and I want to sleep with her.”

And Jacob did just that. He finished the week’s celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”

So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,

and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.

And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,

When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.

“What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.

Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

Jacob set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laban’s animals.

Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches.

But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

Now Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.”

And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed.

Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were,

In that dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘Here I am.’

Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on camels,

Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away.

On the third day Laban was informed that Jacob had fled.

But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there as well.

Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war!

I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

“I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.

If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.

Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. “What is my crime?” he said. “For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me?

But Laban answered Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne?

So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar,

and he said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate.

Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.

Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is the mound, and here is the pillar I have set up between you and me.

May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God.” So he named that place Mahanaim.

Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

He instructed them, “You are to say to my master Esau, ‘Your servant Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban and have remained there until now.

When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you—he and four hundred men with him.”

In great fear and distress, Jacob divided his people into two camps, as well as the flocks and herds and camels.

Then Jacob declared, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, the LORD who told me, ‘Go back to your country and to your kindred, and I will make you prosper,’

then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift, sent to my lord Esau. And behold, Jacob is behind us.’”

You are also to say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is right behind us.’” For he thought, “I will appease Esau with the gift that is going before me. After that I can face him, and perhaps he will accept me.”

So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak.

When the man saw that he could not overpower Jacob, he struck the socket of Jacob’s hip and dislocated it as they wrestled.

“What is your name?” the man asked. “Jacob,” he replied.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”

And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.

So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was struck near that tendon.

Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.

But Jacob insisted, “No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me favorably.

but Jacob went on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and shelters for his livestock; that is why the place was called Succoth.

After Jacob had come from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped just outside the city.

Now Dinah, the daughter Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land.

And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.

Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter Dinah, but since his sons were with his livestock in the field, he remained silent about it until they returned.

Meanwhile, Shechem’s father Hamor came to speak with Jacob.

When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.

But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.

The young man, who was the most respected of all his father’s household, did not hesitate to fulfill this request, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.

Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.

Jacob’s other sons came upon the slaughter and looted the city, because their sister had been defiled.

Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”

Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.

So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem.

As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.

So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.

After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.

And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel.

So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him—a stone marker—and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.

Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.

Israel again set out and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder.

While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:

The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

And the sons of Leah’s maidservant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.

Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, old and full of years. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Later, Esau took his wives and sons and daughters and all the people of his household, along with his livestock, all his other animals, and all the property he had acquired in Canaan, and he moved to a land far away from his brother Jacob.

These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites:

Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.

This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.

Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.” “I am ready,” Joseph replied.

Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.”

So the sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, since the famine had also spread to the land of Canaan.

When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them:

Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my sons. Joseph is gone and Simeon is no more. Now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is going against me!”

“Why did you bring this trouble upon me?” Israel asked. “Why did you tell the man you had another brother?”

And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.

So the sons of Israel did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, and he also gave them provisions for their journey.

So the brothers went up out of Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.

“Joseph is still alive,” they said, “and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them.

However, when they relayed all that Joseph had told them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back, the spirit of their father Jacob was revived.

“Enough!” declared Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I will go to see him before I die.”

So Israel set out with all that he had, and when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.

Then Jacob departed from Beersheba, and the sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him, along with their children and wives.

They also took the livestock and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt.

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

These are the sons of Leah born to Jacob in Paddan-aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of sons and daughters was thirty-three.

These are the sons of Jacob born to Zilpah—whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah—sixteen in all.

The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

These are the sons of Rachel born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

These are the sons of Jacob born to Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel—seven in all.

All those belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt—his direct descendants, besides the wives of Jacob’s sons—numbered sixty-six persons.

And with the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob’s family who went to Egypt were seventy in all.

Joseph prepared his chariot and went there to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, embraced him, and wept profusely.

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Finally I can die, now that I have seen your face and know that you are still alive!”

Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

“How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.

“My travels have lasted 130 years,” Jacob replied. “My years have been few and hard, and they have not matched the years of the travels of my fathers.”

Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from his presence.

Now the Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and became fruitful and increased greatly in number.

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the length of his life was 147 years.

When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,

“Swear to me,” Jacob said. So Joseph swore to him, and Israel bowed in worship at the head of his bed.

When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up in bed.

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me

When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, “Who are these?”

Now Israel’s eyesight was poor because of old age; he could hardly see. Joseph brought his sons to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

“I never expected to see your face again,” Israel said to Joseph, “but now God has let me see your children as well.”

And Joseph took both of them—with Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand—and brought them close to him.

But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.

So that day Jacob blessed them and said: “By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather around so that I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come:

Come together and listen, O sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

Dan shall provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.

Yet he steadied his bow, and his strong arms were tempered by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, in the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.

When Jacob had finished instructing his sons, he pulled his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and he was gathered to his people.

And Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So they embalmed him,

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely visit you and bring you up from this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

And Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath and said, “God will surely attend to you, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:

The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.

Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel.

The LORD also said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”

These are the journeys of the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt by their divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

On the fifteenth day of the first month, on the day after the Passover, the Israelites set out from Rameses. They marched out defiantly in full view of all the Egyptians,

The Israelites set out from Rameses and camped at Succoth.

At the LORD’s command, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor and died there on the first day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt.

Now the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.

But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.

After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”

When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

After Joshua had dismissed the people, the Israelites went out to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.

Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,

and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.

Israel was greatly impoverished by Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD.

Now when the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian,

Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.

but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.

that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for this is My doing.’” So they listened to the word of the LORD and turned back according to the word of the LORD.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.

Instead, he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites: Bela son of Beor. His city was named Dinhabah.

The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

By the seventh month, the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All offspring of Israel, revere Him!

You are my King, O God, who ordains victories for Jacob.

The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

He chooses our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom He loves. Selah

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When God restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

Consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, so it may be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah

May those who hope in You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of Hosts; may those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel.

So I will praise You with the harp for Your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praise to You with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

But I will proclaim Him forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob.

At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and rider lie stunned.

With power You redeemed Your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children,

Therefore the LORD heard and was filled with wrath; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and His anger flared against Israel,

from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

for they have devoured Jacob and devastated his homeland.

For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

For this is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

O LORD God of Hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. You showed favor to Your land, O LORD; You restored Jacob from captivity.

The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.

When Israel departed from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,

how he swore an oath to the LORD, and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:

until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.

He has raised up a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!

For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.

So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring in some Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—