Genesis 28:17-22

28:17 He was afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! This is nothing else than the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!”

28:18 Early ¹  in the morning Jacob ²  took the stone he had placed near his head ³  and set it up as a sacred stone. ⁴  Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, ⁵  although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food ⁶  to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, ⁷  then the Lord will become my God. 28:22 Then this stone ⁸  that I have set up as a sacred stone will be the house of God, and I will surely ⁹  give you back a tenth of everything you give me.” ¹⁰ 

[28:18]  ¹ tn Heb “and he got up early…and he took.”

[28:18]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[28:18]  ³ tn See the note on this phrase in v. 11.

[28:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “standing stone.”

[28:19]  ⁵ tn The name Bethel means “house of God” in Hebrew (see v. 17).

[28:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “bread,” although the term can be used for food in general.

[28:21]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I return in peace to the house of my father.”

[28:22]  ⁸ tn The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/subject) is used to highlight the statement.

[28:22]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb for emphasis.

[28:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and all which you give to me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.” The disjunctive clause structure (conjunction + noun/object) highlights this statement as well.