Genesis 32:11

Then Jacob said to God, “I’m frightened of my brother Esau. Maybe he will come and attack me and kill me, and even kill my wives and my kids. God, please save us from my brother.

Plain English Version

In The King James Version

Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.

In Context

10God, you are my boss. You have been very good to me, just like you promised. I can always trust you. You did lots of good things for me, even though I’m not an important person. When I left my home country and I crossed over the Jordan River, I only had a walking stick with me. Now I’m going back to my home country, and I have lots and lots of people and animals with me. Yes, I have enough people and animals to make 2 camps.”

12Remember that promise you made to me. You said, ‘I promise that I will be good to you, and I will give you a really big family. Lots of kids and grand-kids will be born into your family later on, and they will become a really big mob of people. Nobody will be able to count them, just like nobody can count all those little bits of sand that are at the beaches by the sea.’ Please be good to me and my family, God, just like you promised. Please don’t let my brother kill us.”

Read all of Genesis 32

Cross References

Genesis 27:41Esau was really angry, because Jacob tricked their father, and their father made Jacob the next leader for their family. So Esau hated Jacob. And Esau said to himself, “My father is going to die soon. When he dies, we will all cry for a time, and then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

Matthew Henry on Genesis 32:10-13

Jacob's Prayer. ( b. c. 1739.) 9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. 11 Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Genesis 32:11