You shall say, ‘Not only that, but behold, your servant, Jacob, is behind us.’ ” For, he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”
Parallel Translations
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You shall say, ‘Not only that, but behold, your servant, Jacob, is behind us.’ ” For, he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”
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And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
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(32-21) and ye shall say: Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us.' For he said: 'I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept me.'
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to Genesis 32:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 42:8-9 Now therefore, take to yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept him, that I not deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did what Yahweh commanded them, and Yahweh accepted Job.
- Proverbs 21:14 A gift in secret pacifies anger, and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath.
- Genesis 43:11 Their father, Israel, said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take from the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down a present for the man, a little balm, a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts, and almonds;
- 1 Samuel 6:5 Therefore you shall make images of your tumors and images of your mice that mar the land; and you shall give glory to the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his hand from you, from your gods, and from your land.
- 1 Samuel 25:17-35 Now therefore know and consider what you will do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his house; for he is such a worthless fellow that one can’t speak to him.” Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two containers of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five seahs of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. She said to her young men, “Go on before me. Behold, I am coming after you.” But she didn’t tell her husband, Nabal. As she rode on her donkey, and came down by the covert of the mountain, that behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him. He has returned me evil for good. God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.” When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got off her donkey, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. She fell at his feet, and said, “On me, my lord, on me be the blame! Please let your servant speak in your ears. Hear the words of your servant. Please don’t let my lord pay attention to this worthless fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, didn’t see my lord’s young men, whom you sent. Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has withheld you from blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal. Now this present which your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord. Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For Yahweh will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord fights Yahweh’s battles. Evil will not be found in you all your days. Though men may rise up to pursue you, and to seek your soul, yet the soul of my lord will be bound in the bundle of life with Yahweh your God. He will sling out the souls of your enemies, as from the hollow of a sling. It will come to pass, when Yahweh has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel, that this shall be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. When Yahweh has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.” David said to Abigail, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me! Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand. For indeed, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.” So David received from her hand that which she had brought him. Then he said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. Behold, I have listened to your voice, and have granted your request.”
- 1 Kings 20:31 His servants said to him, “See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our bodies, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will save your life.”
- Proverbs 6:35 He won’t regard any ransom, neither will he rest content, though you give many gifts.
- Proverbs 15:18 A wrathful man stirs up contention, but one who is slow to anger appeases strife.
- Proverbs 16:14 The king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.
- Jonah 3:9 Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?”
- 2 Timothy 2:25 in gentleness correcting those who oppose him: perhaps God may give them repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He thought it no loss to depart with these…
He thought it no loss to depart with these goods, to the intent he might follow the vocation whereunto God called him.
Hebrew, receive my face.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant…
Gen 32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob [is] behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me.
Ver. 20. Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us.] This he requires them all to insist on, lest Esau should think he meant, meanwhile, to escape some other way.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I will appease him; Heb. appease or allay his…
I will appease him; Heb. appease or allay his anger; for the Hebrew word panim signifies both anger, as Psa 21:9; 34:16, and face, as every where, because a man’s anger is most discernible in his face or countenance, Pro 21:14.
He will accept of me; Heb. will lift up my face or countenance, which now is dejected with the sense of his displeasure; compare Gen 4:6; or, will accept of my person, as this phrase is oft used.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And say ye moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is…
And say ye moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us,.... This is repeated to impress it upon their minds, that they might be careful of all things, not to forget that, it being a point of great importance; for the present would have signified nothing, if Jacob had not appeared in person; Esau would have thought himself, at best, but slighted; as if he was unworthy of a visit from him, and of conversation with him:
for he said: that is, Jacob, or "had said" (a), in his heart, within himself, as might be supposed from the whole of his conduct; for what follows are the words of Moses the historian, as Aben Ezra observes, and not of Jacob to his servants, nor of them to Esau:
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I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterwards I will see his face: he hoped the present would produce the desired effect; that it would turn away his wrath from him, and pacify him; and then he should be able to appear before him, and see his face with pleasure: or, "I will expiate his face" (b), as some render the words, or make him propitious and favourable; or cover his face, as Aben Ezra interprets it, that is, cause him to hide his wrath and resentment, that it shall not appear; or cause his fury to cease, as Jarchi; or remove his anger, wrath, and displeasure, as Ben Melech; all which our version takes in, by rendering it, "appease him"; and then:
peradventure he will accept of me: receive him with marks of tenderness and affection, and in a very honourable and respectable manner.
(a) "dicebat enim", Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Drusius. (b) "expiabo faciem ejus", Montanus; "propitium reddam", Drusius, Munster.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain He said, &c. These words were not to be…
He said, &c. These words were not to be related to Esau; they are the words of the sacred historian. There were probably five droves of goats, sheep, camels, kine and asses; by the successive presenting of which, Esau might be appeased.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 20. I will appease him — Here is a…
20. I will appease him — Here is a notable instance of metaphorical language. Literally, he says: “I will cover his face with the present which goes before me, and afterwards I will see his face; perhaps he will lift up my face. The word cover (כפר) is that so often used afterwards in connexion with expiation and atonement for sin. He would cover Esau’s face, so that he whom he had sinned against might cease to see the transgressions of the past. Those past offences hidden, he hopes himself to look on Esau’s face, as on one so far appeased as not to turn away from him, and refuse to see him. Then he hopes that there will come the further favour of Esau condescending to lift up his (Jacob’s) face — the downcast face of one prostrate in humility and contrition before him.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. I will appease him] Lit. “I will cover…
20. I will appease him] Lit. “I will cover his face,” in the sense of “I will propitiate.” The present will so “cover his face,” that Esau cannot look upon Jacob’s offence; cf. Gen_20:16. LXX renders ἐξιλάσομαι τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ. Cf. Pro_16:14 (the pacifying of a king’s wrath with a gift).
accept me] Lit. “lift up my face.” Cf. Gen_4:7, Gen_19:21; Mal_1:8.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (20) I will appease him.—The Heb. literally is, he…
(20) I will appease him.—The Heb. literally is, he said I will cover his face with the offering that goeth before my face, and afterwards I will see his face; peradventure he will lift up my face. The covering of the face of the offended person, so that he could no longer see the offence, became the usual legal word for making an atonement (Lev_9:7, &c). For the “offering” (Heb., minchah) see Gen_4:3; and for “the lifting up of the face,” Gen_4:7.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.