In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his mature strength he contended with God.
Parallel translations
- WEB In the womb he took his brother by the heel; and in his manhood he contended with God.
- KJV He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
- BSB In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel, and in his vigor he wrestled with God.
- NKJV He took his brother by the heel in the womb, And in his strength he struggled with God.
- NLT Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Recalling Jacob grasping his brother's heel and wrestling with God, the prophet uses Israel's ancestor as a mirror of the nation. It urges them to consider their heritage and turn back.
Overview
Jacob's grasping at birth and his striving with God recall a man marked by both struggle and God's transforming grace. The reference invites Israel to see in their forefather both their natural waywardness and the possibility of being changed by an encounter with God. It sets up the call to return in verse 6.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Gen 25:26After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel. He was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
- Gen 32:24–28Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day.
- Jas 5:16–18Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
- Rom 9:11For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 12:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.