Genesis 28:17
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And fear came on him, and he said, This is a holy place; this is nothing less than the house of God and the doorway of heaven.
Webster's Revision
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is no other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
World English Bible
He was afraid, and said, "How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God's house, and this is the gate of heaven."
English Revised Version (ERV)
And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Clarke's Genesis 28:17 Bible Commentary
How dreadful is this place! - The appearance of the ladder, the angels, and the Divine glory at the top of the ladder, must have left deep, solemn, and even awful impressions on the mind of Jacob; and hence the exclamation in the text, How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God - The Chaldee gives this place a curious turn: "This is not a common place, but a place in which God delights; and opposite to this place is the gate of heaven." Onkelos seems to suppose that the gate or entrance into heaven was actually above this spot, and that when the angels of God descended to earth, they came through that opening into this place, and returned by the same way. And it really appears that Jacob himself had a similar notion.
Wesley's Genesis 28:17 Bible Commentary
28:17 He was afraid - So far was he from being puffed up. The more we see of God, the more cause we see for holy trembling and blushing before him. Those whom God is pleased to manifest himself to, are laid and kept very low in their own eyes, and see cause to fear even the Lord and his goodness, Hos 3:5. And said, How dreadful is this place! - That is, the appearance of God in this place is to be thought of, but with a holy awe and reverence; I shall have a respect for this place, and remember it by this token as long as I live. Not that he thought the place itself any nearer the divine visions than any other places; but what he saw there at this time was, as it were, the house of God, the residence of the Divine Majesty, and the gate of heaven, that is, the general rendezvous of the inhabitants of the upper world; as the meetings of a city were in their gates; or, the angels ascending and descending were like travellers passing and repassing through the gates of a city.