35 After these things had happened, God said to Jacob, ‘Go to Bethel and live there. Build an altar to worship me. I am the God who appeared to you when you were running away from Esau.’ 2 So Jacob told the people in his house and everyone who was with him, ‘Throw out all the foreign idols that you have with you. Wash your body very well and put on clean clothes. 3 Then we will go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to worship God. He is the one who answered me when I was in trouble. And he has been with me everywhere that I went.’
4 So the people gave to Jacob all their idols and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried these things under the oak tree near Shechem city. 5 Then they began their journey. All the towns near there were afraid of God's power. So no one attacked Jacob and his people.
6 Jacob and everyone with him arrived at Luz, now called Bethel. That is in the land of Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar there. He called the place El Bethel, because that was where God appeared to him. [ a ] God had appeared to him when he was running away from his brother Esau.
8 Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died at that time. Jacob buried her under the oak tree near Bethel. That is why they call the place Allon Bacuth. [ b ]
9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again. God blessed Jacob. 10 He said to Jacob, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.’ So God gave the name Israel to Jacob. [ c ]
11 Then God said to him, ‘I am Almighty God. Give birth to many children so that your descendants become very many. They will become many nations and some of them will be kings. 12 I give to you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I will give this land to your descendants that come after you.’ [ d ]
13 Then God went away from the place where he spoke to Jacob. 14 Jacob set up a special stone on the ground. It showed the place where God had spoken to him. He poured a drink offering on the stone. He also poured olive oil on it. 15 In that way, Jacob called the place where God spoke to him Bethel.
16 Then they left Bethel and they continued to travel. When they were still a long way from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth. She had a lot of pain. 17 As she was having even more pain, the woman who was helping her said, ‘Do not be afraid. You have another son!’ 18 But Rachel was dying. With her last breath, she gave to her son the name Ben-Oni. But Jacob, his father, called him Benjamin. [ e ]
19 After Rachel died, they buried near the road that goes to Ephrath. [ f ] 20 Jacob set up a special stone over the place where they buried Rachel. This stone still shows the place.
21 Israel then travelled on again. [ g ] He put up his tents beyond Migdal Eder. 22 While Israel stayed there, his son Reuben had sex with Bilhah. She was Israel's slave wife, and Israel heard what had happened.
Jacob had 12 sons:
23 The sons of Leah were Jacob's firstborn, Reuben, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.
24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachel's servant, Bilhah, were Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Leah's servant, Zilpah, were Gad and Asher.
Those were Jacob's sons who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob arrived back at his father Isaac's home. This was in Mamre, also called Kiriath Arba, or Hebron. It was the place where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28 Isaac lived for 180 years. 29 Then he died and he joined his ancestors. He was an old man who had lived a long life. His sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.
35 God said to Jacob, “Go to the town of Bethel. [ a ] That is where I appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau. Live there and make an altar to honor me as El, [ b ] the God who appeared to you.”
2 So Jacob told his family and all the other people with him, “Destroy all these foreign gods that you have. Make yourselves pure. Put on clean clothes. 3 We will leave here and go to Bethel. There I will build an altar to the God who has always helped me during times of trouble. He has been with me wherever I have gone.”
4 So the people gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had, and they gave him all the rings they were wearing in their ears. He buried everything under an oak tree near the town called Shechem.
5 Then Jacob and his sons left that place. The people in the surrounding cities wanted to follow and kill them, but God filled them with such great fear that they did not go after them. 6 So Jacob and his people went to Luz, which is now called Bethel. It is in the land of Canaan. 7 Jacob built an altar there. He named the place “El Bethel.” [ c ] Jacob chose this name because that is the place where God first appeared to him when he was running from his brother.
8 Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died there. They buried her under the oak tree at Bethel. They named that place Allon Bacuth. [ d ]
9 When Jacob came back from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again. God blessed Jacob 10 and said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but I will change that name. You will no longer be called Jacob. Your new name will be Israel. [ e ] ” So God named him Israel.
11 God said to him, “I am God All-Powerful, [ f ] and I give you this blessing: Have many children and grow into a great nation. Other nations and other kings will come out of you. 12 I gave Abraham and Isaac some special land. Now I give the land to you and to all your people who will live after you.” 13 Then God left that place. 14-15 Jacob set up a memorial stone there. He made the rock holy by pouring wine and oil on it. This was a special place because God spoke to Jacob there, and Jacob named the place Bethel.
16 Jacob and his group left Bethel. Before they came to Ephrath, Rachel began giving birth to her baby. 17 She was having a lot of trouble with this birth. She was in great pain. When her nurse saw this, she said, “Don’t be afraid, Rachel. You are giving birth to another son.”
18 Rachel died while giving birth to the son. Before dying, she named the boy Benoni. [ g ] But Jacob called him Benjamin. [ h ]
19 Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob put a special rock on Rachel’s grave to honor her. That special rock is still there today. 21 Then Israel continued his journey. He camped just south of Eder tower. [ i ]
22 Israel stayed there for a short time. While he was there, Reuben slept with Israel’s slave woman Bilhah. Israel heard about this, and he was very angry. [ j ]
These are the names of Jacob’s twelve sons:
23 His firstborn son was Reuben, whose mother was Leah. Jacob’s other sons by Leah were Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
24 His sons by Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
25 His sons by Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, were Dan and Naphtali.
26 His sons by Zilpah, Leah’s maid, were Gad and Asher.
These were Jacob’s sons who were born in Paddan Aram.
27 Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath Arba (Hebron). This is where Abraham and Isaac had lived. 28 Isaac lived 180 years. 29 Then Isaac became weak and died and went to be with his people. He had lived a long and full life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
35 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
2 Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4 And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
5 And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
7 And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
8 But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.
9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel.
11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins;
12 And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
13 And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
16 And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
23 The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
24 The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.
27 And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
28 And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
29 And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to ( A ) Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to ( B ) God, who appeared to you ( C ) when you fled [ a ] from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob said to his ( D ) household and to all who were with him, “Remove ( E ) the foreign gods which are among you, and ( F ) purify yourselves and change your garments; 3 and let’s arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make ( G ) an altar there to God, ( H ) who answered me on the day of my distress and ( I ) has been with me [ b ] wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which [ c ] they had and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the [ d ] oak which was near Shechem.
5 As they journeyed, there was [ e ] ( J ) a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to ( K ) Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 Then ( L ) he built an altar there, and called the place [ f ] El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled [ g ] from his brother. 8 Now ( M ) Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak; and it was named [ h ] Allon-bacuth.
9 Then God appeared to Jacob again when he came from Paddan-aram, and He ( N ) blessed him. 10 ( O ) God said to him,
“Your name is Jacob;
[ i ] You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”
So He called [ j ] him Israel. 11 God also said to him,
“I am [ k ] ( P ) God Almighty;
( Q ) Be fruitful and multiply;
A nation and a ( R ) multitude of nations shall [ l ] come from you,
And ( S ) kings shall [ m ] come from [ n ] you.
12 And ( T ) the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac,
I will give to you,
And I will give the land to your [ o ] descendants after you.”
13 Then ( U ) God went up from him at the place where He had spoken with him. 14 So Jacob set up ( V ) a memorial stone in the place where He had spoken with him, a memorial of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, [ p ] ( W ) Bethel.
16 Then they journeyed on from Bethel; but when there was still some distance to go to ( X ) Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe difficulties in her labor. 17 And when she was suffering severe difficulties in her labor, the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for ( Y ) you have another son!” 18 And it came about, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him [ q ] Ben-oni; but his father called him [ r ] Benjamin. 19 So ( Z ) Rachel died and was buried on the way to ( AA ) Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 And Jacob set up a memorial stone over her grave; that is the ( AB ) memorial stone of Rachel’s grave to this day. 21 Then Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the [ s ] ( AC ) tower of [ t ] Eder.
22 And it came about, while Israel was living in that land, that ( AD ) Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it .
Now there were twelve sons of Jacob— 23 ( AE ) the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 24 ( AF ) the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; 25 and ( AG ) the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s female slave, were Dan and Naphtali; 26 and ( AH ) the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s female slave, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.
27 Jacob came to his father Isaac at ( AI ) Mamre of ( AJ ) Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had resided.
28 Now the days of Isaac were ( AK ) 180 years. 29 Then Isaac breathed his last and died, and was ( AL ) gathered to his people, an ( AM ) old man [ u ] of ripe age; and ( AN ) his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel ( A ) and settle there, and build an altar ( B ) there to God, ( C ) who appeared to you ( D ) when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” ( E )
2 So Jacob said to his household ( F ) and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods ( G ) you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. ( H ) 3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, ( I ) who answered me in the day of my distress ( J ) and who has been with me wherever I have gone. ( K ) ” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in their ears, ( L ) and Jacob buried them under the oak ( M ) at Shechem. ( N ) 5 Then they set out, and the terror of God ( O ) fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them. ( P )
6 Jacob and all the people with him came to Luz ( Q ) (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ( R ) 7 There he built an altar, ( S ) and he called the place El Bethel, [ a ] ( T ) because it was there that God revealed himself to him ( U ) when he was fleeing from his brother. ( V )
8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, ( W ) died and was buried under the oak ( X ) outside Bethel. ( Y ) So it was named Allon Bakuth. [ b ]
9 After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, [ c ] ( Z ) God appeared to him again and blessed him. ( AA ) 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, [ d ] but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. [ e ] ” ( AB ) So he named him Israel.
11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty [ f ] ; ( AC ) be fruitful and increase in number. ( AD ) A nation ( AE ) and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your descendants. ( AF ) 12 The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you. ( AG ) ” ( AH ) 13 Then God went up from him ( AI ) at the place where he had talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar ( AJ ) at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering ( AK ) on it; he also poured oil on it. ( AL ) 15 Jacob called the place where God had talked with him Bethel. [ g ] ( AM )
16 Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, ( AO ) Rachel ( AP ) began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife ( AQ ) said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” ( AR ) 18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. [ h ] ( AS ) But his father named him Benjamin. [ i ] ( AT )
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath ( AU ) (that is, Bethlehem ( AV ) ). 20 Over her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day ( AW ) that pillar marks Rachel’s tomb. ( AX )
21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. ( AY ) 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine ( AZ ) Bilhah, ( BA ) and Israel heard of it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
23 The sons of Leah: ( BB )
Reuben the firstborn ( BC ) of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, ( BD ) Issachar and Zebulun. ( BE )
24 The sons of Rachel:
Joseph ( BF ) and Benjamin. ( BG )
25 The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah: ( BH )
Dan and Naphtali. ( BI )
26 The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah: ( BJ )
These were the sons of Jacob, ( BM ) who were born to him in Paddan Aram. ( BN )
27 Jacob came home to his father Isaac ( BO ) in Mamre, ( BP ) near Kiriath Arba ( BQ ) (that is, Hebron), ( BR ) where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. ( BS ) 28 Isaac lived a hundred and eighty years. ( BT ) 29 Then he breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, ( BU ) old and full of years. ( BV ) And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. ( BW )
