< Genesis 35 >

1 About this time, God said to Jacob, “Arise and go up to Bethel, and live there, and make an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau."
2 In truth, Jacob, having called together all his house, said: “Cast away the foreign gods that are in your midst and be cleansed, and also change your garments.
Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods that you have among you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.
3 Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, so that we may make an altar there to God, who heeded me in the day of my tribulation, and who accompanied me on my journey.”
Let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me wherever I went."
4 Therefore, they gave him all the foreign gods which they had, and the earrings which were in their ears. And then he buried them under the terebinth tree, which is beyond the city of Shechem.
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their possession, and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak that was near Shechem.
5 And when they had set out, the terror of God invaded all the surrounding cities, and they dared not pursue them as they withdrew.
Then they set out, and a terror of God was upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
6 And so, Jacob arrived at Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, also named Bethel: he and all the people with him.
So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.
7 And he built an altar there, and he called the name of that place, ‘House of God.’ For there, God appeared to him when he fled from his brother.
He built an altar there, and called the place El Bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.
8 About the same time, Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died, and she was buried at the base of Bethel, under an oak tree. And the name of that place was called, ‘Oak of Weeping.’
Now Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried under an oak outside Bethel. So he called its name Allon Bakuth.
9 Then God appeared again to Jacob, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him,
And God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram, and blessed him.
10 saying: “You will no longer be called Jacob, for your name shall be Israel.” And he called him Israel,
God said to him, "Your name is Jacob. Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but your name will be Israel." So he called his name Israel.
11 and he said to him: “I am Almighty God: increase and multiply. Tribes and peoples of nations will be from you, and kings will go forth from your loins.
And God said to him, "I am El Shaddai. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body.
12 And the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and to your offspring after you.”
The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you."
13 And he withdrew from him.
Then God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him.
14 In truth, he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him, pouring out libations over it, and pouring oil,
And Jacob set up a standing-stone in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar of stone. And he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it.
15 and he called the name of that place, ‘Bethel.’
Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him Bethel.
16 Then, departing from there, he arrived in springtime at the land that leads to Ephrath. And there, when Rachel was giving birth,
Then they set out from Bethel. There was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel went into labor, and her labor was difficult.
17 because it was a difficult birth, she began to be in danger. And the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you will have this son also.”
When she was in the difficult labor, the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid, for now you have another son."
18 Then, when her life was departing because of the pain, and death was now imminent, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, the son of my pain. Yet truly, his father called him Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand.
It happened, as her life was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-Oni, but his father named him Benjamin.
19 And so Rachel died, and she was buried in the way that leads to Ephrath: this place is Bethlehem.
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
20 And Jacob erected a monument over her sepulcher. This is the monument to Rachel’s tomb, even to the present day.
Jacob set up a standing-stone on her grave. It is the standing-stone of Rachel's grave to this day.
21 Departing from there, he pitched his tent beyond the Tower of the Flock.
And Israel traveled and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
22 And when he was living in that region, Reuben went out, and he slept with Bilhah the concubine of his father, which was not such a small matter as to be hidden from him. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
It happened, while Israel lived in that land, that Reuben went and slept with Bilhah, his father's secondary wife, and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
23 The sons of Leah: Reuben the first born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun.
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.
The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Bilhah, handmaid of Rachel: Dan and Naphtali.
And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Zilpah, handmaid of Leah: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.
And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
27 And then he went to his father Isaac in Mamre, the city of Arba: this place is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
So Jacob came to Isaac his father at Mamre in Kiriath Arba (which is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.
28 And the days of Isaac were completed: one hundred and eighty years.
Now the days of Isaac were one hundred eighty years.
29 And being consumed by old age, he died. And he was placed with his people, being old and full of days. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.
And Isaac took his last breath and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

< Genesis 35 >