Genesis 35

1 And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to thee when thou fled from the face of Esau thy brother.

[Some time later] God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel, and live there. Build an altar to worship me, God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your older brother Esau.”

2 Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change your garments.

So Jacob said to his household and to all the others who were with him, “Get rid of the idols you brought from Mesopotamia. Also, bathe yourselves and put on clean clothes.

3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me on the way which I went.

Then we will get ready and go up to Bethel. There I will make an altar to worship God. He is the one who helped me at the time when I was greatly distressed and afraid, and he has been with me wherever I have gone.”

4 And they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hand, and the rings which were in their ears. And Jacob hid them under the oak that was by Shechem.

So they gave to Jacob all the idols that they had brought, and all their earrings. Jacob buried them in the ground under the big oak tree that was near Shechem [town].

5 And they journeyed, and a terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

As they prepared to leave there, God caused the people who lived in the cities around them to be extremely afraid of Jacob’s family [PRS], so that they did not pursue and attack them.

6 So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan (the same is Bethel), he and all the people that were with him.

Jacob and all those who were with him came to Luz, which is now called Bethel, in the Canaan region.

7 And he built there an altar, and called the place El-bethel, because God was revealed to him there, when he fled from the face of his brother.

There he built an altar. He named the place El-Bethel, [which means ‘God of Bethel]’, because it was there that God revealed himself to Jacob when he was fleeing from his older brother Esau.

8 And Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak. And the name of it was called Allon-bacuth.

Deborah, who had taken care of Isaac’s wife Rebekah when Rebekah was a small girl, was now very old. She died and was buried under an oak tree south of Bethel. So they named that place Allon-Bacuth, [which means ‘oak of weeping’].

9 And God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.

After Jacob and his family returned from Paddan-Aram/Mesopotamia, while they were still at Bethel, God appeared to Jacob again and blessed him.

10 And God said to 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.

God said to him again, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. It will be Israel.” So Jacob was then called ‘Israel’.

11 And God said to 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.

Then God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Produce many children. Your descendants will become many nations, and some of your descendants will be kings.

12 And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to thee, and I will give the land to thy seed after thee.

The land that I promised to give to [your grandfather] Abraham and [your father] Isaac, I will give to you. I will also give it to your descendants.”

13 And God went up from him in the place where he spoke with him.

When God finished talking there with Jacob, he left him.

14 And Jacob set up a pillar 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.

Jacob set up a large stone at the place where God had talked with him. He poured some wine and some [olive] oil on it to dedicate it to God.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

Jacob named that place Bethel, [which means ‘house of God]’, because God had spoken to him there.

16 And they journeyed from Bethel. And there was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor.

Jacob and his family left Bethel and traveled south toward Ephrath [town]. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to have severe childbirth pains.

17 And it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, Fear not, for now thou shall have another son.

When her pain was the most severe, the (midwife/woman who helped her to give birth) said to Rachel, “Do not be afraid, because now you have given birth to another son!”

18 And it came to pass, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-oni, but his father called him Benjamin.

But she was dying, and with her last breath she said, “Name him Benoni,” [which means ‘son of my sorrow]’, but his father named him Benjamin, [which means ‘son of my right hand]’.

19 And Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem).

After Rachel died, she was buried alongside the road to Ephrath, which is [now called] Bethlehem.

20 And Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave, the same is the Pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

Jacob set up a large stone over her grave, and it is still there, showing where Rachel’s grave is.

21 And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

Jacob, whose new name was Israel, continued traveling with his family, and he set up his tents on the south side of the watchtower at Eder [town].

22 And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

While they were living in that area, Jacob’s son Reuben had sex [EUP] with Bilhah, one of his father’s (concubines/female slaves whom he had taken as a secondary wife). Someone told Jacob about it, and it made him very angry. (I will now give you/Here is) a list of Jacob’s twelve sons.

23 The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun.

The sons of Leah were Reuben, who was Jacob’s oldest son, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulon.

24 The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.

The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid: Dan and Naphtali.

The sons of Rachel’s female slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.

26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

The sons of Leah’s female slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. All those sons of Jacob, except Benjamin, were born while he was living in Paddan-Aram/Mesopotamia.

27 And Jacob came to Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

Jacob had returned back home to see his father Isaac at Mamre, which is also named Kiriath-Arba, and which is now named Hebron. Isaac’s father Abraham had also lived there.

28 And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years.

Isaac lived until he was 180 years old.

29 And Isaac gave up the spirit, and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.

He was very old when he died, joining his ancestors who had died previously. His sons Esau and Jacob buried his body.