Mwanzo 28
1 Basi Isaki akamwita Yakobo, akambariki na akamwamuru, akisema, “Usioe mwanamke wa Kikanaani.
So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. “Do not take a wife from the Canaanite women,” he commanded.
2 Nenda mara moja mpaka Padan-Aramu, kwenye nyumba ya Bethueli baba wa mama yako. Uchukue mke kati ya binti za Labani ambaye ni ndugu wa mama yako.
“Go at once to Paddan-aram, to the house of your mother’s father Bethuel, and take a wife from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
3 Mungu Mwenyezi na akubariki uwe na uzao uongezeke idadi yako upate kuwa jamii kubwa ya watu.
May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
4 Na akupe wewe na uzao wako baraka aliyopewa Abrahamu, upate kumiliki nchi unayoishi sasa kama mgeni, nchi ambayo Mungu alimpa Abrahamu.”
And may He give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants, so that you may possess the land where you dwell as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”
5 Kisha Isaki akamuaga Yakobo, naye akaenda Padan-Aramu, kwa Labani mwana wa Bethueli Mwaramu, ndugu wa Rebeka, aliyekuwa mama wa Yakobo na Esau.
So Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6 Sasa Esau akajua kuwa Isaki amembariki Yakobo na kumtuma kwenda Padan-Aramu ili achukue mke huko na kwamba alipombariki alimwamuru akisema, “Usioe mke katika binti za Wakanaani,”
Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife there, commanding him, “Do not marry a Canaanite woman,”
7 tena kwamba Yakobo amewatii baba yake na mama yake naye amekwenda Padan-Aramu.
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8 Esau akatambua jinsi ambavyo baba yake Isaki anavyowachukia binti za Wakanaani.
And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
9 Ndipo Esau akaenda kwa Ishmaeli, akamwoa Mahalati, ndugu wa Nebayothi na binti wa Ishmaeli mwana wa Abrahamu, kuongezea wale wake wengine aliokuwa nao.
Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, in addition to the wives he already had.
10 Yakobo akatoka Beer-Sheba kwenda Harani.
Meanwhile Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran.
11 Alipofika mahali fulani, akalala hapo kwa sababu jua lilikuwa limetua. Akachukua jiwe moja la mahali pale, akaliweka chini ya kichwa chake akajinyoosha akalala usingizi.
On reaching a certain place, he spent the night there because the sun had set. And taking one of the stones from that place, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep.
12 Akaota ndoto ambayo aliona ngazi imesimamishwa juu ya ardhi, ncha yake ikiwa imefika mbinguni na malaika wa Mungu wakawa wakipanda na kushuka juu yake.
And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.
13 Juu yake alisimama Bwana, akasema, “Mimi ni Bwana, Mungu wa baba yako Abrahamu na Mungu wa Isaki. Nchi ambayo umelala juu yake, nitakupa wewe na uzao wako.
And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you now lie.
14 Uzao wako utakuwa kama mavumbi ya nchi, nawe utaenea upande wa magharibi na mashariki, kaskazini na kusini. Kupitia wewe na uzao wako mataifa yote ya duniani yatabarikiwa.
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and east and north and south. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
15 Niko pamoja nawe nami nitakulinda kila uendako na nitakurudisha katika nchi hii. Sitakuacha mpaka nitakapofanya hayo niliyokuahidi.”
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
16 Yakobo alipoamka kutoka usingizini, akawaza, “Hakika Bwana yuko mahali hapa, wala mimi sikujua.”
When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”
17 Kwa hiyo akaogopa, akasema, “Mahali hapa panatisha kama nini! Bila shaka hapa ndipo nyumba ya Mungu ilipo, hili ni lango la mbinguni.”
And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven!”
18 Asubuhi yake na mapema, Yakobo akalichukua lile jiwe aliloliweka chini ya kichwa chake, akalisimamisha kama nguzo na kumimina mafuta juu yake.
Early the next morning, Jacob took the stone that he had placed under his head, and he set it up as a pillar. He poured oil on top of it,
19 Mahali pale akapaita Betheli, ingawa mji ule hapo kwanza uliitwa Luzu.
and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
20 Kisha Yakobo akaweka nadhiri, akisema, “Kama Mungu akiwa pamoja nami na kunilinda katika safari niendayo, akinipa chakula nile na nguo nivae
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
21 na nirudi salama nyumbani kwa baba yangu, hapo ndipo Bwana atakuwa Mungu wangu,
so that I may return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.
22 nalo jiwe hili nililolisimamisha kama nguzo litakuwa nyumba ya Mungu na katika yote utakayonipa nitakutolea wewe sehemu ya kumi.”
And this stone I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give You a tenth.”
