Genesis 35:1-29 VOICE

[1] God (to Jacob): Get up, go back to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar to Me, to the God who appeared to you when you ran away from your brother, Esau. [2] Jacob told his household and those with him to get ready to move. Jacob: Get rid of any foreign gods you have in your possession. Purify yourselves: bathe and change your clothes. [3] Then come with me. We're going to Bethel so that I can build an altar there to the God who answers me whenever I am in distress and who is with me wherever I go. [4] So they handed over to Jacob all of the foreign gods they had, as well as the rings in their ears. Jacob buried them in the shadow of a mighty oak that was near Shechem. [5] As they traveled, God struck terror into the hearts of all of the cities along the way so that no one pursued Jacob's family. [6] Jacob, and all those who were with him, arrived in Luz (which is also known as Bethel) in the land of Canaan. [7] There he built an altar and called the place El-bethel because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob when he was running away from his brother. [8] Along the way, Deborah (Rebekah's nurse) died, and they buried her under the branches of a stately oak below Bethel. Since that day, it has been known as Allon-bacuth, which means "oak of weeping." [9] Now that Jacob had come back from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel and blessed him. [10] God: Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be known as Jacob. Israel will be your name. From then on, God addressed him by his new name: Israel. [11] God: I am the God-All-Powerful. Be fruitful and multiply. You will give rise to a great nation; indeed nation after nation will come from you. Kings and rulers shall be numbered among your descendants. [12] Your children will one day possess the land I promised to Abraham and Isaac. [13] Then God ascended from the place where He had spoken with Jacob. [14] And Jacob set up a pillar of stone in that same spot. He poured wine on it as an offering to God and doused it with oil. [15] Jacob named this place where God had spoken with him "Bethel." [16] After that, they all traveled on from Bethel. While still a long way from Ephrath, Rachel began having labor pains, and it was a hard labor. [17] And when the labor pains were most intense, the midwife tried to comfort her. Rachel's Midwife: Don't be afraid. You're going to have another son. [18] But as her life slipped away, just before she died, Rachel named her son Ben-oni, but his father decided to call him Benjamin instead. [19] So Rachel died, and they buried her on the way to Ephrath (which is also known as Bethlehem). [20] Jacob set up a pillar to mark Rachel's tomb, and the pillar at her tomb still stands to this day. [21] Israel then continued on the journey, and he pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. [22] During the time Israel lived in this land, Reuben slept with his father's concubine, Bilhah, and Israel found out about it. [23] Now Jacob (Israel) had twelve sons. Leah's six sons were Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. [24] Rachel's two sons were Joseph and Benjamin. [25] Rachel's servant, Bilhah, had two sons: Dan and Naphtali. [26] Leah's servant, Zilpah, had two sons: Gad and Asher. These were the sons born to Jacob in Paddan-aram and on the journey home. [27] Jacob finally arrived at his father Isaac's house at Mamre not far from Kiriath-arba (which is also known as Hebron). This is where Abraham and Isaac had resided as foreigners. [28] Isaac lived 180 years. [29] By the time he took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death, he had reached a ripe old age and lived a full life. His sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him.