{ "1": "Then God commanded Jacob, “Leave here and move to {the town of} Bethel. Build an altar there {and offer sacrifices on it} to worship {me as} the God who appeared to you {there} when you were running away from your brother Esau.” ", "2": "So Jacob told his family and everyone else who {was} with him, “Get rid of the idols you have that other people groups worship. Also wash and make yourselves clean and put on clean clothes. ", "3": "Then we will leave here and move to {the town of} Bethel. There we will build an altar and worship God because he helped me during the time when I was in trouble. He has {always} been with us {and taken care of us} everywhere that we have gone.”\n\n\\ts\\* ", "4": "So they gave Jacob all their idols and {all} their earrings. Then Jacob buried all those things at the base of the oak tree that {was} near {the city of} Shechem.\n\n\\p", "5": "Then Jacob and everyone with him left that place, and God caused {the people in} the surrounding towns to be terrified, so that they did not attack Jacob’s family.\n\n\\ts\\* ", "6": "He and his family {continued traveling} in the region of Canaan, and they arrived at {the town of} Luz, which {also has the name} Bethel. ", "7": "There Jacob built an altar, and he named the place El Bethel, {which means “the God of Bethel,”} because that is where God had {first} appeared to him when he was running away from his brother.\n\n\\p", "8": "{While they were there,} Deborah died. She was the servant that had helped raise {Jacob’s mother} Rebekah {when she was young}. Jacob buried her body at the base of an oak tree, {in the valley} near {the town of} Bethel. So he named the place Allon Bacuth, {which means “oak tree of mourning.”}\n\n\\ts\\*\n\\p", "9": "Now that Jacob had returned from {the region of} Paddan Aram, God appeared to him {at Bethel} again. {There} God blessed him ", "10": "and said to him, “{Although} your name {has been} Jacob, that will no longer be your name. Rather, you will have the name Israel!” So {once again} God gave Jacob the name Israel.\n\n\\ts\\*\n\\p", "11": "Then God {also} said to Jacob, “I am Almighty God. Have many children so that you {and your descendants} become {very} numerous. Your descendants will become many people groups, and some of your descendants will be kings. ", "12": "{Besides that,} the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I {also} give to you and your descendants {who live} after you.” ", "13": "After God finished talking to Jacob, he left him there and went up {to heaven}.\n\n\\ts\\*\n\\p", "14": "Then Jacob stood a {large} stone up {on its end} at the place where God had talked to him, to mark the place {as special}. Then he poured some wine and some {olive} oil on the stone marker {to thank God and dedicate the place to him}. ", "15": "Since God had talked to Jacob at that place, Jacob named it Bethel, {which means “God’s house.”}\n\n\\ts\\*\n\\s1 Rachel Dies Giving Birth to Benjamin\n\\sr 35:16-20\n\\p", "16": "Later Jacob and his family moved on from Bethel and headed for {the town of} Ephrath. While they were still some distance from there, {his wife} Rachel went into labor, but she was experiencing great difficulty. ", "17": "Then when her labor pain was at its worst, {the baby was born and} the woman who was helping her deliver exclaimed to her, “Do not despair! You {now} have another son!” ", "18": "But Rachel was dying, and as her spirit was leaving her body, she named her baby Benoni {which means “son of my sorrow”}. But {later,} his father {Jacob} changed his name to Benjamin, {which means “son of my right hand.”}\n\n\\p", "19": "After Rachel died, they buried her body beside the road to {the town of} Ephrath, which {also has the name} Bethlehem. ", "20": "Jacob stood a stone up {on its end} on her grave {to mark where it was}. {In fact,} that {same} stone still marks Rachel’s grave today.\n\n\\ts\\*\n\\s1 Jacob’s Twelve Sons\n\\sr 35:21-26\n\\p", "21": "Then Israel {and his family} moved on {from there} and set up their tents on the south side of the tower of Eder. ", "22": "While they were living in that area, {Israel’s son} Reuben committed adultery with his father’s servant wife Bilhah, and Israel found out {about it}.\n\\p\n{With the birth of Benjamin,} Jacob {now} had {a total of} twelve sons.\n\n\\ts\\* ", "23": "The sons {he had} with Leah {were} Reuben, {who was} his oldest {child}, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. ", "24": "The sons {he had} with Rachel {were} Joseph and Benjamin. ", "25": "The sons {he had} with Rachel’s servant Bilhah {were} Dan and Naphtali.\n\n\\ts\\* ", "26": "And the sons {he had} with Leah’s servant Zilpah were Gad and Asher. {All} those {are} the sons Jacob had {starting from the time that he lived} in {the region of} Paddan Aram.\n\n\\s1 Isaac Dies\n\\sr 35:27-29\n\\p", "27": "Then Jacob went {home} to his father Isaac {in the city of} Mamre, which {also has the name} Kiriath Arba or Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac {and their families} had lived for a while {as foreigners}.\n\n\\ts\\* ", "28": "Isaac lived to be 180 years old. ", "29": "Then, after living a long, full life, he took his last breath and died, and he joined his ancestors {who had died before him}. Then his sons Esau and Jacob buried his body.\n\n\\ts\\*", "front": "\\s1 God Blesses Jacob at {the Town of} Bethel\n\\sr 35:1-15\n\\p" }