The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 God spoke to Jacob: "Go back to Bethel. Stay there and build an altar to the God who revealed himself to you when you were running for your life from your brother Esau."
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And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.
2 Jacob told his family and all those who lived with him, "Throw out all the alien gods which you have, take a good bath and put on clean clothes,
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Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:
3 we're going to Bethel. I'm going to build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in trouble and has stuck with me everywhere I've gone since."
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And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
4 They turned over to Jacob all the alien gods they'd been holding on to, along with their lucky-charm earrings. Jacob buried them under the oak tree in Shechem.
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And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.
5 Then they set out. A paralyzing fear descended on all the surrounding villages so that they were unable to pursue the sons of Jacob.
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And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.
6 Jacob and his company arrived at Luz, that is, Bethel, in the land of Canaan.
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So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.
7 He built an altar there and named it El-Bethel (God-of-Bethel) because that's where God revealed himself to him when he was running from his brother.
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And he built there an altar, and called the place Elbethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.
8 And that's when Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried just below Bethel under the oak tree. It was named Allon-Bacuth (Weeping-Oak).
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But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.
9 God revealed himself once again to Jacob, after he had come back from Paddan Aram and blessed him:
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And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.
10 "Your name is Jacob (Heel); but that's your name no longer. From now on your name is Israel (God-Wrestler)."
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And God said unto 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.
11 God continued, I am The Strong God. Have children! Flourish! A nation - a whole company of nations! - will come from you. Kings will come from your loins;
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And God said unto 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;
12 the land I gave Abraham and Isaac I now give to you, and pass it on to your descendants.
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And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.
13 And then God was gone, ascended from the place where he had spoken with him.
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And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.
14 Jacob set up a stone pillar on the spot where God had spoken with him. He poured a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil.
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And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he talked with him, even a pillar of stone: and he poured a drink offering thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
15 Jacob dedicated the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel (God's-House).
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And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.
16 They left Bethel. They were still quite a ways from Ephrath when Rachel went into labor - hard, hard labor.
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And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
17 When her labor pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid - you have another boy."
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And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18 With her last breath, for she was now dying, she named him Ben-oni (Son-of-My-Pain), but his father named him Ben-jamin (Son-of-Good-Fortune).
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And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
19 Rachel died and was buried on the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.
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And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
20 Jacob set up a pillar to mark her grave. It is still there today, "Rachel's Grave Stone."
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And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.
21 Israel kept on his way and set up camp at Migdal Eder.
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And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.
22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went and slept with his father's concubine, Bilhah. And Israel heard of what he did. There were twelve sons of Jacob.
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And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
23 The sons by Leah: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn Simeon Levi Judah Issachar Zebulun.
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The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
24 The sons by Rachel: Joseph Benjamin.
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The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:
25 The sons by Bilhah, Rachel's maid: Dan Naphtali.
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And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
26 The sons by Zilpah, Leah's maid: Gad Asher. These were Jacob's sons, born to him in Paddan Aram.
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And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.
27 Finally, Jacob made it back home to his father Isaac at Mamre in Kiriath Arba, present-day Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived.
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And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
28 Isaac was now 180 years old.
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And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.
29 Isaac breathed his last and died - an old man full of years. He was buried with his family by his sons Esau and Jacob.
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And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.