God Blesses Jacob at Bethel
1 God said to Jacob, “Go to Bethel at once, and live there. Build an altar there to me, the God who appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau.”
2 So Jacob said to his family and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that you have; purify yourselves and put on clean clothes. 3 We are going to leave here and go to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who helped me in the time of my trouble and who has been with me everywhere I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and also the earrings that they were wearing. He buried them beneath the oak tree near Shechem.
5 When Jacob and his sons started to leave, great fear fell on the people of the nearby towns, and they did not pursue them. 6 Jacob came with all his people to Luz, which is now known as Bethel, in the land of Canaan. 7 He built an altar there and named the place for the God of Bethel, because God had revealed himself to him there when he was running away from his brother. 8 Rebecca's nurse Deborah died and was buried beneath the oak south of Bethel. So it was named “Oak of Weeping.”
9 When Jacob returned from Mesopotamia, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but from now on it will be Israel.” So God named him Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am Almighty God. Have many children. Nations will be descended from you, and you will be the ancestor of kings. 12 I will give you the land which I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, and I will also give it to your descendants after you.” 13 Then God left him. 14 There, where God had spoken to him, Jacob set up a memorial stone and consecrated it by pouring wine and olive oil on it. 15 He named the place Bethel.
The Death of Rachel
16 Jacob and his family left Bethel, and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, the time came for Rachel to have her baby, and she was having difficult labor. 17 When her labor pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, “Don't be afraid, Rachel; it's another boy.” 18 But she was dying, and as she breathed her last, she named her son Benoni, but his father named him Benjamin.
19 When Rachel died, she was buried beside the road to Ephrath, now known as Bethlehem. 20 Jacob set up a memorial stone there, and it still marks Rachel's grave to this day. 21 Jacob moved on and set up his camp on the other side of the tower of Eder.
The Sons of Jacob
(1 Chronicles 2.11 2)22 While Jacob was living in that land, Reuben had sexual intercourse with Bilhah, one of his father's concubines; Jacob heard about it and was furious.
Jacob had twelve sons. 23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob's oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 25 The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. 26 The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These sons were born in Mesopotamia.
The Death of Isaac
27 Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived. 28 Isaac lived to be a hundred and eighty years old 29 and died at a ripe old age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Ndzimu unokombolela Jakubo ku Bhetele
1 Ipapo Ndzimu ukati kuna Jakubo, “Milika uyende ku Bhetele unogalako ngono ubakile Ndzimu iwoyu wakaboneka ku kuli pawakabe utizha nkulu uwo Esau.”
2 Ndizo Jakubo kadwa be nsha uwe na bose bakabe banaye kati, “Lashani midzimu yamunayo isi iyo, mu zwitjenapadze muambale zwiambalo zwipoga. 3 Tofuluka ipapa toyenda ku Bhetele kwandinowobakila Ndzimu wakandihwa ukandidabila ndili mu manikano tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo. Wakabe nami kumwe ne kumwe kwandakayenda.” 4 Ndizo bakapa Jakubo midzimu yose isi iyo ne mang'ina ngono Jakubo kazwitshila kusi kwe nti nkulu we pakayengemala wa More mu Shekemu ngono bakatola gwendo.
5 Bakati beyenda lutjo gwe Ndzimu gukawila mizi yose kubapoteleka ndizo kukasheta wa londa bakololo ba Jakubo. 6 Jakubo ne bathu bose baakabe anabo bakaswika ku Luzi (kene Bhetele) mu shango ye Kanana. 7 Kabaka tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo ikoko katjidana eti Eli Bhetele ngoti ndipo ipapo Ndzimu pawakazwilakidza kunli paakabe etizha nkulu uwe. 8 Debora nlandakadzi wa Ribeka wakatjinyikila ipapo ngono kabiganyiwa kusi kwe nti nkulu we pakayengemala ku burwa gwe Bhetele. Ukatumigwa zina kuyi, “Nti we Tjililo.”
9 Jakubo wakati abuya edwa ku Padani Aramu Ndzimu ukaboneka kunli kakale ngono ukankombolela. 10 Ndzimu ukati kunli, “Zina lilo ndi Jakubo, koga autjowodang'wa Jakubo, zina lilo lowobe Iziraela.” Ndizo ukantumila uti Iziraela. 11 Ndzimu ukabe uti kunli, “Ndi Ndzimu Masimbawose, ibe ne mbeleko uwande. Mukuli kowobhuda zwitjaba na bomambo banowobhuda mukuli. 12 Shango yandakapa Abhurahama na Isaki ndokupabo iyo, ndowobuya aipabo bana babo banozha shule kuko.” 13 Ndzimu ukathubukana naye pawakalebesana naye ukayenda kudzimu. 14 Jakubo kamisa bgwe pa bugalo gwaakalebesana ne Ndzimu paguli kalidila tjipo tje tjing'o, kalidila ne mafuta. 15 Ndizo Jakubo katumila zina bugalo igogo gwakati Ndzimu ukalebeleka naye kati Bhetele.
Lufu gwa Rahele
16 Bakamilidza gwendo gwabo kudwa mu Bhetele. Bakati batjithambo kuyenda ku Efurati, Rahele katangisiwa nge zwibhayo zwe kutshibama. 17 Ngono wakati etshibama ali mu zwibhayo ehwa zogwadza kwazo, ntshibamisi kandwa kati, “Usitje ngoti unowobe ne mmwe mwana we tjilisana.” 18 Kwakati meya iye yopela woyendila kufa ngoti wakabe efa, katumila mwana uwe kati Bhenoni koga tate babe bakantumila beti Bhenjamini .
19 Ndizo Rahele kafa ngono kabiganyiwa pahwunde ne zila inoyenda ku Efurati iyo inodang'wa Bhetelehema. 20 Jakubo kamisa bgwe le ikumbuludzo pa ikumbu tja Rahele, kuswikila zhuba lino, bgwe ilelo lolakidza ikumbu tjitje. 21 Iziraela kadwilidza gwendo gugwe kakale ngono kanobaka nshasha uwe mbeli kwe Migidala Ederi.
Bakololo ba Jakubo
(1 Zwiyitikalo 2:1-2)22 Kukati Iziraela atjigele mu magalo iyawo Rubheni kangina mu ng'umba na Bhiliha nkadzi ntukunu wa tate babe ngono Iziraela kahwa nge kwako. Bakololo ba Jakubo bakabe bali gumi lina mido mibili. 23 Bakololo ba Liya bakabe bali bo Rubheni, mbano ya Jakubo na Simiyoni na Levi na Juda na Isakari na Zebuluni. 24 Bakololo ba Rahele bakabe bali bo Josefa na Bhenjamini. 25 Bakololo ba Bhiliha nlandakadzi wa Rahele bakabe bali bo Dani na Nafutali. 26 Bakololo ba Zilipa nlandakadzi wa Liya bakabe bali bo Gadi na Asheri. Ibaba ndibo bakabe bali bakololo ba Jakubo baakazwala atji mu Padani Aramu.
Lufu gwa Isaki
27 Jakubo kaswika kanyi kuna tate babe Isaki ku Mamure pejo ne Kiriyatiaribha (Heburoni) kwakatongogala Abhurahama na Isaki. 28 Isaki wakatjila makole ali zana lina makole ali zhanakadzi (180), 29 ngono Isaki kafa akula, akwegula. Bakololo babe Esau na Jakubo bakambiganya.