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.
Jacob Returns to Bethel
1 God told Jacob, “Return to Bethel, where I appeared to you when you were running from your brother Esau. Make your home there and build an altar for me.”
2 Jacob said to his family and to everyone else who was traveling with him:
Get rid of your foreign gods! Then make yourselves acceptable to worship God and put on clean clothes. 3 Afterwards, we'll go to Bethel. I will build an altar there for God, who answered my prayers when I was in trouble and who has always been at my side.
4 So everyone gave Jacob their idols and their earrings, and he buried them under the oak tree near Shechem.
5 While Jacob and his family were traveling through Canaan, God terrified the people in the towns so much that no one dared bother them. 6 Finally, they reached Bethel, also known as Luz. 7 Jacob built an altar there and called it “God of Bethel,” because that was the place where God had appeared to him when he was running from Esau. 8 While they were there, Rebekah's personal servant Deborah died. They buried her under an oak tree and called it “Weeping Oak.”
God Blesses Jacob at Bethel
9-11 After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan, God appeared to him again. This time he gave Jacob a new name and blessed him by saying:
I am God All-Powerful, and from now on your name will be Israel instead of Jacob. You will have many children. Your descendants will become nations, and some of the men in your family will even be kings. 12 I will give you the land that I promised Abraham and Isaac, and it will belong to your family forever.
13 After God had gone, 14 Jacob set up a large rock, so that he would remember what had happened there. Then he poured wine and olive oil on the rock to show that it was dedicated to God, 15 and he named the place Bethel.
Benjamin Is Born
16 Jacob and his family had left Bethel and were still a long way from Ephrath, when the time came for Rachel's baby to be born. 17 She was having a rough time, but the woman who was helping her said, “Don't worry! It's a boy.” 18 Rachel was at the point of death, and right before dying, she said, “I'll name him Benoni.” But Jacob called him Benjamin.
19 Rachel was buried beside the road to Ephrath, which is also called Bethlehem. 20 Jacob set up a tombstone over her grave, and it is still there. 21 Jacob, also known as Israel, traveled to the south of Eder Tower, where he set up camp.
22 During their time there, Jacob's oldest son Reuben slept with Bilhah, who was one of Jacob's other wives. And Jacob found out about it.
Jacob's Twelve Sons
23-26 Jacob had twelve sons while living in northern Syria. His first-born Reuben was the son of Leah, who later gave birth to Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Leah's servant Zilpah had two sons: Gad and Asher.
Jacob and his wife Rachel had Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel's servant woman Bilhah had two more sons: Dan and Naphtali.
Isaac Dies
27 Jacob went to his father Isaac at Hebron, also called Mamre or Kiriath-Arba, where Isaac's father Abraham had lived as a foreigner. 28-29 Isaac died at the ripe old age of 180, then his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.