Jacob

1And 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.

God said to Jacob, "Get up. Go to the town of Bethel and live there. Build an altar there, a stone table for gifts to God. Build it for the God who came to you when you ran away from your brother Esau."

2Then 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:

So Jacob said to his family and everyone with him, "Throw away the little statues of other gods you have kept. Wash yourselves clean. Put on fresh clothes.

3And 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.

Then let's get up and go to Bethel. There I will build an altar to God. He answered me when I was in trouble. He has been with me everywhere I have gone."

4And 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.

So they gave Jacob all the statues of other gods they had. They gave him the earrings from their ears too. Jacob buried them all under the big oak tree near Shechem.

5And 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.

Then they started their trip. God made the people in the towns nearby very afraid. So no one chased Jacob's sons.

6So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

Jacob and everyone with him came to the town of Luz. Luz is also called Bethel. It is in the land of Canaan.

7And 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.

There Jacob built an altar. He named the place El Bethel. He named it that because God had come to him there, when he was running from his brother.

8But Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak: and the name of it was called Allonbachuth.

Deborah died. She was the woman who had cared for Rebekah since Rebekah was small. They buried her under an oak tree below Bethel. They named that tree Allon Bachuth.

9And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.

God came to Jacob again after Jacob came back from Padan Aram. God blessed him.

10And 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.

God said to him, "Your name is Jacob. But you will not be called Jacob anymore. Your name will be Israel." So God named him Israel.

11And 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;

God said to him, "I am God Almighty. Have many children, and let your family grow large. A whole nation will come from you, and many nations too. Kings will come from your family.

12And 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.

I gave this land to Abraham and to Isaac. Now I give it to you. I will give it to your children and their children after them."

13And God went up from him in the place where he talked with him.

Then God went up and away from the place where he had talked with Jacob.

14And 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.

Jacob set up a tall stone in that place to mark it. He poured wine on the stone as a gift to God. He poured oil on it too.

15And Jacob called the name of the place where God spake with him, Bethel.

Jacob named that place Bethel, because God had spoken with him there.

16And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.

They left Bethel and traveled on. They were still a little way from the town of Ephrath. Then Rachel began to have her baby, and it was very hard for her.

17And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.

While she was working so hard, the midwife spoke to her. A midwife is a woman who helps babies be born. She said, "Do not be afraid. You are having another son."

18And 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.

Rachel was dying, and with her last breath she named the baby Benoni. But his father named him Benjamin.

19And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

So Rachel died. They buried her beside the road to Ephrath, the town also called Bethlehem.

20And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.

Jacob set up a tall stone over her grave. That stone still marks Rachel's grave today.

21And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

Israel traveled on again. He put up his tent past the tower called Edar.

22And 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:

While Israel was living in that land, Reuben slept with Bilhah. Bilhah was his father's servant wife. Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons.

23The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:

Leah's sons were Reuben, who was born first, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

24The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin:

Rachel's sons were Joseph and Benjamin.

25And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:

The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant, were Dan and Naphtali.

26And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padanaram.

The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant, were Gad and Asher. These are Jacob's sons, born to him in Padan Aram.

27And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

Jacob came home to his father Isaac at Mamre, near the city of Arbah. That city is also called Hebron. Abraham and Isaac had lived there.

28And the days of Isaac were an hundred and fourscore years.

Isaac lived one hundred and eighty years.

29And 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.

Then Isaac took his last breath and died. He was very old and had lived a long, full life. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

1And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

Jacob lived in Canaan. His father had lived there too, as a visitor.

2These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

This is the story of Jacob's family. Joseph was seventeen years old. He took care of the sheep with his brothers. He worked with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph told his father about the bad things his brothers did.

3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.

Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons. Joseph was born when his father was old. So his father made him a coat with many colors.

4And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved Joseph best. So they hated Joseph. They could not say one kind word to him.

5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

One night Joseph had a dream. He told his brothers about it. Then they hated him even more.

6And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

Joseph said to them, "Please listen to the dream I had."

7For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

"We were tying up bundles of grain in the field. My bundle stood up straight. Your bundles gathered around mine. Then they bowed down low to my bundle."

8And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

His brothers said, "Do you think you will be our king? Do you think you will rule over us?" They hated him even more for his dream and his words.

9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

Joseph had another dream. He told his brothers about that one too. He said, "Listen, I had one more dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me."

10And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

He told his father and his brothers. His father spoke to him firmly. He said, "What kind of dream is that? Will your mother and your brothers and I bow down to the ground before you?"

11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

His brothers were jealous of him. But his father kept thinking about what Joseph said.

31And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

Then they took Joseph's coat. They killed a young goat and dipped the coat in its blood.

32And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

They took the coat of many colors to their father. They said, "We found this. Look at it. Is it your son's coat or not?"

33And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

Their father knew the coat. He said, "It is my son's coat! A wild animal has eaten him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces."

34And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

Jacob tore his clothes because he was so sad. He put rough cloth around his waist. He cried for his son for many days.

35And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

All his sons and daughters tried to make him feel better. But he would not be comforted. He said, "I will keep crying for my son until I die." So Jacob wept for Joseph.

1Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another?

Jacob heard there was grain for sale in Egypt. He said to his sons, "Why do you sit and stare at each other?"

2And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.

He said, "I hear there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us. Then we will live and not die."

3And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt.

So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain.

4But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.

Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's younger brother. He was afraid something bad might happen to him.

5And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those that came: for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

So Jacob's sons came to buy, along with many other people. Jacob was also called Israel. The land of Canaan was hungry too.

29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell unto them; saying,

They came home to their father Jacob in Canaan. They told him everything that had happened.

30The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

They said, "The man who rules that land spoke to us in a hard voice. He said we were spies."

31And we said unto him, We are true men; we are no spies:

"We told him, 'We are honest men. We are not spies.'"

32We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.

"'We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is gone. The youngest is at home with our father in Canaan.'"

33And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone:

"Then the ruler said to us, 'Here is how I will know you are honest. Leave one brother here with me. Take food for your hungry families and go.'"

34And bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land.

"'Then bring your youngest brother to me. That will show me you are honest men, not spies. Then I will give your brother back, and you may buy and sell here.'"

35And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack: and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

Then they emptied their sacks. Every man found his own bag of money inside. When they and their father saw it, they were afraid.

36And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.

Jacob said to them, "You keep taking my children from me. Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. Now you want Benjamin. Everything is going wrong for me."

37And Reuben spake unto his father, saying, Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee: deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.

Reuben said to his father, "You may kill my own two sons if I do not bring him back. Put him in my care. I will bring him home to you."

38And he said, My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

Jacob said, "My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If something bad happens to him on the road, my sadness will send me, an old man, to my grave."

1And the famine was sore in the land.

The famine in the land was very bad. There was still not enough food.

2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them, Go again, buy us a little food.

The brothers ate all the grain they brought from Egypt. Then their father said, "Go back and buy us a little more food."

3And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

But Judah said, "The man warned us clearly. He said we cannot see him again unless our brother comes with us.

4If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:

If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.

5But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

But if you will not send him, we will not go. The man said we cannot see him without our brother."

6And Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

Israel, who is Jacob, said, "Why did you make trouble for me? Why did you tell the man you had another brother?"

7And they said, The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

They said, "The man asked us many questions about ourselves and our family. He asked, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' We only answered what he asked. How could we know he would say, 'Bring your brother here'?"

8And Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go; that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones.

Judah said to his father Israel, "Send the boy with me. We will get up and go right now. Then we will live and not die. That means us, and you, and our little children.

9I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:

I promise to keep him safe. You can hold me responsible. If I do not bring him back to you, I will carry the blame all my life.

10For except we had lingered, surely now we had returned this second time.

If we had not waited so long, we could have gone and come back twice by now."

11And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds:

Their father Israel said, "If it must be this way, then do this. Take the best things our land grows. Put them in your bags as a gift for the man. Take a little balm and honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds.

12And take double money in your hand; and the money that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight:

Take twice as much silver with you. Take back the silver that was in the top of your sacks. Maybe someone made a mistake.

13Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man:

Take your brother too. Get up and go back to the man.

14And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

May God Almighty make the man kind to you. May he let your other brother and Benjamin come home. If I lose my children, then I lose them."

15And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

So the men took the gift and twice as much silver. They took Benjamin too. They hurried down to Egypt and stood in front of Joseph.

25And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father,

So they left Egypt and traveled to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob.

26And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.

They told him, "Joseph is still alive! He is the ruler of all Egypt." Jacob just stood there, stunned. He did not believe them.

27And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived:

Then they told him everything Joseph had said. He also saw the wagons Joseph sent to carry him. Then their father Jacob felt alive and strong again.

28And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.

Israel said, "That is enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die."