Then God said to Jacob,“ Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.”

神对雅各说：“起来！上伯特利去，住在那里；要在那里筑一座坛给神，就是你逃避你哥哥以扫的时候向你显现的那位。”

上帝对雅各说：“起来！上伯特利去，住在那里。在那里筑一座坛给上帝，就是你逃避你哥哥以扫的时候向你显现的上帝。”

神对雅各说：“起来！上伯特利去，住在那里。在那里筑一座坛给神，就是你逃避你哥哥以扫的时候向你显现的神。”

上帝对雅各说：“你到伯特利去住，你要在那里为上帝筑一座坛，祂在你逃避你哥哥以扫时曾向你显现。”

神对雅各说：“起来，上伯特利去，住在那里；你要在那里筑一座坛给神，就是从前你逃避你哥哥以扫的时候，向你显现的那一位。”

神对雅各说：“起来，上伯特利去，住在那里；你要在那里造一座祭坛给神——他是你逃避你哥哥以扫的时候曾向你显现的那一位。”

神對雅各說：「起來！上伯特利去，住在那裏；要在那裏築一座壇給神，就是你逃避你哥哥以掃的時候向你顯現的那位。」

上帝對雅各說：「起來！上伯特利去，住在那裏。在那裏築一座壇給上帝，就是你逃避你哥哥以掃的時候向你顯現的上帝。」

神對雅各說：「起來！上伯特利去，住在那裏。在那裏築一座壇給神，就是你逃避你哥哥以掃的時候向你顯現的神。」

上帝對雅各說：「你到伯特利去住，你要在那裡為上帝築一座壇，祂在你逃避你哥哥以掃時曾向你顯現。」

神對雅各說：“起來，上伯特利去，住在那裡；你要在那裡築一座壇給神，就是從前你逃避你哥哥以掃的時候，向你顯現的那一位。”

上帝對雅各說：『起來，上伯特利去，住在那裏；在那裏造一座祭壇給上帝，你逃避你哥哥以掃時向你顯現的那位。』

神對雅各說：「起來，上伯特利去，住在那裡；你要在那裡造一座祭壇給神——他是你逃避你哥哥以掃的時候曾向你顯現的那一位。」

上帝諭雅各曰、昔爾避兄以掃時、我在伯特利顯見於爾、今起往彼而居、為我築壇、

上帝諭雅各曰、昔爾避兄以掃、我於伯特利顯現與爾、今起、往彼而居、築壇祭我。

天主諭雅各曰、爾起、往伯特利居於彼、爾避爾兄以掃時、我顯現於爾、當在彼為我建祭臺、

Then God said to Jacob,“ Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”

Then God said to Jacob,“ Go up to Bethel and live there. Build an altar there to honor me. That’s where I appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau.”

God said to Jacob,“ Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

God said to Jacob,“ Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

Then God said to Jacob,“ Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

Then God said to Jacob,“ Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth- el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

God said to Jacob,“ Get up! Go to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

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.

Then God said to Jacob,“ Go up at once to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”

God said to Jacob,“ Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there. Make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

“ Indeed, the Lord will give justice to his people, and he will change his mind about his servants, when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.

Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him—

When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.

I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the pillar of stone and made your vow to me. Now get ready and leave this country and return to the land of your birth.’”

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

From the Negev, they continued traveling by stages toward Bethel, and they pitched their tents between Bethel and Ai, where they had camped before.This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again.

From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme:“ I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.”But Rebekah heard about Esau’s plans. So she sent for Jacob and told him,“ Listen, Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.So listen carefully, my son. Get ready and flee to my brother, Laban, in Haran.Stay there with him until your brother cools off.When he calms down and forgets what you have done to him, I will send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance, the proud possession of Jacob’s descendants, whom he loves. Interlude

The angel said to her,“ Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”“ I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.

Jacob built an altar there and named the place El bethel( which means“ God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau.

After that, Abram traveled south and set up camp in the hill country, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built another altar and dedicated it to the Lord, and he worshiped the Lord.

Then the Lord said to Jacob,“ Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.”

When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him.It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.

Abraham named the place Yahweh Yireh( which means“ the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb:“ On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian. When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well.

Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran.At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep.As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said,“ I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions— to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants.What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,“ Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”But he was also afraid and said,“ What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.He named that place Bethel( which means“ house of God”), although it was previously called Luz.Then Jacob made this vow:“ If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing,and if I return safely to my father’s home, then the Lord will certainly be my God.And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me.”

Look! A messenger is coming over the mountains with good news! He is bringing a message of peace. Celebrate your festivals, O people of Judah, and fulfill all your vows, for your wicked enemies will never invade your land again. They will be completely destroyed!