Genesis 31

1 Someone told Jacob that Laban’s sons were complaining and saying, “Jacob has become very rich by taking everything [HYP] that belonged to our father.”

And Jacob heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and of our father's property has he gotten all this glory.

2 And Jacob noticed that Laban was not acting friendly toward him as he had done before.

And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before.

3 Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will help you there.”

And the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy father, and to thy family, and I will be with thee.

4 So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah, telling them to come out to the pastures where his flocks of sheep and goats were.

And Jacob sent and called Lea and Rachel to the plain where the flocks were.

5 When they arrived, he said to them, “I see that your father does not act friendly toward me as he did previously. But God, whom my father worshiped, has helped me.

And he said to them, I see the face of your father, that it is not toward me as before, but the God of my father was with me.

6 You two know that I have worked very hard for your father,

And ye too know that with all my might I have served your father.

7 but many times [HYP] he has cheated me by decreasing my wages. But God has not allowed him to harm me.

But your father deceived me, and changed my wages for the ten lambs, yet God gave him not [power] to hurt me.

8 When Laban said, ‘The speckled animals are the ones that I will give you to be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to young ones that were speckled. When he changed and said, ‘The ones that have black and white stripes on them will be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to young ones that were striped.

If he should say thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the cattle would bear speckled; and if he should say, The white shall be thy reward, then would all the cattle bear white.

9 In that way, God has taken away the livestock that belonged to your father and has given them to me.

So God has taken away all the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

10 “One time, when the animals were mating, I had a dream. In my dream I [looked up and was surprised to] see that some of the male goats that were mating with the female goats had black and white stripes on them, some were speckled, and some were spotted.

And it came to pass when the cattle conceived and were with young, that I beheld with mine eyes in sleep, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots.

11 An angel who was sent by God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob!’ I replied, ‘I am here!’

And the angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob; and I said, What is it?

12 He said to me, ‘Look up and you will see that all the male goats that are mating have black and white stripes on them, or are speckled or spotted. This is happening because I have seen all that Laban has done to you.

And he said, Look up with thine eyes, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots; for I have seen all things that Laban does to thee.

13 I am God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you set up a stone to show that the place was holy, and you poured [olive] oil on the stone and made a solemn promise to me. So now leave this land immediately, and return to the land where you were born.’”

I am God that appeared to thee in the place of God where thou anointedst a pillar to me, and vowedst to me there a vow; now then arise and depart out of this land, depart into the land of thy nativity, and I will be with thee.

14 Rachel and Leah replied, “Our father will not give us anything more when he dies [RHQ].

And Rachel and Lea answered and said to him, Have we yet a part or inheritance in the house of our father?

15 He treats us as though we were foreigners [RHQ]! [Your working for him all these years was like a payment] that you gave him as a price for us, but we will not inherit any of that money that he got as a price for us. He has spent it all!

Are we not considered strangers by him? for he has sold us, and quite devoured our money.

16 Surely all of the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you to do!”

All the wealth and the glory which God has taken from our father, it shall be our's and our children's; now then do whatsoever God has said to thee.

17 Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels.

And Jacob arose and took his wives and his children up on the camels;

18 He made all his livestock go ahead of him. Besides the livestock, he took along all the other things that he had acquired while living in Paddan-Aram. And they prepared to return to his father Isaac, in the Canaan region.

and he took away all his possessions and all his store, which he had gotten in Mesopotamia, and all that belonged to him, to depart to Isaac his father in the land of Chanaan.

19 Before they left, while Laban was shearing his sheep, Rachel stole the [small wooden] idols [that were in her father’s tent].

And Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel stole her father's images.

20 Furthermore, Jacob deceived Laban, who belonged to the Aram people-group, by not telling him that they were planning to leave.

And Jacob hid [the matter from] Laban the Syrian, so as not to tell him that he ran away.

21 So Jacob and his family fled with all their possessions, and they crossed the Euphrates River, and then started traveling south toward the hilly Gilead region.

And he departed himself and all that belonged to him, and passed over the river, and went into the mountain Galaad.

22 On the third day after they left, someone told Laban that Jacob and his family had left.

But it was told Laban the Syrian on the third day, that Jacob was fled.

23 So he took some of his relatives with him and started to pursue Jacob. They continued walking for seven days.

And having taken his brethren with him, he pursued after him seven days' journey, and overtook him on Mount Galaad.

24 Then God appeared to Laban in a dream at night, and said to him, “When you catch up to Jacob, be sure that you do not say anything at all [HYP] to him in an angry manner!”

And God came to Laban the Syrian in sleep by night, and said to him, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not at any time to Jacob evil things.

25 The next day, by the time Laban caught up with Jacob, Jacob and his household had set up their tents in the hilly Gilead region. So Laban and his relatives set up their tents there, too.

And Laban overtook Jacob; and Jacob pitched his tent in the mountain; and Laban stationed his brothers in the mount Galaad.

26 Then Laban went to Jacob and said to him, “Why have you done this? You have deceived me by carrying away my daughters as though you had captured them in a war [MTY]!

And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done? wherefore didst thou run away secretly, and pillage me, and lead away my daughters as captives taken with the sword?

27 Why did you run away and deceive me? Why did you not tell me that you were going to leave, so that we could have rejoiced and sung while people played music on tambourines and harps before I said ‘goodbye’ to you?

Whereas if thou hadst told me, I would have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, and timbrels, and harp.

28 (You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye before they left!/Why did you not allow me to kiss my grandchildren and daughters goodbye before they left?) [RHQ] What you have done was foolish!

And I was not counted worthy to embrace my children and my daughters; now then thou hast wrought foolishly.

29 My relatives and I have the power to harm you, but last night the God whom your father worships said to me in a dream, ‘Be sure that you do not say anything at all to Jacob in an angry way.’

And now my hand has power to hurt thee; but the God of thy father spoke to me yesterday, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not evil words to Jacob.

30 Now, I know you have left because you long to go back home. But why did you steal my [wooden] idols?”

Now then go on thy way, for thou hast earnestly desired to depart to the house of thy father; wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?

31 Jacob replied to Laban, saying, “I did not tell you that we were planning to leave, because I was afraid. I thought that [if I told you], you would forcefully take your daughters away from me.

And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid; for I said, Lest at any time thou shouldest take away thy daughters from me, and all my possessions.

32 But if you find anyone here who has your wooden idols, we will execute that person. While our relatives are watching, search for yourself to see if there is anything that belongs to you that is here with me. If you find anything, you can take it!” When Jacob said that, he did not know that Rachel had stolen the wooden idols.

And Jacob said, With whomsoever thou shalt find thy gods, he shall not live in the presence of our brethren; take notice of what I have of thy property, and take it; and he observed nothing with him, but Jacob knew not that his wife Rachel had stolen them.

33 Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and then into Leah’s tent, and then into the tents of the two female slaves and searched for the idols, but he did not find them. After he left their tents, he entered Rachel’s tent.

And Laban went in and searched in the house of Lea, and found [them] not; and he went out of the house of Lea, and searched in the house of Jacob, and in the house of the two maid-servants, and found them not; and he went also into the house of Rachel.

34 But Rachel had previously taken the idols and put them in the saddle of a camel, and she was sitting on the saddle. So when Laban searched all over for them inside Rachel’s tent, he did not find them.

And Rachel took the idols, and cast them among the camel's packs, and sat upon them.

35 Rachel said to her father, “Do not be angry with me, sir, but I cannot get up in your presence [to show respect for you], because I am having my monthly menstrual period. [EUP]” So when Laban searched some more, he did not find the [wooden] idols.

And she said to her father, Be not indignant, Sir; I cannot rise up before thee, for it is with me according to the manner of women. Laban searched in all the house, and found not the images.

36 Then Jacob became angry. He rebuked Laban, saying, “What crime did I commit? For what sin that I committed have you pursued me?

And Jacob was angry, and strove with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my injustice, and what my sin, that thou hast pursued after me,

37 Now you have searched through all my possessions, and what did you find from all these possessions that belongs to you? Put it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, so that they can decide who is right, you or me!

and that thou hast searched all the furniture of my house? what hast thou found of all the furniture of thine house? set it here between thy relations and my relations, and let them decide between us two.

38 I was with you for 20 years. In all that time, your sheep and goats have (not miscarried/always given birth to animals safely). I have not [killed and] eaten any rams from your flocks.

These twenty years have I been with thee; thy sheep, and thy she-goats have not failed in bearing; I devoured not the rams of thy cattle.

39 When one of your animals was attacked and mauled/killed by a wild animal, I did not bring it to you. I replaced the dead animal with a living one of my own animals. Whenever one of your animals was stolen, during the day or during the night, you demanded that I replace it with one of my own animals.

That which was taken of beasts I brought not to thee; I made good of myself the thefts of the day, and the thefts of the night.

40 I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was often not even able to sleep [PRS]!

I was parched with heat by day, and [chilled] with frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

41 I lived in your household for 20 years. I worked for you for 14 years to buy your two daughters, and for six more years to buy some of your sheep and goats. During that time, you changed and reduced my wages many times [HYP].

These twenty years have I been in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years among thy sheep, and thou didst falsely rate my wages for ten lambs.

42 If God, the one whom my grandfather Abraham worshiped and before whom my father Isaac trembled in fear, had not been with me and helped me, you would have sent me away (with nothing in my hands/owning nothing)! But God saw how much I was suffering and how hard I was working, so last night he told you that what you have done to me was wrong.”

Unless I had the God of my father Abraam, and the fear of Isaac, now thou wouldest have sent me away empty; God saw my humiliation, and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesterday.

43 Laban replied, “These two women are my daughters, and their children are my grandchildren, and the animals are my animals. Everything you see here is mine [HYP]! But what can I do today to keep my daughters or the children they have given birth to [RHQ]?

And Laban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons my sons, and the cattle are my cattle, and all things which thou seest are mine, and [the property] of my daughters; what shall I do to them to-day, or their children which they bore?

44 I cannot do anything in order to keep them, so hey, we should make a peace agreement, you and I, and do something that will remind us about our agreement.”

Now then come, let me make a covenant, both I and thou, and it shall be for a witness between me and thee; and he said to him, Behold, there is no one with us; behold, God is witness between me and thee.

45 So Jacob took a [large] stone and set it on its end.

And Jacob having taken a stone, set it up for a pillar.

46 Then Jacob said to his relatives, “You also gather some stones.” So they gathered some rocks and put them in a heap, and they ate some food there near the heap.

And Jacob said to his brethren, Gather stones; and they gathered stones and made a heap, and ate there upon the heap; and Laban said to him, This heap witnesses between me and thee to-day.

47 Laban gave the heap the Aramaic name Jegar-Sahadutha, [which means ‘rock-pile to remind us’, ] but Jacob gave the rock-pile the Hebrew name Galeed, [which has the same meaning].

And Laban called it, the Heap of Testimony; and Jacob called it, the Witness Heap.

48 Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks we have put here today will help us to remember our agreement.” That is why Jacob called it Galeed.

And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and the pillar, which I have set between me and thee; this heap witnesses, and this pillar witnesses; therefore its name was called, the Heap witnesses.

49 They also named the place Mizpah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘watchtower’, ] because Laban said, “We will ask Yahweh to watch you and me while we are separated from each other, [so that we do not try to harm each other].

And the vision of which he said—Let God look to it between me and thee, because we are about to depart from each other, —

50 If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take other women to be your wives, even if no one tells me about it, don’t forget that God sees what you and I are doing!”

If thou shalt humble my daughters, if thou shouldest take wives in addition to my daughters, see, there is no one with us looking on. God [is] witness between me and thee.

51 Laban also said to Jacob, “You see this large stone and this pile of rocks that we have set up to be between us.

And Laban said to Jacob, Behold, this heap, and this pillar are a witness.

52 Both this pile of rocks and this large stone will remind us, that I will not go past these rocks to harm you, and you will not go past these rocks to harm me.

For if I should not cross over unto thee, neither shouldest thou cross over to me, for mischief beyond this heap and this pillar.

53 We will ask the God whom [your grandfather] Abraham and [his father] Nahor worshiped to punish [MTY] either one of us, [if we harm the other one].” So Jacob solemnly promised to do what they said in their peace agreement. And he asked God, the one before whom his father Isaac trembled, to listen to what they promised.

The God of Abraam and the God of Nachor judge between us; and Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

54 He offered a sacrifice to God there in the hilly area, and he invited his relatives to eat with him. After they had eaten, they slept there that night.

And he offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren, and they ate and drank, and slept in the mountain.

55 The next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters [goodbye] and asked God to bless them. Then he [and his men] left them and returned home.

And Laban rose up in the morning, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban having turned back, departed to his place.