Genesis 31

Modern

Literal

Jacob Flees from Laban

¹Now Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.”

¹And Jacob heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, “Jacob has taken away everything that belonged to our father, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.”

²And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed.

²And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and behold, it was not with him as yesterday and the day before yesterday.

³Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

³And YHWH said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

⁴So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were,

⁴And Jacob sent and called for Rachel and for Leah to the field, to his flock,

⁵and he told them, “I can see from your father’s countenance that his attitude toward me has changed; but the God of my father has been with me.

⁵and he said to them, “I can see the face of your father, that it is not toward me as yesterday and the day before yesterday; and the God of my father has been with me.

⁶You know that I have served your father with all my strength.

⁶And you know that with all my strength I have served your father.

⁷And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.

⁷And your father has deceived me, and has changed my wage ten times; and God did not allow him to do evil with me.

⁸If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore speckled offspring. If he said, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then the whole flock bore streaked offspring.

⁸If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be your wage,’ then all the flock bore speckled. And if he said thus: ‘The striped shall be your wage,’ then all the flock bore stripes.

⁹Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

⁹And God has snatched away the livestock of your father and gave them to me.

¹⁰When the flocks were breeding, I saw in a dream that the streaked, spotted, and speckled males were mating with the females.

¹⁰And it came to pass at the time the flock was conceiving, that I lifted my eyes and saw in the dream, and behold, the male goats going up on the flock were striped, speckled, and spotted.

¹¹In that dream the angel^a of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’

And I replied, ‘Here I am.’

¹¹And the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob!’ And I said, ‘Behold, it is I.’

¹²‘Look up,’ he said, ‘and see that all the males that are mating with the flock are streaked, spotted, or speckled; for I have seen all that Laban has done to you.

¹²And He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see, all the he-goats going up on the flock are striped, speckled, and spotted; for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up, leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’”

¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed to Me a vow. Now arise, go out from this land, and return to the land of your birth.’”

¹⁴And Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we have any portion or inheritance left in our father’s house?

¹⁴And Rachel and Leah answered and they said to him, “Is there still for us a portion and an inheritance in the house of our father?

¹⁵Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? Not only has he sold us, but he has certainly squandered what was paid for us.

¹⁵Are we not considered by him strangers, for he has sold us and he has indeed eaten our silver.

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

¹⁶For all the riches that God has snatched away from our father are ours and our children’s. And now, all that God has said to you—do.”

¹⁷Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on camels,

¹⁷And Jacob rose and lifted his sons and his wives on the camels,

¹⁸and he drove all his livestock before him, along with all the possessions he had acquired in Paddan-aram,^a to go to his father Isaac in the land in Canaan.

¹⁸and he drove all his livestock, and all his possessions that he had gotten, the livestock of his acquiring that he had gotten in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father, in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.

¹⁹And Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the teraphim that belonged to her father.

²⁰Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban^a the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away.

²⁰And Jacob stole the heart of Laban the Aramaean, by not telling him that he was fleeing.

²¹So he fled with all his possessions, crossed the Euphrates,^a and headed for the hill country of Gilead.

²¹And he fled—he and all that was unto him—and He rose and he passed over the River and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

²²On the third day Laban was informed that Jacob had fled.

²²And it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.

²³So he took his relatives with him, pursued Jacob for seven days, and overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

²³And he took his brothers with him, and pursued after him a journey of seven days, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

²⁴But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

²⁴And God came to Laban the Aramaean in a dream of the night and said to him, “Guard yourself, lest you speak to Jacob from good to evil.”

²⁵Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there as well.

²⁵And Laban overtook Jacob. And Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban pitched his tent with his brothers in the hill country of Gilead.

²⁶Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war!

²⁶And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? And you have stolen my heart, and you have driven my daughters like captives of the sword!

²⁷Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.

²⁷Why have you fled secretly and stolen from me and not told me? And I would have sent you away with joy and with songs, with tambourines and with harps?

²⁸But you did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye. Now you have done a foolish thing.

²⁸And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters! Now you have acted foolishly in doing this.

²⁹I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

²⁹It is in the power of my hand to do with you evil; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Guard yourself from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.’

³⁰Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?”

³⁰And you have surely gone away because you have surely longed for the house of your father. Why did you steal my gods?”

³¹“I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.

³¹And Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said: Lest you take by force your daughters from me.

³²If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

³²With whomever you find your gods, he shall not live; before our brothers discern what of yours is with me, and take it with you.” And Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.

³³And Laban went into the tent of Jacob, and into the tent of Leah, and into the tent of the two maidservants, and he did not find anything. And he went out of the tent of Leah and entered into the tent of Rachel.

³⁴Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laban searched everything in the tent but found nothing.

³⁴And Rachel had taken the teraphim and put them in the saddle of the camel, and sat on them. And Laban felt all about the tent, and he did not find them.

³⁵Rachel said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period.” So Laban searched but could not find the household idols.

³⁵And she said to her father, “Do not let it burn in the eyes of my lord that I am not able to rise before you, for the way of women is with me.” And he searched and he did not find the teraphim.

³⁶Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. “What is my crime?” he said. “For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me?

³⁶And Jacob's anger burned, and he strove with Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued after me?

³⁷You have searched all my goods! Have you found anything that belongs to you? Put it here before my brothers and yours, that they may judge between the two of us.

³⁷For you have felt about all my things, what have you found of all the things of your house? Set it here before my brothers and your brothers, that they may judge between the two of us.

³⁸I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flock.

³⁸These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and the rams of your flock I have not eaten.

³⁹I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.

³⁹That which was torn I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

⁴⁰As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.

⁴⁰There I was: In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost in the night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

⁴¹Thus for twenty years I have served in your household—fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks—and you have changed my wages ten times!

⁴¹This is my twentieth year in your house. I served you four and ten years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wage ten times.

⁴²If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, and last night He rendered judgment.”

⁴²Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen, my affliction and the toil of my hands and He judged last night.”

Jacob’s Covenant with Laban

⁴³But Laban answered Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne?

⁴³And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these sons are my sons, and the flock is my flock, and all that you see is mine. And for my daughters, what can I do to these today, or to their sons whom they have borne?

⁴⁴Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”

⁴⁴And now, come, let us cut a covenant, I and you; and let it be a witness between me and between you.”

⁴⁵So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar,

⁴⁵And Jacob took a stone and raised it up as a pillar.

⁴⁶and he said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and made a mound, and there by the mound they ate.

⁴⁶And Jacob said to his brothers, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap.

⁴⁷Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.^a

⁴⁷And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸Then Laban declared, “This mound is a witness between you and me this day.”

Therefore the place was called Galeed.

⁴⁸And Laban said, “This is the heap—a witness between me and between you today.” Upon thus he called its name Galeed,

⁴⁹It was also called Mizpah,^a because Laban said, “May the LORD keep watch between you and me when we are absent from each other.

⁴⁹and Mizpah, because he said, “May YHWH watch between me and between you when we are hidden one from another.

⁵⁰If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”

⁵⁰If you afflict my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us, see that God is witness between me and between you.”

⁵¹Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is the mound, and here is the pillar I have set up between you and me.

⁵¹And Laban said to Jacob, “Behold, this is the heap, and behold, the pillar that I have placed between me and between you.

⁵²This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this mound to harm you, and you will not go past this mound and pillar to harm me.

⁵²This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and that you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for evil.

⁵³May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”

So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵³The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. And after they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

⁵⁴And Jacob sacrificed a sacrifice on the mountain, and he called his brothers to eat bread, and they ate bread and spent the night on the mountain.

⁵⁵Early the next morning, Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and daughters and blessed them. Then he left to return home.

⁵⁵And Laban rose early in the morning and kissed his sons and his daughters, and he blessed them. And Laban departed and returned to his place.