Genesis 31

1 But afterwards, he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and being enlarged by his ability, he has become famous.”

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

2 Likewise, he observed that Laban’s face was not the same toward him as it was yesterday and the day before.

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

3 Most importantly, the Lord was saying to him, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your generation, and I will be with you.”

And Jehovah said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred, and I will be with thee.

4 He sent and called for Rachel and Leah, in the field where he pastured the flocks,

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

5 and he said to them: “I see that your father’s face is not the same toward me as it was yesterday and the day before. But the God of my father has been with me.

and said to them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as beforetime, but the God of my father has been with me.

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

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

7 Even so, your father has circumvented me, and he has changed my wages ten times. And yet God has not permitted him to harm me.

And your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me.

8 Whenever he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ all the sheep gave birth to speckled newborns. Yet truly, when he said the contrary, ‘You will take whatever is white for your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to white ones.

If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages, then all the flock bore speckled, and if he said thus, The ringstreaked shall be thy wages, then all the flock bore ringstreaked.

9 And it is God who has taken your father’s substance and given it to me.

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

10 For after the time had arrived for the ewes to conceive, I lifted up my eyes, and I saw in my sleep that the males climbing on the females were of variegated, and spotted, and diverse colors.

And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceive, that I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled.

11 And the Angel of God said to me in my sleep, ‘Jacob.’ And I responded, ‘Here I am.’

And the agent of God said to me in the dream, Jacob. And I said, Here I am.

12 And he said: ‘Lift up your eyes, and see that all the males climbing on the females are variegated, spotted, and also speckled. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you.

And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled, for I have seen all that Laban does to thee.

13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the stone and made a vow to me. Now therefore arise, and depart from this land, returning to the land of your nativity.’”

I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointed a pillar, where thou vowed a vow to me. Now arise, get thee out from this land, and return to the land of thy nativity.

14 And Rachel and Leah responded: “Have we anything left behind among the resources and inheritance of our father’s house?

And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?

15 Has he not considered us as foreigners, and sold us, and consumed our price?

Are we not accounted by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also quite devoured our money.

16 But God has taken our father’s riches and handed these to us and to our sons. Therefore, do all that God has instructed you.”

For all the riches which God has taken away from our father, that is ours and our children's. Now then, whatever God has said to thee, do.

17 And so Jacob rose up, and having placed the children and his wives upon camels, he went forth.

Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels.

18 And he took all his substance and flocks, and whatever he had acquired in Mesopotamia, and he journeyed to his father Isaac, in the land of Canaan.

And he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.

19 At that time, Laban had gone to shear the sheep, and so Rachel stole her father’s idols.

Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.

20 And Jacob was not willing to confess to his father-in-law that he was fleeing.

And Jacob slipped away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he fled.

21 And when he had gone away with all such things that were justly his, and, having crossed the river, was continuing on toward Mount Gilead,

So he fled with all that he had. And he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.

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

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

23 And taking his brothers with him, he pursued him for seven days. And he overtook him at Mount Gilead.

And he took his brothers with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey, and he overtook him in the mountain of Gilead.

24 And he saw in a dream, God saying to him, “Beware that you not speak anything harsh against Jacob.”

And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said to him, Take heed to thyself that thou not speak to Jacob either good or bad.

25 And now Jacob had pitched his tent at the mountain. And when he, with his brothers, had overtaken him, he set his tent at the same place at Mount Gilead.

And Laban came up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain. And Laban encamped with his brothers in the mountain of Gilead.

26 And he said to Jacob: “Why have you acted this way, departing from me in secret, with my daughters like captives of the sword?

And Laban said to Jacob, What have thou done, that thou have slipped away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters as captives of the sword?

27 Why would you want to flee without my knowledge and without telling me, though I might have led you forward with gladness, and songs, and timbrels, and lyres?

Why did thou flee secretly, and creep away from me, and did not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine and with harp,

28 You have not permitted me to kiss my sons and daughters. You have acted foolishly. And now, indeed,

and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now thou have done foolishly.

29 my hand has power to repay you with harm. But the God of your father said to me yesterday, ‘Beware that you not speak anything stern against Jacob.’

It is in the power of my hand to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou not speak to Jacob either good or bad.

30 It may be that you desired to go to your own, and that you longed for the house of your father. But why have you stolen my gods?”

And now, though thou have certainly gone, because thou have been very desirous for thy father's house, yet why have thou stolen my gods?

31 Jacob answered: “I set out, unknown to you, because I feared that you might take away your daughters by violence.

And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid, for I said, Lest thou should take thy daughters from me by force.

32 But, since you accuse me of theft, with whomever you will find your gods, let him be slain in the sight of our brothers. Search; anything of yours that you will find with me, take it away.” Now when he said this, he did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

With whomever thou find thy gods, he shall not live. Before our brothers discern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33 And so Laban, entering the tent of Jacob, and of Leah, and of both the handmaids, did not find them. And when he had entered the tent of Rachel,

And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two maid-servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.

34 she quickly hid the idols under the camel’s bedding, and she sat upon them. And when he had searched the entire tent and found nothing,

Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, and put them in the camel's saddle, and sat upon them. And Laban felt around all the tent, but did not find them.

35 she said: “Do not be angry, my lord, that I am unable to rise up in your sight, because it has now happened to me according to the custom of women.” So his careful search was thwarted.

And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee, for the manner of women is upon me. And he searched, but did not find the teraphim.

36 And Jacob, being inflated, said with contention: “For which fault of mine, or for what sin of mine, have you become so enraged against me

And Jacob was angry, and chided with Laban. And Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? What is my sin that thou have hotly pursued after me?

37 and searched all the items of my house? What have you found from all the substance of your house? Place it here before my brothers, and your brothers, and let them judge between me and you.

Whereas thou have felt around all my stuff, what have thou found of all thy household stuff? Set it here before my brothers and thy brothers, that they may judge between us two.

38 For what reason have I been with you for twenty years? Your ewes and she-goats were not barren; the rams of your flocks I did not consume.

These twenty years I have been with thee, thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their young, and I have not eaten the rams of thy flocks.

39 Neither did I reveal to you what was seized by the wild beast. I replaced all that was damaged. Whatever was lost by theft, you collected it from me.

I did not bring to thee that which was torn by beasts; I bore the loss of it, of my hand thou required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

40 Day and night, I was burned by heat and by frost, and sleep fled from my eyes.

Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

41 And in this way, for twenty years, I have served you in your house: fourteen for your daughters, and six for your flocks. You have also changed my wages ten times.

These twenty years I have been in thy house. I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock. And thou have changed my wages ten times.

42 If the God of my father Abraham and the fear of Isaac had not been close to me, perhaps by now you would have sent me away naked. But God looked kindly on my affliction and the labor of my hands, and he rebuked you yesterday.”

Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now thou would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee last night.

43 Laban answered him: “My daughters and sons, and your flocks, and all that you discern are mine. What can I do to my sons and grandchildren?

And Laban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou see is mine. And what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their sons whom they have borne?

44 Come, therefore, let us enter into a pact, so that it may be a testimony between me and you.”

And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou, and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

45 And so Jacob took a stone, and he set it up as a memorial.

And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

46 And he said to his brothers, “Bring stones.” And they, gathering together stones, made a tomb, and they ate upon it.

And Jacob said to his brothers, Gather stones, and they took stones, and made a heap. And they ate there by the heap.

47 And Laban called it, ‘Tomb of Witness,’ and Jacob, ‘Pile of Testimony;’ each of them according to the fitness of his own language.

And Laban called it Jegar-saha-dutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

48 And Laban said: “This tomb will be a witness between me and you this day.” (And for this reason, its name has been called Gilead, that is, ‘Tomb of Witness.’)

And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore the name of it was called Galeed,

49 “May the Lord consider and judge between us, when we will have withdrawn from one another.

and Mizpah. For he said, May Jehovah watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another,

50 If you afflict my daughters, and if you bring in other wives over them, no one is a witness of our words except God, who understands beforehand.”

if thou will afflict my daughters, and if thou will take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us, see, God is witness between me and thee.

51 And again he said to Jacob. “Lo, this tomb and the stone that I have set up between me and you,

And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set between me and thee.

52 will be a witness. This tomb,” I say, “and the stone, they are for testimony, in case either I cross beyond it going toward you, or you cross beyond it thinking to harm me.

This heap is witness, and the pillar is witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shall not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.

53 May the God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” Therefore, Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.

The 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.

54 And after he had immolated sacrifices on the mountain, he called his brothers to eat bread. And when they had eaten, they lodged there.

And Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brothers to eat bread. And they ate bread, and tarried all night on the mountain.

55 In truth, Laban rose up in the night, and he kissed his sons and daughters, and he blessed them. And he returned to his place.

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