Genesis 31
1 And he heard [the] words of [the] sons of Laban saying he has taken Jacob all that [belonged] to father our and from [that] which [belonged] to father our he has acquired all the abundance this.
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.”
2 And he saw Jacob [the] face of Laban and there! not [was] he with him as yesterday three days ago.
And Jacob noticed that Laban was not acting friendly toward him as he had done before.
3 And he said Yahweh to Jacob return to [the] land of fathers your and to kindred your so I may be with you.
Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will help you there.”
4 And he sent Jacob and he summoned Rachel and Leah the field to flock his.
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.
5 And he said to them [am] seeing I [the] face of father your that not [is] he to me as yesterday three days ago and [the] God of father my he has been with me.
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.
6 And you you know that with all strength my I have served father your.
You two know that I have worked very hard for your father,
7 And father your he has deceived me and he has changed wage[s] my ten times and not he has permitted him God to do harm with me.
but many times [HYP] he has cheated me by decreasing my wages. But God has not allowed him to harm me.
8 If thus he said speckled [ones] it will be wage[s] your and they bore all the flock speckled [ones] and if thus he said striped [ones] it will be wage[s] your and they bore all the flock striped [ones].
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.
9 And he has taken away God [the] livestock of father your and he has given [it] to me.
In that way, God has taken away the livestock that belonged to your father and has given them to me.
10 And it was at [the] time mated the flock and I lifted up eyes my and I saw in a dream and there! the male goats which were going up on the flock [were] striped speckled and mottled.
“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.
11 And he said to me [the] angel of God in a dream O Jacob and I said here [am] I.
An angel who was sent by God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob!’ I replied, ‘I am here!’
12 And he said lift up please eyes your and see all the male goats which are going up on the flock [are] striped speckled and mottled for I have seen all that Laban [is] doing to you.
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.
13 I [am] the God of Beth-el where you anointed there a pillar where you vowed to me there a vow now arise go out from the land this and return to [the] land of kindred your.
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.’”
14 And she answered Rachel and Leah and they said to him ¿ still [belong] to us [does] a share and an inheritance in [the] household of father our.
Rachel and Leah replied, “Our father will not give us anything more when he dies [RHQ].
15 ¿ Not foreigners are we accounted by him for he has sold us and he has consumed also continuously money our.
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!
16 For all the wealth which he has taken away God from father our [belongs] to us it and to children our and therefore all that he has said God to you do.
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!”
17 And he arose Jacob and he lifted up children his and wives his on camels.
Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels.
18 And he drove all livestock his and all possession[s] his which he had accumulated [the] livestock of acquisition his which he had accumulated in Paddan Aram to go to Isaac father his [the] land of towards Canaan.
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.
19 And Laban he had gone to shear sheep his and she stole Rachel the teraphim which [belonged] to father her.
Before they left, while Laban was shearing his sheep, Rachel stole the [small wooden] idols [that were in her father’s tent].
20 And he stole Jacob [the] heart of Laban the Aramean on not he told to him that [was] fleeing he.
Furthermore, Jacob deceived Laban, who belonged to the Aram people-group, by not telling him that they were planning to leave.
21 And he fled he and all that [belonged] to him and he arose and he passed over the river and he set face his [the] hill country of Gilead.
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.
22 And it was told to Laban on the day third that he had fled Jacob.
On the third day after they left, someone told Laban that Jacob and his family had left.
23 And he took relatives his with him and he pursued after him a journey of seven days and he overtook him in [the] hill country of Gilead.
So he took some of his relatives with him and started to pursue Jacob. They continued walking for seven days.
24 And he came God to Laban the Aramean in [the] dream of the night and he said to him take heed to yourself lest you should speak with Jacob from good unto bad.
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!”
25 And he overtook Laban Jacob and Jacob he had pitched tent his in the hill country and Laban he pitched tent with relatives his in [the] hill country of Gilead.
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.
26 And he said Laban to Jacob what? have you done and you have stolen heart my and you have led away daughters my like captives of [the] sword.
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]!
27 Why? did you hide yourself to flee and did you steal? me and not did you tell? to me and I sent away you with gladness and with songs with tambourine and with harp.
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?
28 And not did you allow? me to kiss sons my and daughters my now you have behaved foolishly to do.
(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!
29 There [is] to [the] power of hand my to do with you harm and [the] God of father your last night - he said to me saying take heed to yourself from speaking with Jacob from good unto bad.
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.’
30 And now certainly you have gone for certainly you longed for [the] household of father your why? did you steal gods my.
Now, I know you have left because you long to go back home. But why did you steal my [wooden] idols?”
31 And he answered Jacob and he said to Laban that I was afraid for I said lest you should tear away daughters your from with me.
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.
32 With [anyone] whom you will find gods your not he will live before relatives our investigate for yourself what? [is] with me and take [it] for yourself and not he knew Jacob that Rachel she had stolen them.
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.
33 And he went Laban in [the] tent of Jacob - and in [the] tent of Leah and in [the] tent of [the] two the maidservants and not he found [them] and he came out from [the] tent of Leah and he went in [the] tent of Rachel.
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.
34 And Rachel she had taken the teraphim and she had put them in [the] saddlebag of the camel and she sat on them and he searched Laban all the tent and not he found [them].
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.
35 And she said to father her may not it burn in [the] eyes of lord my that not I am able to rise from before you for [the] way of women [belongs] to me and he searched and not he found the teraphim.
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.
36 And it burned to Jacob and he quarreled with Laban and he answered Jacob and he said to Laban what? [is] transgression my what? [is] sin my that you have hotly pursued after me.
Then Jacob became angry. He rebuked Laban, saying, “What crime did I commit? For what sin that I committed have you pursued me?
37 That you have searched all things my what? did you find of all [the] things of household your put [it] thus before relatives my and relatives your so they may decide between [the] two of us.
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!
38 This twenty year[s] I [have been] with you ewes your and female goats your not they have miscarried and [the] rams of flock your not I have eaten.
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.
39 A torn animal not I brought to you I I bore [the] loss of it from hand my you sought it [one] stolen of day and [one] stolen of night.
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.
40 I was in the day it consumed me heat and frost in the night and it fled sleep my from eyes my.
I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was often not even able to sleep [PRS]!
41 This [belonged] to me twenty year[s] in household your I served you four-teen year[s] for [the] two daughters your and six years for flock[s] your and you changed wage[s] my ten times.
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].
42 If not [the] God of father my [the] God of Abraham and [the] fear of Isaac he had been to me for now empty you sent away me affliction my and ([the] toil of *LB(ah)*) hands my he has seen God and he decided last night.
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.”
43 And he answered Laban and he said to Jacob the daughters [are] daughters my and the children [are] children my and the flock [is] flock my and all that you [are] seeing [belongs] to me it and for daughters my what? will I do for these this day or for children their whom they have borne.
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]?
44 And therefore come! let us make a covenant I and you and it will become a witness between me and between you.
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.”
45 And he took Jacob a stone and he raised up it a pillar.
So Jacob took a [large] stone and set it on its end.
46 And he said Jacob to relatives his gather stones and they took stones and they made a heap and they ate there at the heap.
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.
47 And he called it Laban Jegar Sahadutha and Jacob he called it Galeed.
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].
48 And he said Laban the heap this [is] a witness between me and between you this day there-fore (he called *LA(bh)*) name its Galeed.
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.
49 And Mizpah that he said may he keep watch Yahweh between me and between you for we will be hidden each from neighbor his.
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].
50 If you will mistreat daughters my and if you will take wives to daughters my there not [is] anyone with us see God [is] a witness between me and between you.
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!”
51 And he said Laban to Jacob here! - the heap this and here! the pillar which I have set up between me and between you.
Laban also said to Jacob, “You see this large stone and this pile of rocks that we have set up to be between us.
52 [is] a witness The heap this and [is] a witness the pillar if I not I will pass beyond to you the heap this and if you not you will pass beyond to me the heap this and the pillar this for harm.
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.
53 [the] God of Abraham and [the] God of Nahor may they judge between us [the] God of father their and he swore Jacob by [the] fear of father his Isaac.
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.
54 And he sacrificed Jacob a sacrifice in the hill country and he invited relatives his to eat food and they ate food and they stayed [the] night in the hill country.
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.
55 And he rose early Laban in the morning and he kissed sons his and daughters his and he blessed them and he went and he returned Laban to own place his.
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.
