Genesis 31

1 Aftir that Jacob herde the wordis of the sones of Laban, that seiden, Jacob hath take awei alle thingis that weren oure fadris, and of his catel Jacob is maad riche, and noble.

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 Also Jacob perseyuede the face of Laban, that it was not ayens hym as yistirdai, and the thridde dai agoon,

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

3 moost for the Lord seide to hym, Turne ayen into the lond of thi fadris, and to thi generacioun, and Y shal be with thee.

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

4 He sente, and clepide Rachel, and Lya, in to the feeld, where he kepte flockis, and he seide to hem,

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 Y se the face of youre fadir, that it is not ayens me as `yisterdai and the thridde dai agoon; but God of my fadir was 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 ye witen that with alle my strengthis Y seruede youre fadir;

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

7 but and youre fadir disseyuyde me, and chaungide my meede ten sithis; and netheles God suffride not hym to anoye me.

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

8 If he seide ony tyme, Dyuerse colourid sheep schulen be thi medis, alle sheep brouyten forth dyuerse colourid lambren; forsothe whanne he seide ayenward, Thou shalte take alle white for mede, alle the flockis brouyten forth white beestis;

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 God took a wey the substaunce of youre fadir, and yaf to me.

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

10 For aftir that the tyme of conseyuyng of sheep cam, Y reiside myn iyen, and seiy in sleep malis dyuerse, and spotti, and of dyuerse colouris, stiynge on femalis.

“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 the aungel of the Lord seide to me in sleep, Jacob! and Y answeride, Y am redy.

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

12 Which seide, Reise thin iyen, and se alle malis dyuerse, byspreynt, and spotti, stiynge on femalis; for Y seiy alle thingis whiche Laban dide to thee;

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 Y am God of Bethel, where thou anoyntidist a stoon, and madist auow to me. Now therefor rise thou, and go out of this lond, and turne ayen in to the lond of thi birthe.

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 Rachel and Lya answeriden, Wher we han ony thing residue in the catels, and eritage of oure fadir?

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

15 Wher he `arettide not vs as aliens, and selde, and eet oure prijs?

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 But God took awei the richessis of oure fadir, and yaf tho to vs, and to oure sones; wherfor do thou alle thingis whiche God hath comaundide to thee.

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 Forsothe Jacob roos, and puttide hise fre children and wyues on camels, and yede forth;

Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels.

18 and he took al his catel, flockis, and what euer thing he hadde gete in Mesopotanye, and yede to Isaac, his fadir, into the lond of 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 In that tyme Laban yede to schere scheep, and Rachel stal the idols of hir fadir.

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

20 And Jacob nolde knouleche to the fadir of his wijf, that he wolde fle;

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

21 and whanne he hadde go, as wel he as alle thingis that weren of his riyt, and whanne he hadde passid the water, and he yede ayens the hil of Galaad,

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 it was teld to Laban, in the thridde dai, that Jacob fledde.

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

23 And Laban took his britheren, and pursuede hym seuene daies, and took hym in the hil of Galaad.

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

24 And Laban seiy in sleep the Lord seiynge to him, Be war that thou speke not ony thing sharpli ayens Jacob.

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 thanne Jacob hadde stretchid forth the tabernacle in the hil; and whanne he hadde sued Jacob with his britheren, `he settide tente in the same hil of Galaad; and he seide to Jacob,

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 Whi hast thou do so, that the while I wiste not thou woldist dryue awey my douytris as caitifs by swerd?

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 Whi woldist thou fle the while Y wiste not, nether woldist shewe to me, that Y shulde sue thee with ioie, and songis, and tympans, and harpis?

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 Thou suffridist not that Y schulde kisse my sones and douytris; thou hast wrouyt folili.

(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 And now sotheli myn hond mai yelde yuel to thee, but the God of thi fadir seide to me yisterdai, Be war that thou speke not ony harder thing with Jacob.

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 Suppose, if thou coueitedist to go to thi kynesmen, and the hows of thi fadir was in desir to thee, whi hast thou stole my goddis?

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

31 Jacob answeride, That Y yede forth while thou wistist not, Y dredde lest thou woldist take awey thi douytris violentli;

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 sotheli that thou repreuest me of thefte, at whom euer thou fyndist thi goddis, be he slayn bifor oure britheren; seke thou, what euer thing of thine thou fyndist at me, and take awei. Jacob seide these thingis, and wiste not that Rachel stal the idols.

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 so Laban entride into the tabernacle of Jacob, and of Lya, and of euer eithir meyne, and foond not; and whanne Laban hadde entrid in to the tente 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 sche hastide, and hidde the idols vndur the strewyngis of the camel, and sat aboue. And sche seide to Laban, sekynge al the tente and fyndynge no thing,

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 My lord, be not wrooth that Y may not rise bifore thee, for it bifelde now to me bi the custom of wymmen; so the bisynesse of the sekere was scorned.

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 Jacob bolnyde, and seide with strijf, For what cause of me, and for what synne of me, hast thou come so fersly aftir 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 and hast souyt al `the portenaunce of myn hous? What `hast thou founde of al the catel of thin hows? Putte thou here bifore my britheren and thi britheren, and deme thei betwixe me and thee.

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 Was I with thee herfore twenti yeer? Thi sheep and geet weren not bareyn, Y eet not the rammes of thi flok,

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 nether Y schewide to thee ony thing takun of a beeste; Y yeldide al harm; what euer thing perischide bi thefte, thou axidist of me;

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 Y was angwischid in dai and nyyt with heete and frost, and sleep fledde fro myn iyen;

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

41 so Y seruede thee bi twenti yeer in thin hows, fourtene yeer for thi douytris, and sixe yeer for thi flockis; and thou chaungidist my mede ten sithis.

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 God of my fadir Abraham, and the drede of Isaac hadde not helpid me, perauenture now thou haddist left me nakid; the Lord bihelde my turmentyng and the traueyl of myn hondis, and repreuyde thee yistirdai.

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 Laban answeride hym, The douytris, and thi sones, and flockis, and alle thingis whiche thou seest, ben myne, what mai Y do to my sones, and to the sones of sones?

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 Therfor come thou, and make we boond of pees, that it be witnessyng bitwixe me, and thee.

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 so Jacob took a stoon, and reiside it in to a signe, and seide to hise britheren,

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

46 Brynge ye stoonus; whiche gadriden, and maden an heep, and eten on it.

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 Laban clepide it the heep of wittnesse, and Jacob clepide it the heep of witnessyng; euer eithir clepide bi the proprete of his langage.

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 Laban seide, This heep schal be witnesse bytwixe me and thee to day, and herfor the name therof was clepid Galaad, that is, the heep of witnesse.

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 Laban addide, The Lord biholde, and deme bitwixe vs, whanne we schulen go awei fro yow;

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 thou schalt turmente my douytris, and if thou schal brynge yn othere wyues on hem, noon is witnesse of oure word, outakun God, whiche is present, and biholdith.

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 eft he seide to Jacob, Lo! this heep, and stoon, whiche Y reiside bitwixe me and thee, schal be witnesse;

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 sotheli this heep, and stoon be in to witnessyng, forsothe if Y schal passe it, and go to thee, ether thou shalt passe, and thenke yuel to me.

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 God of Abraham, and God of Nachor, God of the fadir of hem, deme bitwixe vs. Therfor Jacob swoor by the drede of his fadir Ysaac;

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 whanne slayn sacrifices weren offrid in the hil, he clepyde his britheren to ete breed, and whanne thei hadden ete, thei dwelliden there.

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 Forsothe Laban roos bi nyyt, and kisside his sones, and douytris, and blesside hem, and turnede ayen in to his place.

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.