Genesi 31

1 OR egli udì le parole de' figliuoli di Labano, che dicevano: Giacobbe ha tolto a nostro padre tutto il suo avere; e di quello ch' [era] di nostra padre, egli ha acquistata tutta questa dovizia.

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 Giacobbe ancora vide che la faccia di Labano non [era] verso lui qual [soleva esser] per addietro.

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

3 E il Signore disse a Giacobbe: Ritornatene al paese de' tuoi, ed al tuo luogo natio, ed io sarò teco.

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

4 E Giacobbe mandò a chiamar Rachele e Lea, a' campi, presso della sua greggia.

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 E disse loro: Io veggo che la faccia di vostro padre non [è] inverso me qual [soleva esser] per addietro; e pur l'Iddio di mio padre è stato meco.

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 E voi sapete che ho servito a vostro padre di tutto il mio potere.

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

7 Ma egli mi ha ingannato, e m'ha cambiato il mio salario dieci volte; ma Iddio non gli ha permesso di farmi alcun danno.

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

8 Se egli diceva così: Le macchiate saranno il tuo salario, tutta la greggia figliava [parti] macchiati; e se diceva così: Le vergate saranno il tuo salario, tutta la greggia figliava [parti] vergati.

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 E Iddio ha tolto il bestiame a vostro padre, e me lo ha dato.

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

10 Ed avvenne [una volta], al tempo che le pecore entrano in calore, che io alzai gli occhi, e vidi in sogno che i becchi ed i montoni che ammontavano le pecore e le capre, [erano] vergati, macchiati e grandinati.

“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 E l'angelo di Dio mi disse in sogno: Giacobbe. Ed io dissi: Eccomi.

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

12 Ed egli disse: Alza ora gli occhi, e vedi tutti i becchi e i montoni, che ammontano le capre e le pecore, [come son tutti] vergati, macchiati, e grandinati; perciocchè io ho veduto tutto quello che Labano ti fa.

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 Io [son] l'Iddio di Betel, dove tu ugnesti [quel] piliere, e dove tu mi facesti [quel] voto; ora levati, e partiti di questo paese, e ritornatene nel tuo natio paese.

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 E Rachele e Lea risposero, e dissero: Abbiamo noi più alcuna parte od eredità in casa di nostro padre?

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

15 Non fummo noi da lui reputate straniere, quando egli ci vendette? ed oltre a ciò egli ha tutti mangiati i nostri danari.

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 Conciossiachè tutte queste facoltà che Iddio ha tolte a nostro padre, già fosser nostre e de' nostri figliuoli; ora dunque fa' [pur] tutto quello che Iddio ti ha detto.

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 E Giacobbe si levò, e mise i suoi figliuoli e le sue mogli in su de' cammelli.

Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels.

18 E ne menò tutto il suo bestiame, e tutte le sue facoltà ch'egli avea acquistate; il bestiame ch'egli avea acquistato in Paddan-aram per venirsene nel paese di Canaan, ad Isacco suo padre.

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 Or Labano se n'era andato a tondere le sue pecore; e Rachele rubò gl'idoli di suo padre.

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

20 E Giacobbe si partì furtivamente da Labano, Sirio; perciocchè egli non gliel dichiarò; conciossiachè egli se ne fuggisse.

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

21 Egli adunque se ne fuggì, con tutto quello ch'egli avea; e si levò, e passò il Fiume, e si dirizzò [verso il] monte di 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 E il terzo giorno [appresso] fu rapportato a Labano, che Giacobbe se n'era fuggito.

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

23 Allora egli prese seco i suoi fratelli, e lo perseguì per sette giornate di cammino; e lo raggiunse al monte di Galaad.

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

24 Ma Iddio venne a Labano, Sirio, in sogno di notte, e gli disse: Guardati che tu non venga a parole con Giacobbe, nè in bene, nè in male.

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 Labano adunque raggiunse Giacobbe. E Giacobbe avea tesi i suoi padiglioni in sul monte; e Labano, co' suoi fratelli, tese parimente i suoi nel monte di Galaad.

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 E Labano disse a Giacobbe: Che hai tu fatto, partendoti da me furtivamente, e menandone le mie figliuole come prigioni di guerra?

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 Perchè ti sei fuggito celatamente, e ti sei furtivamente partito da me, e non me l'hai fatto assapere? ed io ti avrei accommiatato con allegrezza e con canti, con tamburi e con cetere.

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 E non mi hai pur permesso di baciare i miei figliuoli e le mie figliuole; ora tu hai stoltamente fatto.

(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 E' sarebbe in mio potere di farvi del male; ma l'Iddio del padre vostro mi parlò la notte passata, dicendo: Guardati che tu non venga a parole con Giacobbe, nè in bene, nè in male.

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 Ora dunque, siitene pure andato, poichè del tutto bramavi la casa di tuo padre; [ma], perchè hai tu rubati i miei dii?

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

31 E Giacobbe rispose, e disse a Labano: [Io me ne son così andato], perchè io avea paura; perciocchè io diceva [che mi conveniva guardar] che talora tu non rapissi le tue figliuole d'appresso a 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 Colui, appo il quale tu avrai trovati i tuoi dii, non sia lasciato vivere; riconosci, in presenza de' nostri fratelli, se vi è nulla [del tuo] appo me, e prendite[lo]. Or Giacobbe non sapeva che Rachele avesse rubati quegl'iddii.

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 Labano adunque entrò nel padiglione di Giacobbe, e nel padiglione di Lea, e nel padiglione delle due serve, e non [li] trovò; ed uscito del padiglione di Lea, entrò nel padiglione di Rachele.

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 Ma Rachele avea presi quegl'idoli, e li avea messi dentro l'arnese d'un cammello, e s'era posta a sedere sopra essi; e Labano frugò tutto il padiglione, e non [li] trovò.

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 Ed ella disse a suo padre: Non prenda il mio signore sdegno, ch'io non posso levarmi su davanti a te; perciocchè io ho quello che sogliono aver le donne. Egli adunque investigò, ma non trovò quegl'idoli.

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 E Giacobbe si adirò, e contese con Labano, e gli parlò, e gli disse: Qual misfatto, o qual peccato ho io commesso, che tu mi abbi così ardentemente perseguito?

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

37 Poichè tu hai frugate tutte le mie masserizie, che hai tu trovato di tutte le masserizie di casa tua? metti[lo] qui davanti a' tuoi e miei fratelli, acciocchè giudichino chi di noi due ha ragione.

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 Già [son] vent'anni [ch'io sono stato] teco; le tue pecore e le tue capre non hanno disperduto, ed io non ho mangiati i montoni della tua greggia.

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 Io non ti ho portato ciò ch'era lacerato; io l'ho pagato; tu me lo hai ridomandato: [come ancora] se alcuna cosa era stata rubata di giorno o di notte.

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 Io mi son portato in maniera che il caldo mi consumava di giorno, e di notte il gelo, e il sonno mi fuggiva dagli occhi.

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

41 Già [son] vent'anni [ch' io sono] in casa tua, io ti ho servito quattordici anni per le tue due figliuole, e sei anni per le tue pecore; e tu mi hai mutato il mio salario dicei volte.

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 Se l'Iddio di mio padre, l'Iddio di Abrahamo, e il terrore d'Isacco, non fosse stato meco, certo tu mi avresti ora rimandato voto. Iddio ha veduta la mia afflizione, e la fatica delle mie mani: e [però] la notte passata ne ha data la sentenza.

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 Labano rispose a Giacobbe, e gli disse: Queste figliuole [son] mie figliuole, e questi figliuoli [son] miei figliuoli, e queste pecore [son] mie pecore, e tutto quello che tu vedi [è] mio; e che farei io oggi a queste mie figliuole, ovvero a' lor figliuoli che esse hanno partoriti?

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 Ora dunque, vieni, facciam patto insieme, tu ed io; e sia [ciò] per testimonianza fra me e te.

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 E Giacobbe prese una pietra, e la rizzò [per] un piliere.

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

46 E Giacobbe disse a' suoi fratelli: Raccogliete delle pietre. Ed essi presero delle pietre, e [ne] fecero un mucchio, e mangiarono quivi.

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 E Labano chiamò quel mucchio Iegar-sahaduta; e Giacobbe gli pose nome Galed.

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 E Labano disse: Questo mucchio [è] oggi testimonio fra me e te; perciò fu nominato Galed:

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 ed [anche] Mispa; perciocchè [Labano] disse: Il Signore riguardi fra te e me, quando non ci potremo vedere l'un l'altro.

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 Se tu affliggi le mie figliuole, ovvero, se tu prendi altre mogli oltre alle mie figliuole, non un uomo [è testimonio] fra noi; vedi: Iddio [è] testimonio fra me e te.

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 Labano, oltre a ciò, disse a Giacobbe: Ecco questo mucchio che io ho ammonticchiato, ed ecco questo piliere fra me e te.

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 Questo mucchio [sarà] testimonio, e questo piliere ancora [sarà] testimonio, che nè io non passerò questo mucchio [per andare] a te, nè tu non passerai questo mucchio e questo piliere, [per venire] a me, per male.

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 L'Iddio di Abrahamo, e l'Iddio di Nahor, l'Iddio del padre loro, sieno giudici fra noi. Ma Giacobbe giurò per lo terrore d'Isacco, suo padre.

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 E Giacobbe sacrificò un sacrificio in su quel monte, e chiamò i suoi fratelli a mangiar del pane. Essi adunque mangiarono del pane, e dimorarono quella notte in su quel monte.

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 E la mattina, Labano si levò a buon'ora, e baciò le sue figliuole, e i suoi figliuoli, e li benedisse. Poi se ne andò, e ritornò al suo luogo.

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.