Genesis 31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jacob Flees with Family and Flocks
31 Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s; he has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” 2 And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him as favorably as he did before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your ancestors and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”(A) 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was 5 and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me as favorably as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me.(B) 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not permit him to harm me.(C) 8 If he said, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore speckled, and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock bore striped.(D) 9 Thus God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
10 “During the mating of the flock I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats that leaped upon the flock were striped, speckled, and mottled. 11 Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am!’(E) 12 And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the goats that leap on the flock are striped, speckled, and mottled, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and return to the land of your birth.’ ”(F) 14 Then Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father’s house?(G) 15 Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and he has been using up the money given for us. 16 All the property that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”
17 So Jacob arose and set his children and his wives on camels, 18 and he drove away all his livestock, all the property that he had gained, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.
19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods.(H) 20 And Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. 21 So he fled with all that he had; starting out he crossed the Euphrates[a] and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.(I)
Laban Overtakes Jacob
22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 So he took his kinsfolk with him and pursued him for seven days until he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.(J) 24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Take heed that you say not a word to Jacob, either good or bad.”(K)
25 Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsfolk camped in the hill country of Gilead. 26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword.(L) 27 Why did you flee secretly and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you away with mirth and songs, with tambourine and lyre.(M) 28 And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell? What you have done is foolish. 29 It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Take heed that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’(N) 30 Even though you had to go because you longed greatly for your father’s house, why did you steal my gods?”(O) 31 Jacob answered Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our kinsfolk, point out what I have that is yours, and take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.[b](P)
33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel’s saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about in the tent but did not find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.(Q)
36 Then Jacob became angry and upbraided Laban. Jacob said to Laban, “What is my offense? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37 Although you have felt about through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my kinsfolk and your kinsfolk, so that they may decide between us two. 38 These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 That which was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself; of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.(R) 40 It was like this with me: by day the heat consumed me and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times.(S) 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear[c] of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”(T)
Laban and Jacob Make a Covenant
43 Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do today about these daughters of mine or about their children whom they have borne? 44 Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”(U) 45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.(V) 46 And Jacob said to his kinsfolk, “Gather stones,” and they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap. 47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha,[d] but Jacob called it Galeed.[e] 48 Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore he called it Galeed(W) 49 and the pillar[f] Mizpah, for he said, “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other.(X) 50 If you ill-treat my daughters or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, though no one else is with us, remember that God is witness between you and me.”
51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “See this heap and see the pillar, which I have set between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor[g] judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,(Y) 54 and Jacob offered a sacrifice on the height and called his kinsfolk to eat bread, and they ate bread and tarried all night in the hill country.
55 [h]Early in the morning Laban rose up and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them; then he departed and returned home.(Z)
Genesis 31
Evangelical Heritage Version
31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything from our father. He has acquired all his wealth from things that belonged to our father.” 2 From the look on Laban’s face Jacob realized that his attitude toward him was not what it had been before. 3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
4 Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah and told them to come to the field where his flock was. 5 He said to them, “I see the look on your father’s face, and it is not favorable toward me as it was before, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all of my strength. 7 Your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your wages,’ then all the flock gave birth to speckled young. If he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wages,’ then all the flock gave birth to streaked young. 9 In this way God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me. 10 Once during mating season, in a dream I watched and saw male goats that were streaked, speckled, and spotted[a] mating with the flock. 11 The Angel of God called out to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I answered, ‘I am here.’ 12 He said, ‘Look! All the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled, and spotted, because I have seen everything that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a memorial stone, and where you made a vow to me. Now get going, get out of this land, and return to the land where you were born.’”
14 Rachel and Leah answered him, “Do we still have any share of the inheritance in our father’s house? 15 Isn’t he treating us like foreigners? First he sold us. Now he has used up almost all the money he received for us. 16 All the riches that God has taken away from our father belong to us and our children. Now do whatever God has told you to do.”
17 Then Jacob got ready to go. He placed his sons and his wives on camels. 18 He took with him all his livestock and all his possessions that he had accumulated, including the livestock that he had acquired in Paddan Aram. He set out to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
19 Now when Laban had gone off to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household gods.[b]
20 Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away. 21 So he fled with all that he had. He set out, crossed over the Euphrates River, and headed toward the hill country[c] of Gilead.
22 On the third day Laban was told that Jacob had fled. 23 He took his relatives with him and pursued him for seven days. He overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. 24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream during the night and said to him, “Be careful that you do not say anything to Jacob either good or bad.”
25 Laban caught up with Jacob. Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban along with his relatives also set up camp in the hill country of Gilead. 26 Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? Why have you deceived me and carried away my daughters like prisoners of war? 27 Why did you flee secretly and steal from me? Why didn’t you tell me, so that I could have sent you away with a celebration and with songs, with drums and with lyres? 28 Why didn’t you allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters?[d] By doing this you have acted foolishly. 29 I have it in my power to hurt you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night and said, ‘Be careful that you do not say anything to Jacob either good or bad.’ 30 But even if you were so eager to leave because of your strong desire to return to your father’s house, why have you stolen my gods?”
31 Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought that you might take your daughters away from me by force. 32 But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our relatives, identify anything I have that belongs to you, and take it.” (Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the household gods.)
33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the gods. After he had left Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. 34 Rachel had taken the household gods and put them into her camel’s saddle, and she was sitting on them. Laban felt all around the tent, but he did not find them. 35 Rachel said to her father, “Do not be angry, my lord, because I cannot stand up in your presence. I’m having my period.” He searched, but he did not find the gods.
36 Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. Jacob responded to Laban, “What is my crime? What is my sin that set you off in hot pursuit after me? 37 Now that you have rummaged through all my belongings, what have you found there that came from your house? Set it out here in front of my relatives and your relatives, so that they can settle the case between the two of us. 38 These twenty years that I have been with you, your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten rams from your flocks. 39 I did not bring to you those that were torn up by wild animals. I bore the loss myself. You made me pay for all the losses, whether they were stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 I was the one out there, consumed by the scorching heat of the day and by the frost at night, and sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I put up with this in your house: I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for a share of your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. 42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the God revered[e] by Isaac, had been with me, you certainly would have now sent me away empty-handed. But God saw the oppression I suffered and the labor of my hands, and he rebuked you last night.”
43 Laban answered Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters. These children are my children. These flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine, but what can I do today about these daughters of mine or about the children to whom they have given birth? 44 Now come, let us make a covenant,[f] you and I, and let it stand as a witness between me and you.”[g]
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial stone. 46 Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” They collected stones and piled them up. They ate there beside the pile of stones. 47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha,[h] but Jacob called it Galeed.[i] 48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness between me and you this day.” So it was named Galeed 49 and Mizpah,[j] for he also said, “May the Lord watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another. 50 If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take any wives in addition to my daughters, even if no one else sees it, understand that God is a witness between me and you.”
51 Laban said to Jacob, “See this pile of stones and see the memorial stone that I have set between me and you. 52 May this pile be a witness, and may the memorial stone be a witness that I will not cross over beyond this pile to you, and that you will not cross over beyond this pile and this memorial stone to harm me. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”
Then Jacob swore by the God revered by his father Isaac. 54 Jacob offered a sacrifice there in the hill country and invited his relatives to eat bread with him. They ate bread and stayed all night in the hill country. 55 Early in the morning Laban got up, kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them. Laban departed and returned to his place.
Footnotes
- Genesis 31:10 There is no consensus about the precise distinction of these three terms.
- Genesis 31:19 Teraphim were household idols that may have been associated with inheritance rights to the family property.
- Genesis 31:21 Or highlands. The word traditionally translated hill country is the same Hebrew word that means mountain. But in many cases, as it does here, it refers to highland regions, not to a mountain peak.
- Genesis 31:28 Sons and daughters seems to include both his daughters and his grandchildren.
- Genesis 31:42 The Hebrew word used here is a rarer synonym for the word usually translated fear. Though it can mean dread, in this context it refers to reverence or awe.
- Genesis 31:44 Or agreement
- Genesis 31:44 The Greek Old Testament has an additional sentence: And he said to him, “Look, there is no one else with us. Look, God is the witness between me and you.”
- Genesis 31:47 Jegar Sahadutha means Witness Mound in Aramaic.
- Genesis 31:47 Galeed means Witness Mound in Hebrew.
- Genesis 31:49 Mizpah means watch or lookout.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.