²⁹ Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care.

⁶ You know how hard I have worked for your father,

³⁸ “For twenty years I have been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I never used a single ram of yours for food. ³⁹ If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I never showed you the carcass and asked you to reduce the count of your flock. No, I took the loss myself! You made me pay for every stolen animal, whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the dark of night.

⁴⁰ “I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through cold and sleepless nights.

Slaves

¹⁸ You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect.^[a] Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.

¹⁵ It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.