¹⁷ Then Jacob stood up and put his children and his wives on camels; ¹⁸ and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had acquired, the livestock he possessed which he had acquired in Paddan-aram, ^(A)to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac. ¹⁹ Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the ^[a](B)household idols that were her father’s. ²⁰ And Jacob ^[b]deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing. ²¹ So he fled with all that he had; and he got up and crossed the Euphrates River, and set ^[c]out for the hill country of ^(C)Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

²² When Laban was informed on the third day that Jacob had fled, ²³ he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ However, ^(D)God came to Laban the Aramean in a ^(E)dream of the night and said to him, “^[d](F)Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”

²⁵ And Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done ^[e]by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword? ²⁷ Why did you flee secretly and ^[f]deceive me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with ^(G)tambourine and with ^(H)lyre; ²⁸ and did not allow me ^(I)to kiss my ^[g]grandchildren and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly. ²⁹ It is in ^[h]my power to do you harm, but ^(J)the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘^[i](K)Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’ ³⁰ Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal ^(L)my gods?” ³¹ Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force. ^32 (M)The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our relatives ^[j]point out what is yours ^[k]among my belongings and take it for yourself.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two slave women, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the ^[l]household idols and put them in the camel’s saddlebag, and she sat on them. So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them. ³⁵ And she said to her father, “May my lord not be angry that I cannot ^(N)stand in your presence, because the ^[m]way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the ^[n](O)household idols.