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.