Genesis 31:22-42

GOD’S WORD Translation

²² Two days later Laban was told that Jacob had left in a hurry. ²³ He and his relatives pursued Jacob for seven days. Laban caught up with him in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁴ God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob.”

²⁵ When Laban finally caught up with Jacob, Jacob had put up his tents in the mountains. So Laban and his relatives put up their tents in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁶ Then Laban asked Jacob, “What have you done by tricking me? You’ve carried off my daughters like prisoners of war. ²⁷ Why did you leave secretly and trick me? You didn’t even tell me you were leaving. I would have sent you on your way rejoicing, with songs accompanied by tambourines and lyres. ²⁸ You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You’ve done a foolish thing. ²⁹ I have the power to harm you. Last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob.’ ³⁰ Now you have left for your father’s home because you were so homesick. But why did you steal my gods?”

³¹ Jacob answered Laban, “I left because I was afraid. I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. ³² If you find your gods, the one who has them will not be allowed to live. In the presence of our relatives, search as much as you want through what I have, and take what is yours.” (Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the gods.)

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two slaves. But he found nothing. He came out of Leah’s tent and went into Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Rachel had taken the idols and had put them in her camel’s saddle-bag and was sitting on them. Laban rummaged through the whole tent but found nothing.

³⁵ Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, Father, but I can’t get up to greet you; I’m having my period.” So even though Laban had made a thorough search, he didn’t find the idols.

³⁶ Then Jacob became angry and confronted Laban. “What is my crime?” Jacob demanded of Laban. “What is my offense that you have come chasing after me? ³⁷ Now that you’ve rummaged through all my things, did you find anything from your house? Put it here in front of all our relatives. Let them decide which one of us is right.

³⁸ “I’ve been with you for 20 years. Your sheep and goats never miscarried, and I never ate any rams from your flocks. ³⁹ I never brought you any of the flock that was killed by wild animals. I paid for the loss myself. That’s what you demanded of me when any of the flock was stolen during the day or at night. ⁴⁰ The scorching heat during the day and the cold at night wore me down, and I lost a lot of sleep. ⁴¹ I’ve been with your household 20 years now. I worked for you 14 years for your two daughters and 6 years for your flocks, and you changed my wages 10 times. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac,^[a] had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed by now. God has seen my misery and hard work, and last night he made it right.”