Laban Pursues Jacob

²² Then it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled; ²³ so he took his ^[a]relatives with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. ^24 (A)And God came to Laban the Aramean in a ^(B)dream of the night and said to him, “^[b](C)Beware lest you speak to Jacob either good or bad.”

²⁵ So Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his ^[c]relatives camped in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done ^[d]by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword? ²⁷ Why did you flee secretly and ^[e]deceive me and not tell me—so that I might have sent you away with gladness and with songs, with ^(D)tambourine and with ^(E)lyre— ²⁸ and not allow me ^(F)to kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have acted foolishly. ²⁹ It is in my hand to do evil against you, but ^(G)the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘^[f](H)Beware of speaking either good or evil to Jacob.’ ³⁰ So now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal ^(I)my gods?” ³¹ Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid, because I said, ‘Lest you take your daughters from me by force.’ ^32 (J)The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our ^[g]relatives recognize what is yours ^[h]among my belongings and take it for yourself.” But 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 maidservants, 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 ^[i]household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and she sat on them. And Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them. ³⁵ And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot ^(K)rise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the ^[j](L)household idols.

³⁶ Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, “What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me? ³⁷ Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Place it here before my ^[k]relatives and your ^[l]relatives, 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, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. ³⁹ That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰ Thus I was: by day the ^[m]heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. ⁴¹ These twenty years I have been in your house; ^(M)I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you ^(N)changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If ^(O)the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the dread of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. ^(P)God has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He ^(Q)rendered the decision last night.”