Genesis 31:22-42

Wycliffe Bible

²² it was told to Laban, in the third day, that Jacob fled. (Laban learned, on the third day, that Jacob had fled.)

²³ And Laban took his brethren [with him], and pursued him seven days, and [over]took him in the hill of Gilead. (And Laban took his kinsmen with him, and pursued Jacob for seven days, and finally overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.)

²⁴ And Laban saw in sleep the Lord saying to him, Beware that thou speak not anything sharply against Jacob.

²⁵ And then Jacob had stretched forth the tabernacle in the hill; and when Laban had followed Jacob with his brethren, Laban set a tent in the same hill of Gilead; (And Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead; and when Laban and his kinsmen caught up to him, Laban pitched his tent on the same hill;)

²⁶ and he said to Jacob, Why hast thou done so, that the while I knew not, thou wouldest drive away my daughters as captives, either (as those) taken prisoners, by sword? (and then he said to Jacob, Why hast thou done this, that while I knew not, thou hast driven away my daughters like captives, or like prisoners, taken with the sword?)

²⁷ Why wouldest thou flee the while I knew not, neither wouldest show (it) to me, that I should follow thee with joy, and songs, and tympans, and harps? (Why didest thou flee while I knew not, nor toldest me first, so that I could send thee on thy way with joy, and with songs, and tambourines, and harps?)

²⁸ Thou sufferedest not that I should kiss my sons and daughters; thou hast wrought follily. (Thou hast not allowed me to kiss good-bye my grandsons and my daughters; yea, thou hast done foolishly.)

²⁹ And now soothly mine hand may yield evil to thee (And now truly my hand should yield evil to thee), but the God of thy father said to me yesterday, Beware that thou speak not any hard thing with Jacob.

³⁰ Suppose, if thou covetedest to go to thy kinsmen, and the house of thy father was in desire to thee, why hast thou stolen my gods? (And even if thou covetedest to go to thy kinsmen, and thou desiredest to return to thy father’s house, why hast thou stolen my household gods?)

³¹ Jacob answered, That I went forth while thou knewest not, I dreaded lest thou wouldest take away thy daughters from me violently; (And Jacob answered, I went away while thou knewest not, for I feared that thou wouldest violently take away thy daughters from me;)

³² soothly that thou reprovest me of theft, at whomever thou findest thy gods, be he slain before our brethren; seek thou, (for) whatever thing of thine (that) thou findest at me, and take it away (but for thou hast accused me of theft, yea, with whomever thou findest thy gods, be he killed here before all our kinsmen; seek thou, and whatever thing of thine that thou findest with me, take it away). Jacob said these things, and knew not that Rachel had stolen the idols.

³³ And so Laban entered into the tabernacle(s) of Jacob, and of Leah, and of ever either menial, and he found not; and when Laban had entered into the tent of Rachel, (And so Laban entered into the tents of Jacob, and of Leah, and of both slave-girls, but he did not find the idols; but before Laban entered into Rachel’s tent,)

³⁴ she hasted, and hid the idols under the strewings of the camel, and she sat above. (she hastened, and hid the idols in the camel-bag, and then she sat upon them.)

³⁵ And she said to Laban, seeking (throughout) all the tent, and finding nothing, My lord, be (thou) not wroth that I may not rise (up) before thee, for it befelled now to me by the custom of women (for it hath befallen now to me by the custom of women); so the busyness of the seeker was scorned.

³⁶ And Jacob swelled, and said with strife, For what cause of me, and for what sin of me, hast thou come so fiercely after me, (And Jacob swelled with anger, and said, What have I done, and what have I sinned, that thou shouldest come after me so fiercely,)

³⁷ and hast sought (through) all the purtenance of mine house(hold)? What hast thou found of all the chattel of thine house(hold)? Put thou here before my brethren and thy brethren, and deem they betwixt me and thee (Put thou it here before my kinsmen and thy kinsmen, and let them judge between me and thee).

³⁸ Was I (not) with thee therefore twenty years? (Was I not with thee for twenty years?) Thy sheep and (thy) goats were not barren, I ate not the rams of thy flock,

³⁹ neither I showed to thee anything taken of a beast; I yielded all [the] harm; whatever thing perished by theft, thou askedest of me; (I never showed thee anything caught by a beast; I even yielded to thee for any harm that was done; yea, whatever thing perished by theft, thou askedest for it from me, and thou received it;)

⁴⁰ I was anguished in day and night with heat and frost, and sleep fled from mine eyes;

⁴¹ so I served thee by twenty years in thine house (but I served thee for twenty years in thy household), fourteen years for thy daughters, and six years for thy flocks; and thou changedest my meed ten times.

⁴² But if [the] God of my father Abraham, and the dread of Isaac had not helped me, peradventure now thou haddest left me naked; the Lord hath beheld my tormenting and the travail of mine hands, and reproved thee yesterday (and yesterday rebuked thee).