43 Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the sons, my sons; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne? 44 Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I.(A) Let it be a witness between the two of us.”

45 So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a marker.(B) 46 Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound. 47 Laban named the mound Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed.[a]

48 Then Laban said, “This mound is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore the place was called Galeed 49 and also Mizpah,[b](C) for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, though no one is with us, understand that God will be a witness between you and me.”(D) 51 Laban also said to Jacob, “Look at this mound and the marker I have set up between you and me. 52 This mound is a witness and the marker is a witness that I will not pass beyond this mound to you, and you will not pass beyond this mound and this marker to do me harm. 53 The God of Abraham, and the gods(E) of Nahor—the gods of their father[c]—will judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat a meal. So they ate a meal and spent the night on the mountain. 55 [d]Laban got up early in the morning, kissed his grandchildren and daughters, and blessed them. Then Laban left to return home.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 31:47 Jegar-sahadutha is Aram, and Galeed is Hb; both names = Mound of Witness
  2. Genesis 31:49 = Watchtower
  3. Genesis 31:53 Two Hb mss, LXX omit the gods of their father
  4. Genesis 31:55 Gn 32:1 in Hb

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