Genesis 31:43-55

International Children’s Bible

Jacob and Laban’s Agreement

⁴³ Laban said to Jacob, “These girls are my daughters. Their children belong to me, and these animals are mine. Everything you see here belongs to me. But I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children. ⁴⁴ Let us make an agreement. Let us set up a pile of stones to remind us of our agreement.”

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a large rock and set it up on its end. ⁴⁶ He told his relatives to gather rocks. So they took the rocks and piled them up. Then they ate beside the pile of rocks. ⁴⁷ Laban named that place in his language A Pile to Remind Us. And Jacob gave the place the same name in Hebrew.

⁴⁸ Laban said to Jacob, “This pile of rocks will remind us of the agreement between us.” That is why the place was called A Pile to Remind Us. ⁴⁹ It was also called Mizpah.^[a] This was because Laban said, “Let the Lord watch over us while we are separated from each other. ⁵⁰ Remember that God is our witness. This is true even if no one else is around us. He will know if you harm my daughters or marry other women. ⁵¹ Here is the pile of rocks that I have put between us. And here is the rock I set up on end. ⁵² This pile of rocks and this rock set on end will remind us of our agreement. I will never go past this pile to hurt you. And you must never come to my side of them to hurt me. ⁵³ The God of Abraham is the God of Nahor and the God of their ancestors. Let God punish either of us if we break this agreement.”

So Jacob made a promise in the name of God. This was the God of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob killed an animal and offered it as a sacrifice on the mountain. And he invited his relatives to share in the meal. After they finished eating, they spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters. He blessed them, and then he left to return home.