Genesis 31:1-21
Expanded Bible
Jacob Runs Away
31 One day Jacob heard Laban’s sons talking. They said, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned, and ·in this way he has become rich [L he has gotten all this wealth from our father].” 2 Then Jacob ·noticed [saw] that Laban was not as friendly as he had been before. 3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land ·where your ancestors lived [L of your fathers and your birthplace], and I will be with you [C indicating Jacob’s covenant with God].”
4 So Jacob ·told [L sent for] Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where he kept his flocks. 5 He said to them, “I have seen that your father is not as friendly with me as he used to be, but the God of my father has been with me. 6 You both know that I have ·worked [served] ·as hard as I could [L with all my power/strength] for your father, 7 but he ·cheated [mocked; deceived] me and changed my ·pay [wages] ten times. But God has not allowed your father to harm me. 8 When Laban said, ‘You can have all the speckled animals as your ·pay [wages],’ all the animals gave birth to speckled young ones. But when he said, ‘You can have all the streaked animals as your ·pay [wages],’ all the flocks gave birth to streaked babies [30:37–43]. 9 So God has taken the ·animals [livestock] away from your father and has given them to me.
10 “I had a dream during the season when the flocks were ·mating [L in heat]. I saw that the only male goats who were ·mating [mounting; L going up] were streaked, speckled, or spotted. 11 The ·angel [messenger] of God [16:7] spoke to me in that dream and said, ‘Jacob!’ I answered, ‘Yes!’ 12 The ·angel [messenger] said, ‘·Look [L Raise up your eyes and see]! Only the streaked, speckled, or spotted male goats are ·mating [mounting; L going up]. I have seen all ·the wrong things [L that which] Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God ·who appeared to you at [L of] Bethel, where you ·poured olive oil on [anointed] the ·stone you set up on end [pillar; 28:18–19] and where you made a ·promise [vow] to me. Now I want you to leave ·here [L this land] and go back to the land where you were born.’ ”
14 Rachel and Leah answered Jacob, “·Our father has nothing to give us when he dies [L Is there any lot/portion or inheritance still in our father’s house?]. 15 He has ·treated [considered] us like ·strangers [or foreigners]. He sold us to you, and ·then he spent all of the money you paid for us [L devoured the money]. 16 God took all this wealth from our father, and now it belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you to do.”
17 So Jacob [L rose up and] put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and they began their journey back to Isaac, his father, in the land of Canaan. All the flocks of animals that Jacob owned walked ahead of them. He carried ·everything [all the property] with him that he had gotten while he lived in ·northwestern Mesopotamia [L Paddan-aram].
19 While Laban was gone to ·cut the wool from [shear] his sheep, Rachel stole the ·idols [L teraphim; C probably his household gods] that belonged to ·him [L her father]. 20 And Jacob ·tricked [deceived; L stole the heart of] Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was ·leaving [fleeing]. 21 ·Jacob and his family [L He and all that was his] ·left quickly [fled], crossed the ·Euphrates River [L River; C the northern Euphrates separated Mesopotamia from Syria], and traveled toward the mountains of Gilead [C the northernmost part of Palestine].
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Genesis 31:1-21
Amplified Bible
Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan
31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken away everything that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has acquired all this wealth and honor.” 2 Jacob noticed [a change in] the [a]attitude of Laban, and saw that it was not friendly toward him as before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your people, and I will be with you.” 4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, 5 and he said to them, “I see [a change in] your father’s attitude, that he is not friendly toward me as [he was] before; but the God of my father [Isaac] has been with me. 6 You know that I have served your father with all my strength. 7 Yet your father has cheated me [as often as possible] and changed my wages ten times; but God did not allow him to hurt me. 8 If he said, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled [young]; and if he said, ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked [young]. 9 Thus God has taken away the flocks of your father and given them to me. 10 And it happened at the time when the flock conceived that I looked up and saw in a dream that the rams which mated [with the female goats] were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 11 And the [b]Angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 He said, ‘Look up and see, all the rams which are mating [with the flock] are streaked, speckled, and spotted; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, and where you made a vow to Me; now stand up, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’” 14 Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15 Are we not counted by him as foreigners? For he sold us [to you in marriage], and has also entirely used up our purchase price. 16 Surely all the riches which God has taken from our father are ours and our children’s. Now then, whatever God has told you to do, do it.”
17 Then Jacob stood [and took action] and put his children and his wives on camels; 18 and he drove away all his livestock and [took along] all his property which he had acquired, the livestock he had obtained and accumulated in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. 19 When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel [went inside the house and] stole her father’s [c]household gods. 20 And Jacob [d]deceived Laban the Aramean (Syrian) by not telling him that he intended to leave and he slipped away secretly. 21 So he fled with everything that he had, and got up and crossed the river [Euphrates], and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead [east of the Jordan River].
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 31:2 Lit face.
- Genesis 31:11 See note 16:7. Note especially Gen 31:13, where the Angel says, “I am the God of Bethel.”
- Genesis 31:19 Possession of these pagan figurines implied or conferred a right of inheritance.
- Genesis 31:20 Lit stole the heart of.
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