Genesis 31

¹And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, 'Jacob has taken all that belonged to our father, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this wealth.'

²And Jacob saw the face of Laban, and behold, he was not toward him as formerly.

³And the LORD said to Jacob, 'Return to the land of your fathers and to the land of your birth, and I will be with you.'

⁴And Jacob sent and called for Rachel and for Leah to the field, to his flock.

⁵And he said to them, I see that your father's face is not toward me as it was yesterday and the day before, but the God of my father has been with me.

⁶And you yourselves know that with all my strength I have served your father.

⁷But your father has made a fool of me and changed my wages ten times, yet God has not permitted him to do me harm.

⁸If he would say thus, 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flock would bear speckled; and if he would say thus, 'The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock would bear striped.

⁹And God has taken away the livestock of your father and has given it to me.

¹⁰And it came about at the time of the flock's mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the he-goats mounting the flock were striped, speckled, and spotted.

¹¹And the flocks conceived toward the rods, and the flocks bore striped, speckled, and spotted ones.

¹²And he said, 'Lift up now your eyes and see — all the he-goats mounting the flock are striped, speckled, and spotted, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.'

¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now arise, leave this land and return to the land of your birth.'

¹⁴And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, 'Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in the house of our father?'

¹⁵Are we not regarded as foreigners by him? For he has sold us and has also devoured our purchase price entirely.

¹⁶For all the wealth that God has taken away from our father — it belongs to us and to our children. And now, all that God has told you, do it.'

¹⁷And Jacob arose and lifted his sons and his wives onto the camels.

¹⁸And he led away all his livestock and all his property that he had acquired, the livestock of his acquisition that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

¹⁹Now Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the teraphim that belonged to her father.

²⁰And Jacob stole the heart of Laban the Aramean in that he did not tell him that he was fleeing.

²¹And he fled, he and all that he had, and he arose and crossed the River and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead.

²²And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled.

²³And he took his kinsmen with him, and pursued after him a journey of seven days, and he drew close to him at the hill country of Gilead.

²⁴And God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night, and he said to him: Guard yourself lest you speak with Jacob from good to bad.

²⁵And Laban overtook Jacob, and Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban had pitched with his kinsmen in the hill country of Gilead.

²⁶And Laban said to Jacob, 'What have you done, that you have deceived me and driven away my daughters like captives of the sword?'

²⁷Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and not tell me, so that I might have sent you off with joy and with songs, with tambourine and with lyre?

²⁸And you did not allow me to kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. Now you have acted foolishly in doing so.

²⁹It is within the power of my hand to do harm to you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Take heed to yourself from speaking with Jacob anything, from good to bad.'

³⁰And now, you have surely gone because you longed so greatly for your father's house — but why did you steal my gods?

³¹And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid, for I said, Lest you take your daughters from me by force.

³²With whomever you find your gods, he shall not live. Before our kinsmen, identify for yourself what is with me, and take it for yourself. Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

³³And Laban went into the tent of Jacob, and into the tent of Leah, and into the tent of the two maidservants, and did not find them. And he went out of the tent of Leah and went into the tent of Rachel.

³⁴Now Rachel had taken the teraphim and put them in the camel's saddle, and sat upon them. And Laban felt through all the tent, and did not find them.

³⁵And she said to her father: Let it not be hot in my lord's eyes that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me. And he searched thoroughly but did not find the teraphim.

³⁶And Jacob was incensed, and he contended with Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have pursued me so hotly?

³⁷For you have felt through all my goods — what did you find from all the goods of your household? Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen, and let them decide between us two.

³⁸These twenty years I have been with you — your ewes and your she-goats have not miscarried, and the rams of your flock I have not eaten.

³⁹A torn animal I did not bring to you — I bore the loss of it; from my hand you would exact it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

⁴⁰I was — by day the heat consumed me and the frost at night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

⁴¹This is twenty years I have been in your household: I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times.

⁴²Had the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Dread of Isaac, not been on my side, you would have sent me away empty-handed. My affliction and the toil of my hands God has seen, and he gave his verdict last night.

⁴³And Laban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. Yet for my daughters, what can I do this day for these, or for their children whom they have born?

⁴⁴And now, come, let us cut a covenant, you and I, and it will be a witness between me and you.

⁴⁵And Jacob took a stone, and set it up as a pillar.

⁴⁶And Jacob said to his kinsmen, 'Gather stones.' And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.

⁴⁷And Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed.

⁴⁸And Laban said, "This heap is a witness between me and you today." Therefore he called its name Gilead.

⁴⁹And Mizpah, because he said, 'May the LORD watch between me and you, when we are hidden from one another.'

⁵⁰If you oppress my daughters or if you take wives in addition to my daughters — no man is with us — see, God is witness between me and you.'

⁵¹And Laban said to Jacob, 'Here is this heap and here is the pillar which I have set between me and you.'

⁵²This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness: I will not pass over this heap to you, and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.

⁵³May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor judge between us — the God of their father.' And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴And Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his kinsmen to eat bread, and they ate bread and lodged on the mountain.

⁵⁵And Laban rose early in the morning, and he kissed his grandchildren and his daughters, and he blessed them, and Laban went and returned to his place.