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Genesis 31

¹And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory. ²And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime. ³And YHWH said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to your kindred; and I will be with thee. ⁴And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, ⁵and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as beforetime; but the God of my father hath been with me. ⁶And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. ⁷And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. ⁸If he said thus, The speckled shall be your wages; then all the flock bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstreaked shall be your wages; then bare all the flock ringstreaked. ⁹Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. ¹⁰And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceive, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled. ¹¹And the angel of God said unto me in the dream, Jacob: and I said, Here am I. ¹²And he said, Lift up now yours eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. ¹³I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst a pillar, where you vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of your nativity. ¹⁴And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? ¹⁵Are we not accounted by him as foreigners? for he hath sold us, and hath also quite devoured our money. ¹⁶For all the riches which God hath taken away from our father, that is ours and our children's: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. ¹⁷Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels; ¹⁸and he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan. ¹⁹Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's. ²⁰And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. ²¹So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead. ²²And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. ²³And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and he overtook him in the mountain of Gilead. ²⁴And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said unto him, Take heed to thyself that you speak not to Jacob either good or bad. ²⁵And Laban came up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain: and Laban with his brethren encamped in the mountain of Gilead. ²⁶And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that you hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters as captives of the sword? ²⁷Wherefore didst you flee secretly, and steal away from me, and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp; ²⁸and didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now hast you done foolishly. ²⁹It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that you speak not to Jacob either good or bad. ³⁰And now, [though] you wouldest needs be gone, because you sore longedst after your father's house, [yet] wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? ³¹And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said, Lest you shouldest take your daughters from me by force. ³²With whomsoever you findest your gods, he shall not live: before our brethren discern you what is yours with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them. ³³And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two maid-servants; but he found them not. And he went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. ³⁴Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, and put them in the camel's saddle, and sat upon them. And Laban felt about all the tent, but found them not. ³⁵And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee; for the manner of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the teraphim. ³⁶And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that you hast hotly pursued after me? ³⁷Whereas you hast felt about all my stuff, what hast you found of all your household stuff? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge betwixt us two. ³⁸These twenty years have I been with thee; your ewes and your she-goats have not cast their young, and the rams of your flocks have I not eaten. ³⁹That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst you require it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from mine eyes. ⁴¹These twenty years have I been in your house; I served thee fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for thy flock: and you hast changed my wages ten times. ⁴²Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now hadst you sent me away empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight. ⁴³And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. ⁴⁵And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. ⁴⁶And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made a heap: and they did eat there by the heap. ⁴⁷And Laban called it Jegar-saha-dutha: but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed: ⁴⁹and Mizpah, for he said, YHWH watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. ⁵⁰If you shalt afflict my daughters, and if you shall take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee. ⁵¹And Laban said to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set betwixt me and thee. ⁵²This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that you shall not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. ⁵³The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain. ⁵⁵And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed and returned unto his place.

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