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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Genesis 31 GWT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/genesis/31.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/genesis/31-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">GWT</a> > Genesis 31</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../genesis/30.htm" title="Genesis 30">◄</a> Genesis 31 <a href="../genesis/32.htm" title="Genesis 32">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">GOD'S WORD® Translation</div><div class="chap"><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father and has gained all his wealth from him." <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>He also noticed that Laban did not appear as friendly to him as before. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Then the LORD said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives, and I will be with you." <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah to come out to the open country where his flocks were. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>He said to them, "I have seen that your father isn't as friendly to me as he was before, but the God of my father has been with me. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>You know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>Your father has cheated me. He has changed my wages ten times. But God hasn't let him harm me. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>Whenever he said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' all the flocks gave birth to speckled young. And whenever he said, 'The striped ones will be your wages,' all the flocks gave birth to striped young. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>"During the mating season I had a dream: I looked up and saw that the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, or spotted. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>In the dream the Messenger of God called to me, 'Jacob!' And I answered, 'Yes, here I am.' <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>He said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, or spotted, because I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you poured olive oil on a stone marker for a holy purpose and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land, and go back to the land of your relatives.' " <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Rachel and Leah answered him, "Is there anything left in our father's household for us to inherit? <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Doesn't he think of us as foreigners? Not only did he sell us, but he has used up the money that was paid for us. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>Certainly, all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. Now do whatever God has told you."</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>He drove all his livestock ahead of him and took all the possessions that he had accumulated. He took his own livestock that he had accumulated in Paddan Aram and went back to his father Isaac in Canaan. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>When Laban went to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father's idols. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>Jacob also tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>So he left in a hurry with all that belonged to him. He crossed the Euphrates River and went toward the mountains of Gilead.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Two days later Laban was told that Jacob had left in a hurry. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>He and his relatives pursued Jacob for seven days. Laban caught up with him in the mountains of Gilead. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob."</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>When Laban finally caught up with Jacob, Jacob had put up his tents in the mountains. So Laban and his relatives put up their tents in the mountains of Gilead. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Then Laban asked Jacob, "What have you done by tricking me? You've carried off my daughters like prisoners of war. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>Why did you leave secretly and trick me? You didn't even tell me you were leaving. I would have sent you on your way rejoicing, with songs accompanied by tambourines and lyres. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>You didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You've done a foolish thing. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>I have the power to harm you. Last night the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob.' <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>Now you have left for your father's home because you were so homesick. But why did you steal my gods?" <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>Jacob answered Laban, "I left because I was afraid. I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>If you find your gods, the one who has them will not be allowed to live. In the presence of our relatives, search as much as you want through what I have, and take what is yours." (Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen the gods.)</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>So Laban went into Jacob's tent, into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two slaves. But he found nothing. He came out of Leah's tent and went into Rachel's tent. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>Rachel had taken the idols and had put them in her camel's saddle-bag and was sitting on them. Laban rummaged through the whole tent but found nothing. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>Rachel said to her father, "Don't be angry, Father, but I can't get up to greet you; I'm having my period." So even though Laban had made a thorough search, he didn't find the idols.</p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>Then Jacob became angry and confronted Laban. "What is my crime?" Jacob demanded of Laban. "What is my offense that you have come chasing after me? <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>Now that you've rummaged through all my things, did you find anything from your house? Put it here in front of all our relatives. Let them decide which one of us is right. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>"I've been with you for 20 years. Your sheep and goats never miscarried, and I never ate any rams from your flocks. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>I never brought you any of the flock that was killed by wild animals. I paid for the loss myself. That's what you demanded of me when any of the flock was stolen during the day or at night. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>The scorching heat during the day and the cold at night wore me down, and I lost a lot of sleep. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-41.htm"><b>41</b></a></span>I've been with your household 20 years now. I worked for you 14 years for your two daughters and 6 years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-42.htm"><b>42</b></a></span>If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed by now. God has seen my misery and hard work, and last night he made it right." </p> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-43.htm"><b>43</b></a></span>Then Laban answered Jacob, "These are my daughters, my grandchildren, and my flocks. Everything you see is mine! Yet, what can I do today for my daughters or for their children? <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-44.htm"><b>44</b></a></span>Now, let's make an agreement and let it stand as a witness between you and me." <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-45.htm"><b>45</b></a></span>Jacob took a stone and set it up as a marker. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-46.htm"><b>46</b></a></span>Then Jacob said to his relatives, "Gather some stones." They took stones, put them into a pile, and ate there by the pile of stones. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-47.htm"><b>47</b></a></span>[In his language] Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha [Witness Pile], but Jacob called it Galeed. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-48.htm"><b>48</b></a></span>Laban said, "This pile of stones stands as a witness between you and me today." This is why it was named Galeed <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-49.htm"><b>49</b></a></span>and also Mizpah [Watchtower], because he said, "May the LORD watch between you and me when we're unable to see each other. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-50.htm"><b>50</b></a></span>If you mistreat my daughters or marry other women behind my back, remember that God stands as a witness between you and me." <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-51.htm"><b>51</b></a></span>Laban said to Jacob, "Here is the pile of stones, and here is the marker that I have set up between you and me. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-52.htm"><b>52</b></a></span>This pile of stones and this marker stand as witnesses that I will not go past the pile of stones to harm you, and that you will not go past the pile of stones or marker to harm me. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-53.htm"><b>53</b></a></span>May the God of Abraham and Nahor-the God of their father-judge between us." So Jacob swore this oath by the Fear of his father Isaac <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-54.htm"><b>54</b></a></span>and offered a sacrifice on the mountain. He invited his relatives to eat the meal with him. They ate with him and spent the night on the mountain. <span class="reftext"><a href="/genesis/31-55.htm"><b>55</b></a></span>Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and went back home.</p></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of <a href="//www.godsword.org" target="_top">God's Word to the Nations</a>. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. 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