Bible (King James)/Genesis/Chapter 31

1739.And 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 ^[1] glory.

2 And Jacob beheld ^[2] the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not ^[3] toward him †† Heb. as yeſterday and the day before.
1 Sam. 19. 7. as before.

3 ¶ And the LORD ſaid unto Jacob, ^[4] Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

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

5 And ſaid unto them, ^[5] I ſee your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father ^[6] hath been with me.

6 And ^[7] ye know that with all my power I have ſerved your father.

7 And your father hath deceived me, and ^[8] changed my wages ^[9] ten times; but God ^[10] ſuffered him not to hurt me.

8 If he ſaid thus, ^[11] The ſpeckled ſhall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare ſpeckled: and if he ſaid thus, The ringſtraked ſhall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringſtraked.

9 Thus God hath ^[12] taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

10 And it came to paſs at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and ſaw in a dream, and, behold, the ‖‖ Or, he goats. rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringſtraked, ſpeckled, and griſled.

11 And ^[13] the angel of God ſpake unto me in a dream, ſaying, Jacob: And I ſaid, Here am I.

​12 And he ſaid, Lift up now thine eyes, and ſee, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringſtraked, ſpeckled, and griſled: for ^[14] I have ſeen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

13 I am the God of Beth-el, ^[15] where thou anointedſt the pillar, and where thou vowedſt a vow unto me: now ^[16] ariſe, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

14 And Rachel and Leah anſwered and ſaid unto him, ^[17] Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's houſe?

15 Are we not counted of him ſtrangers? for ^[18] he hath ſold us, and hath quite devoured alſo our money.

16 For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is our's, and our children's: now then, whatſoever God hath ſaid unto thee, do.

171739. ¶ Then Jacob roſe up, and ſet his ſons and his wives upon camels;

18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, for to go to Iſaac his father in the land of Canaan.

19 And Laban went to ſhear his ſheep: and Rachel had ſtolen the †† Heb. teraphim.
Judg. 17. 5.
1 Sam. 19. 13.
Hoſ. 3. 4. ^[19] images that were her father's.

20 And Jacob ſtole away †† Heb. the heart of Laban. unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled.

21 So he fled with all that he had; and he roſe up, and paſſed over the river, and ^[20] ſet his face toward the mount Gilead.

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

23 And he took ^[21] his brethren with him, and purſued after him ſeven days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.

24 And God ^[22] came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and ſaid unto him, Take heed that thou ^[23] ſpeak not to Jacob †† Heb. from good to bad. either good or bad.

25 Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mount of Gilead.

26 And Laban ſaid to Jacob, What haſt thou done, that thou haſt ſtolen away unawares to me, and ^[24] carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the ſword?

27 Wherefore didſt thou flee away ſecretly, and †† Heb. haſt ſtolen me. 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?

28 And haſt not ſuffered me ^[25] to kiſs my ſons and my daughters? ^[26] thou haſt now done fooliſhly in ſo doing.

29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the ^[27] God of your father ſpake unto me ^[28] yeſternight, ſaying, Take thou heed that thou ſpeak not to Jacob either good or bad.

30 And now, though thou wouldeſt needs be gone, becauſe thou ſore longedſt after thy father's houſe, yet wherefore haſt thou ^[29] ſtolen my gods?

31 ¶ And Jacob anſwered and ſaid to Laban, Becauſe I was afraid: for I ſaid, Peradventure thou wouldeſt take by force thy daughters from me.

32 With whomſoever thou findeſt thy gods, ^[30] let him not live: before our brethren diſcern thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that Rachel had ſtolen them.

33 And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the two maidſervants' tents; but he found them not. Then went he out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.

34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and ſat upon them. And Laban †† Heb. felt. ſearched all the tent, but found them not.

35 And ſhe ſaid to her father, Let it not diſpleaſe my lord that I cannot ^[31] riſe up before thee; for the cuſtom of women is upon me. And he ſearched, but found not the images.

36 ¶ And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob anſwered and ſaid to Laban, What is my treſpaſs? what is my ſin, that thou haſt ſo hotly purſued after me?

37 Whereas thou haſt ſearched all my ſtuff, what haſt thou found of all thy houſehold ſtuff? ſet it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge betwixt us both.

38 This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy ſhe goats have not caſt their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.

39 ^[32] That which was torn of beaſts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loſs of ^[33] it; of my hand didſt thou require it, whether ſtolen by day, or ſtolen by night.

40 Thus I was; in the day the drought conſumed me, and the froſt by night; and my ſleep departed from mine eyes.

41 Thus have I been twenty years in thy houſe; I ^[34] ſerved thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and ^[35] ſix years for thy cattle: and thou haſt changed my wages ten times.

​42 ^[36] Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and ^[37] the fear of Iſaac, had been with me, ſurely thou hadſt ſent me away now empty. ^[38] God hath ſeen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and ^[39] rebuked thee yeſternight.

43 ¶ And Laban anſwered and ſaid unto Jacob, Theſe daughters are my daughters, and theſe children are my children, and theſe cattle are my cattle, and all that thou ſeeſt is mine: and what can I do this day unto theſe my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?

44 Now therefore come thou, ^[40] let us make a covenant, I and thou; ^[41] and let it be for a witneſs between me and thee.

45 And Jacob ^[42] took a ſtone, and ſet it up for a pillar.

46 And Jacob ſaid unto his brethren, Gather ſtones; and they took ſtones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.

47 And Laban called it ‖‖ That is, the heap of witneſs. Chald. Jegar-ſahadutha: but Jacob called it ‖‖ That is, the heap of witneſs. Heb. Galeed.

48 And Laban ſaid, ^[43] This heap is a witneſs between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;

49 And ^[44] ‖‖ That is, a beacon, or, watchtower. Mizpah; for he ſaid, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are abſent one from another.

50 If thou ſhalt afflict my daughters, or if thou ſhalt take other wives beſide my daughters, no man is with us; ſee, God is witneſs betwixt me and thee.

51 And Laban ſaid to Jacob, Behold this heap, and behold this pillar, which I have caſt betwixt me and thee:

52 This heap be witneſs, and this pillar be witneſs, that I will not paſs over this heap to thee, and that thou ſhalt not paſs over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, ^[45] judge betwixt us. And Jacob ^[46] ſware by ^[47] the fear of his father Iſaac.

54 Then Jacob ‖‖ Or, killed beaſts. offered ſacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.

55 And early in the morning Laban roſe up, and kiſſed his ſons and his daughters, and ^[48] bleſſed them: and Laban departed, and ^[49] returned unto his place.