Genesis 31
31
1 But afterwards, he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, "Jacob has taken all that was our father's, and being enlarged by his ability, he has become famous."
2 Likewise, he observed that Laban's face was not the same toward him as it was yesterday and the day before.
3 Most importantly, the Lord was saying to him, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your generation, and I will be with you."
4 He sent and called for Rachel and Leah, in the field where he pastured the flocks,
5 and he said to them: "I see that your father's face is not the same toward me as it was yesterday and the day before. But the God of my father has been with me.
6 And you know that I have served your father with all my strength.
7 Even so, your father has circumvented me, and he has changed my wages ten times. And yet God has not permitted him to harm me.
8 Whenever he said, 'The speckled will be your wages,' all the sheep gave birth to speckled newborns. Yet truly, when he said the contrary, 'You will take whatever is white for your wages,' all the flocks gave birth to white ones.
9 And it is God who has taken your father's substance and given it to me.
10 For after the time had arrived for the ewes to conceive, I lifted up my eyes, and I saw in my sleep that the males climbing on the females were of variegated, and spotted, and diverse colors.
11 And the Angel of God said to me in my sleep, 'Jacob.' And I responded, 'Here I am.'
12 And he said: 'Lift up your eyes, and see that all the males climbing on the females are variegated, spotted, and also speckled. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you.
13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the stone and made a vow to me. Now therefore arise, and depart from this land, returning to the land of your nativity.' "
14 And Rachel and Leah responded: "Have we anything left behind among the resources and inheritance of our father's house?
15 Has he not considered us as foreigners, and sold us, and consumed our price?
16 But God has taken our father's riches and handed these to us and to our sons. Therefore, do all that God has instructed you."
17 And so Jacob rose up, and having placed the children and his wives upon camels, he went forth.
18 And he took all his substance and flocks, and whatever he had acquired in Mesopotamia, and he journeyed to his father Isaac, in the land of Canaan.
19 At that time, Laban had gone to shear the sheep, and so Rachel stole her father's idols.
20 And Jacob was not willing to confess to his father-in-law that he was fleeing.
21 And when he had gone away with all such things that were justly his, and, having crossed the river, was continuing on toward Mount Gilead,
22 it was reported to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.
23 And taking his brothers with him, he pursued him for seven days. And he overtook him at Mount Gilead.
24 And he saw in a dream, God saying to him, "Beware that you not speak anything harsh against Jacob."
25 And now Jacob had pitched his tent at the mountain. And when he, with his brothers, had overtaken him, he set his tent at the same place at Mount Gilead.
26 And he said to Jacob: "Why have you acted this way, departing from me in secret, with my daughters like captives of the sword?
27 Why would you want to flee without my knowledge and without telling me, though I might have led you forward with gladness, and songs, and timbrels, and lyres?
28 You have not permitted me to kiss my sons and daughters. You have acted foolishly. And now, indeed,
29 my hand has power to repay you with harm. But the God of your father said to me yesterday, 'Beware that you not speak anything stern against Jacob.'
30 It may be that you desired to go to your own, and that you longed for the house of your father. But why have you stolen my gods?"
31 Jacob answered: "I set out, unknown to you, because I feared that you might take away your daughters by violence.
32 But, since you accuse me of theft, with whomever you will find your gods, let him be slain in the sight of our brothers. Search; anything of yours that you will find with me, take it away." Now when he said this, he did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.
33 And so Laban, entering the tent of Jacob, and of Leah, and of both the handmaids, did not find them. And when he had entered the tent of Rachel,
34 she quickly hid the idols under the camel's bedding, and she sat upon them. And when he had searched the entire tent and found nothing,
35 she said: "Do not be angry, my lord, that I am unable to rise up in your sight, because it has now happened to me according to the custom of women." So his careful search was thwarted.
36 And Jacob, being inflated, said with contention: "For which fault of mine, or for what sin of mine, have you become so enraged against me
37 and searched all the items of my house? What have you found from all the substance of your house? Place it here before my brothers, and your brothers, and let them judge between me and you.
38 For what reason have I been with you for twenty years? Your ewes and she-goats were not barren; the rams of your flocks I did not consume.
39 Neither did I reveal to you what was seized by the wild beast. I replaced all that was damaged. Whatever was lost by theft, you collected it from me.
40 Day and night, I was burned by heat and by frost, and sleep fled from my eyes.
41 And in this way, for twenty years, I have served you in your house: fourteen for your daughters, and six for your flocks. You have also changed my wages ten times.
42 If the God of my father Abraham and the fear of Isaac had not been close to me, perhaps by now you would have sent me away naked. But God looked kindly on my affliction and the labor of my hands, and he rebuked you yesterday."
43 Laban answered him: "My daughters and sons, and your flocks, and all that you discern are mine. What can I do to my sons and grandchildren?
44 Come, therefore, let us enter into a pact, so that it may be a testimony between me and you."
45 And so Jacob took a stone, and he set it up as a memorial.
46 And he said to his brothers, "Bring stones." And they, gathering together stones, made a tomb, and they ate upon it.
47 And Laban called it, 'Tomb of Witness,' and Jacob, 'Pile of Testimony;' each of them according to the fitness of his own language.
48 And Laban said: "This tomb will be a witness between me and you this day." (And for this reason, its name has been called Gilead, that is, 'Tomb of Witness.')
49 "May the Lord consider and judge between us, when we will have withdrawn from one another.
50 If you afflict my daughters, and if you bring in other wives over them, no one is a witness of our words except God, who understands beforehand."
51 And again he said to Jacob. "Lo, this tomb and the stone that I have set up between me and you,
52 will be a witness. This tomb," I say, "and the stone, they are for testimony, in case either I cross beyond it going toward you, or you cross beyond it thinking to harm me.
53 May the God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." Therefore, Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac.
54 And after he had immolated sacrifices on the mountain, he called his brothers to eat bread. And when they had eaten, they lodged there.
55 In truth, Laban rose up in the night, and he kissed his sons and daughters, and he blessed them. And he returned to his place.
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Genesis 31: CPDV
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B'resheet (Gen) 31
31
1But then he heard what Lavan’s sons were saying: “Ya‘akov has taken away everything that our father once had. It’s from what used to belong to our father that he has gotten so rich.” 2He also saw that Lavan regarded him differently than before. 3Adonai said to Ya‘akov, “Return to the land of your ancestors, to your kinsmen; I will be with you.” 4So Ya‘akov sent for Rachel and Le’ah and had them come to the field where his flock was. 5He said to them, “I see by the way your father looks that he feels differently toward me than before; but the God of my father has been with me. 6You know that I have served your father with all my strength, 7and that your father has belittled me and has changed my wages ten times; but God did not allow him to do me any damage. 8If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then all the animals gave birth to streaked young. 9This is how God has taken away your father’s animals and given them to me. 10Once, when the animals were mating, I had a dream: I looked up and there in front of me the male goats which mated with the females were streaked, speckled and mottled. 11Then, in the dream, the angel of God said to me, ‘Ya‘akov!’ and I replied, ‘Here I am.’ 12He continued, ‘Raise your eyes now, and look: all the male goats mating with the females are streaked, speckled and mottled; for I have seen everything Lavan has been doing to you. 13I am the God of Beit-El, where you anointed a standing-stone with oil, where you vowed your vow to me. Now get up, get out of this land, and return to the land where you were born.’” 14Rachel and Le’ah answered him, “We no longer have any inheritance from our father’s possessions; 15and he considers us foreigners, since he has sold us; moreover, he has consumed everything he received in exchange for us. 16Nevertheless, the wealth which God has taken away from our father has become ours and our children’s anyway; so whatever God has told you to do, do.”
(vi) 17Then Ya‘akov got up, put his sons and wives on the camels, 18and carried off all his livestock, along with all the riches he had accumulated, the livestock in his possession which he had acquired in Paddan-Aram, to go to Yitz’chak his father in the land of Kena‘an.
19Now Lavan had gone to shear his sheep, so Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father, 20and Ya‘akov outwitted Lavan the Arami by not telling him of his intended flight. 21So he fled with everything he had: he departed, crossed the [Euphrates] River and set out for the hill-country of Gil‘ad. 22Not until the third day was Lavan told that Ya‘akov had fled.
23Lavan took his kinsmen with him and spent the next seven days pursuing Ya‘akov, overtaking him in the hill-country of Gil‘ad. 24But God came to Lavan the Arami in a dream that night and said to him, “Be careful that you don’t say anything to Ya‘akov, either good or bad.”
25When Lavan caught up with Ya‘akov, Ya‘akov had set up camp in the hill-country; so Lavan and his kinsmen set up camp in the hill-country of Gil‘ad. 26Lavan said to Ya‘akov, “What do you mean by deceiving me and carrying off my daughters as if they were captives taken in war? 27Why did you flee in secret and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you off with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and lyres. 28You didn’t even let me kiss my sons and daughters good-bye! What a stupid thing to do! 29I have it in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night and said, ‘Be careful that you don’t say anything to Ya‘akov, either good or bad.’ 30Granted that you had to leave, because you longed so deeply for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?” 31Ya‘akov answered Lavan, “Because I was afraid. I said, ‘Suppose you take your daughters away from me by force?’ 32But if you find your gods with someone, that person will not remain alive. So with our kinsmen to witness, if you spot anything that I have which belongs to you, take it back.” Ya‘akov did not know that Rachel had stolen them. 33Lavan went into Ya‘akov’s tent, then into Le’ah’s tent and into the tent of the two slave-girls; but he did not find them. He left Le’ah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. 34Now Rachel had taken the household gods, put them in the saddle of the camel and was sitting on them. Lavan felt all around the tent but did not find them. 35She said to her father, “Please don’t be angry that I’m not getting up in your presence, but it’s the time of my period.” So he searched, but he didn’t find the household gods.
36Then Ya‘akov became angry and started arguing with Lavan. “What have I done wrong?” he demanded. “What is my offense, that you have come after me in hot pursuit? 37You have felt around in all my stuff, but what have you found of all your household goods? Put it here, in front of my kinsmen and yours, so that they can render judgment between the two of us! 38I have been with you for these twenty years! Your female sheep and goats haven’t aborted their young, and I haven’t eaten the male animals in your flocks. 39If one of your flock was destroyed by a wild animal, I didn’t bring the carcass to you but bore the loss myself. You demanded that I compensate you for any animal stolen, whether by day or by night. 40Here’s how it was for me: during the day thirst consumed me, and at night the cold — my sleep fled from my eyes. 41These twenty years I’ve been in your house — I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock; and you changed my wages ten times! 42If the God of my father, the God of Avraham, the one whom Yitz’chak fears, had not been on my side, by now you would certainly have already sent me away with nothing! God has seen how distressed I’ve been and how hard I’ve worked, and last night he passed judgment in my favor.”
(vii) 43Lavan answered Ya‘akov, “The daughters are mine, the children are mine, the flocks are mine, and everything you see is mine! But what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne? 44So now, come, let’s make a covenant, I and you; and let it stand as a testimony between me and you.” 45Ya‘akov took a stone and set it upright as a standing-stone. 46Then Ya‘akov said to his kinsmen, “Gather some stones”; and they took stones, made a pile of them and ate there by the pile of stones. 47Lavan called it Y’gar-Sahaduta [“pile of witness” in Aramaic], while Ya‘akov called it Gal-‘Ed [“pile of witness” in Hebrew].
48Lavan said, “This pile witnesses between me and you today.” This is why it is called Gal-‘Ed 49and also HaMitzpah [the watchtower], because he said, “May Adonai watch between me and you when we are apart from each other. 50If you cause pain to my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters, then, even if no one is there with us, still God is witness between me and you.” 51Lavan also said to Ya‘akov, “Here is this pile, and here is this standing-stone, which I have set up between me and you. 52May this pile be a witness, and may the standing-stone be a witness, that I will not pass beyond this pile to you, and you will not pass beyond this pile and this standing-stone to me, to cause harm. 53May the God of Avraham and also the god of Nachor, the god of their father, judge between us.” But Ya‘akov swore by the One his father Yitz’chak feared. 54Ya‘akov offered a sacrifice on the mountain and invited his kinsmen to the meal. They ate the food and spent the whole night on the mountain.
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