Gênesis 31

¹ And he heard theThe children put in words what the father disguised in his heart for the covetous think that whatever they cannot take, is taken from them.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.

² Also Iaakob beheld the countenance of Laban, that it was not towards him as in times past:

³ And the Lorde had said vnto Iaakob, Turne againe into the lande of thy fathers, and to thy kinred, and I wilbe with thee.

⁴ Therefore Iaakob sent and called Rahel and Leah to the fielde vnto his flocke.

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

⁶ And yee knowe that I haue serued your father with all my might.

⁷ But your father hath deceiued me, & changed my wages tenne times: but God suffred him not to hurt me.

⁸ If he thus sayd, The spotted shall be thy wages, then all the sheepe bare spotted: and if he sayd thus, the party coloured shalbe thy rewarde, then bare all the sheepe particoloured.

⁹ ThusThis declares that the thing Jacob did before, was by God's commandment, and not through deceit.God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given [them] to me.

¹⁰ For in ramming time I lifted vp mine eyes and saw in a dreame, & beholde, ye hee goates leaped vpon the shee goates, that were partie coloured with litle and great spots spotted.

¹¹ And the Angel of God sayde to mee in a dreame, Iaakob; I answered, Lo, I am here.

¹² And he sayde, Lift vp nowe thine eyes, and see all the hee goates leaping vpon ye shee goates that are partie coloured, spotted with litle and great spots: for I haue seene all that Laban doeth vnto thee.

¹³ This angel was Christ who appeared to Jacob in Bethel: and by this it appears that he had taught his wives the fear of God: for he talks as though they knew this thing.I [am] the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, [and] where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.

¹⁴ Then answered Rahel and Leah, and sayde vnto him, Haue wee any more porcion and inheritance in our fathers house?

¹⁵ Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hathFor they were given to Jacob as payment for his service, which was a kind of sale.sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.

¹⁶ Therefore all the riches, which God hath taken from our father, is ours and our childrens: nowe then whatsoeuer God hath saide vnto thee, doe it.

¹⁷ Then Iaakob rose vp, and set his sonnes and his wiues vpon camels.

¹⁸ And he caried away all his flockes, & al his substance which he had gotten, to wit, his riches, which he had gotten in Padan Aram, to goe to Izhak his father vnto the land of Canaan.

¹⁹ And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen theFor so the word here signifies, because Laban calls them gods, (Gen_31:30).images that [were] her father's.

²⁰ Thus Iaakob stole away ye heart of Laban the Aramite: for he told him not that he fled.

²¹ So fled he with all that he had, and he rose vp, and passed the riuer, and set his face towarde mount Gilead.

²² And the third day after was it told Laban, that Iaakob fled.

²³ Then he tooke his brethren with him, & followed after him seuen dayes iourney, and ouertooke him at mount Gilead.

²⁴ And God came to Laban the Aramite in a dreame by night, and sayde vnto him, Take heede that thou speake not to Iaakob ought saue good.

²⁵ Then Laban ouertooke Iaakob, & Iaakob had pitched his tent in the mount: and Laban also with his brethren pitched vpon mount Gilead.

²⁶ Then Laban sayde to Iaakob, What hast thou done? thou hast euen stolen away mine heart and caried away my daughters as though they had bene taken captiues with the sworde.

²⁷ Wherfore diddest thou flie so secretly and steale away from me, and diddest not tel me, that I might haue sent thee foorth with mirth & with songs, with timbrel and with harpe?

²⁸ But thou hast not suffered me to kisse my sonnes and my daughters: nowe thou hast done foolishly in doing so.

²⁹ It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but theHe was an idolater and therefore would not acknowledge the God of Jacob for his God.God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

³⁰ Nowe though thou wentest thy way, because thou greatly longedst after thy fathers house, yet wherefore hast thou stollen my gods?

³¹ Then Iaakob answered, and said to Laban, Because I was afraid, & thought that thou wouldest haue taken thy daughters from me.

³² But with whome thou findest thy gods, let him not liue. Search thou before our brethre what I haue of thine, & take it to thee, (but Iaakob wist not that Rahel had stolen them)

³³ Then came Laban into Iaakobs tent, and into Leahs tent, and into the two maides tentes, but founde them not. So hee went out of Leahs tent, and entred into Rahels tent.

³⁴ (Nowe Rahel had taken the idoles, & put them in the camels litter and sate downe vpon them) and Laban searched al the tent, but found them not.

³⁵ Then said she to her father, My Lord, be not angrie that I cannot rise vp before thee: for the custome of women is vpo me: so he searched, but found not the idoles.

³⁶ The Iaakob was wroth, and chode with Laban: Iaakob also answered and sayd to Laban, What haue I trespassed? what haue I offended, that thou hast pursued after me?

³⁷ Seeing thou hast searched all my stuffe, what hast thou foud of all thine houshold stuffe? put it here before my brethren & thy brethren, that they may iudge betweene vs both.

³⁸ This twenty yere I haue bin with thee: thine ewes & thy goates haue not cast their yong, and the rammes of thy flocke haue I not eaten.

³⁹ Whatsoeuer was torne of beasts, I brought it not vnto thee, but made it good my selfe: of mine hand diddest thou require it, were it stollen by day or stollen by night.

⁴⁰ I was in the day consumed with heate, and with frost in the night, and my sleepe departed from mine eyes.

⁴¹ Thus haue I bene twentie yeere in thine house, and serued thee fourteene yeeres for thy two daughters, and sixe yeeres for thy sheepe, and thou hast changed my wages tenne times.

⁴² Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and theThat is, the God whom Isaac feared and reverenced.fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked [thee] yesternight.

⁴³ Then Laban answered, and saide vnto Iaakob, These daughters are my daughters, & these sonnes are my sonnes, and these sheepe are my sheepe, and all that thou seest, is mine, and what can I doe this day vnto these my daughters, or to their sonnes which they haue borne?

⁴⁴ Now thereforeHis conscience reproved him for his misbehaviour toward Jacob, and therefore moved him to seek peace.come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

⁴⁵ Then tooke Iaakob a stone, and set it vp as a pillar:

⁴⁶ And Iaakob sayde vnto his brethren, Gather stones: who brought stones, and made an heape, and they did eate there vpon the heape.

⁴⁷ And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha: but Jacob called itThe one named the place in the Syrian tongue, and the other in the Hebrew tongue.Galeed.

⁴⁸ For Laban sayd, This heape is witnesse betweene me and thee this day: therefore he called the name of it Galeed.

⁴⁹ And Mizpah; for he said, The LORDTo punish the trespasser.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]Nature compels him to condemn that vice, to which through covetousness he forced Jacob.wives beside my daughters, no man [is] with us; see, God [is] witness betwixt me and thee.

⁵¹ Moreouer Laban sayd to Iaakob, Beholde this heape, and behold the pillar, which I haue set betweene me and thee,

⁵² This heape shall be witnesse, and the pillar shall be witnesse, that I will not come ouer this heape to thee, and that thou shalt not passe ouer this heape and this pillar vnto me for euill.

⁵³ The God of Abraham, and the God ofBehold, how the idolaters mingle the true God with their false gods.Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by theMeaning, by the true God whom Isaac worshipped.fear of his father Isaac.

⁵⁴ Then Iaakob did offer a sacrifice vpon the mount, and called his brethren to eate bread; they did eate bread, and taried all night in the mount.

⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, andWe see that there is always some seed of the knowledge of God in the hearts of the wicked.blessed them: and Laban departed, and returned unto his place.