Parallel Bible results for "genesis 31"

Genesis 31

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 Now it came to the ears of Jacob that Laban's sons were saying, Jacob has taken away all our father's property, and in this way he has got all this wealth.

2 And Jacob saw that Laban's feeling for him was no longer what it had been before.

3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, Go back to the land of your fathers, and to your relations, and I will be with you.

4 And Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come to him in the field among his flock.

5 And he said to them, It is clear to me that your father's feeling is no longer what it was to me; but the God of my father has been with me

6 And you have seen how I have done all in my power for your father,

7 But your father has not kept faith with me, and ten times he has made changes in my payment; but God has kept him from doing me damage.

8 If he said, All those in the flock which have marks are to be yours, then all the flock gave birth to marked young; and if he said, All the banded ones are to be yours, then all the flock had banded young.

9 So God has taken away your father's cattle and has given them to me.

10 And at the time when the flock were with young, I saw in a dream that all the he-goats which were joined with the she-goats were banded and marked and coloured.

11 And in my dream the angel of the Lord said to me, Jacob: and I said, Here am I.

12 And he said, See how all the he-goats are banded and marked and coloured: for I have seen what Laban has done to you.

13 I am the God of Beth-el, where you put oil on the pillar and took an oath to me: now then, come out of this land and go back to the country of your birth.

14 Then Rachel and Leah said to him in answer, What part or heritage is there for us in our father's house?

15 Are we not as people from a strange country to him? for he took a price for us and now it is all used up.

16 For the wealth which God has taken from him is ours and our children's; so now, whatever God has said to you, do.

17 Then Jacob put his wives and his sons on camels;

18 And sending on before him all his cattle and his property which he had got together in Paddan-aram, he made ready to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

19 Now Laban had gone to see to the cutting of the wool of his sheep; so Rachel secretly took the images of the gods of her father's house.

20 And Jacob went away secretly, without giving news of his flight to Laban the Aramaean.

21 So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead.

22 And on the third day Laban had news of Jacob's flight.

23 And taking the men of his family with him, he went after him for seven days and overtook him in the hill-country of Gilead.

24 Then God came to Laban in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob.

25 Now when Laban overtook him, Jacob had put up his tent in the hill-country; and Laban and his brothers put up their tents in the hill-country of Gilead.

26 And Laban said to Jacob, Why did you go away secretly, taking my daughters away like prisoners of war?

27 Why did you make a secret of your flight, not giving me word of it, so that I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with melody and music?

28 You did not even let me give a kiss to my sons and my daughters. This was a foolish thing to do.

29 It is in my power to do you damage: but the God of your father came to me this night, saying, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob.

30 And now, it seems, you are going because your heart's desire is for your father's house; but why have you taken my gods?

31 And Jacob, in answer, said to Laban, My fear was that you might take your daughters from me by force.

32 As for your gods, if anyone of us has them, let him be put to death: make search before us all for what is yours, and take it. For Jacob had no knowledge that Rachel had taken them.

33 So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent, and into the tents of the two servant-women, but they were not there; and he came out of Leah's tent and went into Rachel's.

34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and had put them in the camels' basket, and was seated on them. And Laban, searching through all the tent, did not come across them.

35 And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry because I do not get up before you, for I am in the common condition of women. And with all his searching, he did not come across the images.

36 Then Jacob was angry with Laban, and said, What crime or sin have I done that you have come after me with such passion?

37 Now that you have made search through all my goods, what have you seen which is yours? Make it clear now before my people and your people, so that they may be judges between us.

38 These twenty years I have been with you; your sheep and your goats have had young without loss, not one of your he-goats have I taken for food.

39 Anything which was wounded by beasts I did not take to you, but myself made up for the loss of it; you made me responsible for whatever was taken by thieves, by day or by night.

40 This was my condition, wasted by heat in the day and by the bitter cold at night; and sleep went from my eyes.

41 These twenty years I have been in your house; I was your servant for fourteen years because of your daughters, and for six years I kept your flock, and ten times was my payment changed.

42 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 with nothing in my hands. But God has seen my troubles and the work of my hands, and this night he kept you back.

43 Then Laban, answering, said, These women are my daughters and these children my children, the flocks and all you see are mine: what now may I do for my daughters and for their children?

44 Come, let us make an agreement, you and I; and let it be for a witness between us.

45 Then Jacob took a stone and put it up as a pillar.

46 And Jacob said to his people, Get stones together; and they did so; and they had a meal there by the stones.

47 And the name Laban gave it was Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob gave it the name of Galeed.

48 And Laban said, These stones are a witness between you and me today. For this reason its name was Galeed,

49 And Mizpah, for he said, May the Lord keep watch on us when we are unable to see one another's doings.

50 If you are cruel to my daughters, or if you take other wives in addition to my daughters, then though no man is there to see, God will be the witness between us.

51 And Laban said, See these stones and this pillar which I have put between you and me;

52 They will be witness that I will not go over these stones to you, and you will not go over these stones or this pillar to me, for any evil purpose.

53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, be our judge. Then Jacob took an oath by the Fear of his father Isaac.

54 And Jacob made an offering on the mountain, and gave orders to his people to take food: so they had a meal and took their rest that night on the mountain.

55 And early in the morning Laban, after kissing and blessing his daughters, went on his way back to his country.

Good News Translation GNT

1 Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father. He got all his wealth from what our father owned."

2 He also saw that Laban was no longer as friendly as he had been earlier.

3 Then the Lord said to him, "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives. I will be with you."

4 So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where his flocks were.

5 He said to them, "I have noticed that your father is not as friendly toward me as he used to be; but my father's God has been with me.

6 You both know that I have worked for your father with all my strength.

7 Yet he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not let him harm me.

8 Whenever Laban said, "The speckled goats shall be your wages,' all the flocks produced speckled young. When he said, "The striped goats shall be your wages,' all the flocks produced striped young.

9 God has taken flocks away from your father and given them to me.

10 "During the breeding season I had a dream, and I saw that the male goats that were mating were striped, spotted, and speckled.

11 The angel of God spoke to me in the dream and said, "Jacob!' "Yes,' I answered.

12 "Look,' he continued, "all the male goats that are mating are striped, spotted, and speckled. I am making this happen because I have seen all that Laban is doing to you.

13 I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you dedicated a stone as a memorial by pouring olive oil on it and where you made a vow to me. Now get ready and go back to the land where you were born.' "

14 Rachel and Leah answered Jacob, "There is nothing left for us to inherit from our father.

15 He treats us like foreigners. He sold us, and now he has spent all the money he was paid for us.

16 All this wealth which God has taken from our father belongs to us and to our children. Do whatever God has told you."

17 So Jacob got ready to go back to his father in the land of Canaan. He put his children and his wives on the camels, and drove all his flocks ahead of him, with everything that he had gotten in Mesopotamia.

19 Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and during his absence Rachel stole the household gods that belonged to her father.

20 Jacob deceived Laban by not letting him know that he was leaving.

21 He took everything he owned and left in a hurry. He crossed the Euphrates River and started for the hill country of Gilead.

22 Three days later Laban was told that Jacob had fled.

23 He took his men with him and pursued Jacob for seven days until he caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.

24 In a dream that night God came to Laban and said to him, "Be careful not to threaten Jacob in any way."

25 Jacob had set up his camp on a mountain, and Laban set up his camp with his relatives in the hill country of Gilead.

26 Laban said to Jacob, "Why did you deceive me and carry off my daughters like women captured in war?

27 Why did you deceive me and slip away without telling me? If you had told me, I would have sent you on your way with rejoicing and singing to the music of tambourines and harps.

28 You did not even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters good-bye. That was a foolish thing to do!

29 I have the power to do you harm, but last night the God of your father warned me not to threaten you in any way.

30 I know that you left because you were so anxious to get back home, but why did you steal my household gods?"

31 Jacob answered, "I was afraid, because I thought that you might take your daughters away from me.

32 But if you find that anyone here has your gods, he will be put to death. Here, with our men as witnesses, look for anything that belongs to you and take what is yours." Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen Laban's gods.

33 Laban went and searched Jacob's tent; then he went into Leah's tent, and the tent of the two slave women, but he did not find his gods. Then he went into Rachel's tent.

34 Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in a camel's saddlebag and was sitting on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but did not find them.

35 Rachel said to her father, "Do not be angry with me, sir, but I am not able to stand up in your presence; I am having my monthly period." Laban searched but did not find his household gods.

36 Then Jacob lost his temper. "What crime have I committed?" he asked angrily. "What law have I broken that gives you the right to hunt me down?

37 Now that you have searched through all my belongings, what household article have you found that belongs to you? Put it out here where your men and mine can see it, and let them decide which one of us is right.

38 I have been with you now for twenty years; your sheep and your goats have not failed to reproduce, and I have not eaten any rams from your flocks.

39 Whenever a sheep was killed by wild animals, I always bore the loss myself. I didn't take it to you to show that it was not my fault. You demanded that I make good anything that was stolen during the day or during the night.

40 Many times I suffered from the heat during the day and from the cold at night. I was not able to sleep.

41 It was like that for the whole twenty years I was with you. For fourteen years I worked to win your two daughters - and six years for your flocks. And even then, you changed my wages ten times.

42 If the God of my fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac, had not been with me, you would have already sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my trouble and the work I have done, and last night he gave his judgment."

43 Laban answered Jacob, "These young women are my daughters; their children belong to me, and these flocks are mine. In fact, everything you see here belongs to me. But since I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children,

44 I am ready to make an agreement with you. Let us make a pile of stones to remind us of our agreement."

45 So Jacob got a stone and set it up as a memorial.

46 He told his men to gather some rocks and pile them up. Then they ate a meal beside the pile of rocks.

47 Laban named it Jegar Sahadutha, while Jacob named it Galeed.

48 Laban said to Jacob, "This pile of rocks will be a reminder for both of us." That is why that place was named Galeed.

49 Laban also said, "May the Lord keep an eye on us while we are separated from each other." So the place was also named Mizpah.

50 Laban went on, "If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other women, even though I don't know about it, remember that God is watching us.

51 Here are the rocks that I have piled up between us, and here is the memorial stone.

52 Both this pile and this memorial stone are reminders. I will never go beyond this pile to attack you, and you must never go beyond it or beyond this memorial stone to attack me.

53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor will judge between us." Then, in the name of the God whom his father Isaac worshiped, Jacob solemnly vowed to keep this promise.

54 He killed an animal, which he offered as a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his men to the meal. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

55 Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters good-bye, and left to go back home.