Genesis 31

¹Aftir that Jacob herde the wordis of the sones of Laban, that seiden, Jacob hath take awei alle thingis that weren oure fadris, and of his catel Jacob is maad riche, and noble.

²Also Jacob perseyuede the face of Laban, that it was not ayens hym as yistirdai, and the thridde dai agoon,

³moost for the Lord seide to hym, Turne ayen into the lond of thi fadris, and to thi generacioun, and Y shal be with thee.

⁴He sente, and clepide Rachel, and Lya, in to the feeld, where he kepte flockis, and he seide to hem,

⁵Y se the face of youre fadir, that it is not ayens me as `yisterdai and the thridde dai agoon; but God of my fadir was with me.

⁶And ye witen that with alle my strengthis Y seruede youre fadir;

⁷but and youre fadir disseyuyde me, and chaungide my meede ten sithis; and netheles God suffride not hym to anoye me.

⁸If he seide ony tyme, Dyuerse colourid sheep schulen be thi medis, alle sheep brouyten forth dyuerse colourid lambren; forsothe whanne he seide ayenward, Thou shalte take alle white for mede, alle the flockis brouyten forth white beestis;

⁹and God took a wey the substaunce of youre fadir, and yaf to me.

¹⁰For aftir that the tyme of conseyuyng of sheep cam, Y reiside myn iyen, and seiy in sleep malis dyuerse, and spotti, and of dyuerse colouris, stiynge on femalis.

¹¹And the aungel of the Lord seide to me in sleep, Jacob! and Y answeride, Y am redy.

¹²Which seide, Reise thin iyen, and se alle malis dyuerse, byspreynt, and spotti, stiynge on femalis; for Y seiy alle thingis whiche Laban dide to thee;

¹³Y am God of Bethel, where thou anoyntidist a stoon, and madist auow to me. Now therefor rise thou, and go out of this lond, and turne ayen in to the lond of thi birthe.

¹⁴And Rachel and Lya answeriden, Wher we han ony thing residue in the catels, and eritage of oure fadir?

¹⁵Wher he `arettide not vs as aliens, and selde, and eet oure prijs?

¹⁶But God took awei the richessis of oure fadir, and yaf tho to vs, and to oure sones; wherfor do thou alle thingis whiche God hath comaundide to thee.

¹⁷Forsothe Jacob roos, and puttide hise fre children and wyues on camels, and yede forth;

¹⁸and he took al his catel, flockis, and what euer thing he hadde gete in Mesopotanye, and yede to Isaac, his fadir, into the lond of Canaan.

¹⁹In that tyme Laban yede to schere scheep, and Rachel stal the idols of hir fadir.

²⁰And Jacob nolde knouleche to the fadir of his wijf, that he wolde fle;

²¹and whanne he hadde go, as wel he as alle thingis that weren of his riyt, and whanne he hadde passid the water, and he yede ayens the hil of Galaad,

²²it was teld to Laban, in the thridde dai, that Jacob fledde.

²³And Laban took his britheren, and pursuede hym seuene daies, and took hym in the hil of Galaad.

²⁴And Laban seiy in sleep the Lord seiynge to him, Be war that thou speke not ony thing sharpli ayens Jacob.

²⁵And thanne Jacob hadde stretchid forth the tabernacle in the hil; and whanne he hadde sued Jacob with his britheren, `he settide tente in the same hil of Galaad; and he seide to Jacob,

²⁶Whi hast thou do so, that the while I wiste not thou woldist dryue awey my douytris as caitifs by swerd?

²⁷Whi woldist thou fle the while Y wiste not, nether woldist shewe to me, that Y shulde sue thee with ioie, and songis, and tympans, and harpis?

²⁸Thou suffridist not that Y schulde kisse my sones and douytris; thou hast wrouyt folili.

²⁹And now sotheli myn hond mai yelde yuel to thee, but the God of thi fadir seide to me yisterdai, Be war that thou speke not ony harder thing with Jacob.

³⁰Suppose, if thou coueitedist to go to thi kynesmen, and the hows of thi fadir was in desir to thee, whi hast thou stole my goddis?

³¹Jacob answeride, That Y yede forth while thou wistist not, Y dredde lest thou woldist take awey thi douytris violentli;

³²sotheli that thou repreuest me of thefte, at whom euer thou fyndist thi goddis, be he slayn bifor oure britheren; seke thou, what euer thing of thine thou fyndist at me, and take awei. Jacob seide these thingis, and wiste not that Rachel stal the idols.

³³And so Laban entride into the tabernacle of Jacob, and of Lya, and of euer eithir meyne, and foond not; and whanne Laban hadde entrid in to the tente of Rachel,

³⁴sche hastide, and hidde the idols vndur the strewyngis of the camel, and sat aboue. And sche seide to Laban, sekynge al the tente and fyndynge no thing,

³⁵My lord, be not wrooth that Y may not rise bifore thee, for it bifelde now to me bi the custom of wymmen; so the bisynesse of the sekere was scorned.

³⁶And Jacob bolnyde, and seide with strijf, For what cause of me, and for what synne of me, hast thou come so fersly aftir me,

³⁷and hast souyt al `the portenaunce of myn hous? What `hast thou founde of al the catel of thin hows? Putte thou here bifore my britheren and thi britheren, and deme thei betwixe me and thee.

³⁸Was I with thee herfore twenti yeer? Thi sheep and geet weren not bareyn, Y eet not the rammes of thi flok,

³⁹nether Y schewide to thee ony thing takun of a beeste; Y yeldide al harm; what euer thing perischide bi thefte, thou axidist of me;

⁴⁰Y was angwischid in dai and nyyt with heete and frost, and sleep fledde fro myn iyen;

⁴¹so Y seruede thee bi twenti yeer in thin hows, fourtene yeer for thi douytris, and sixe yeer for thi flockis; and thou chaungidist my mede ten sithis.

⁴²If God of my fadir Abraham, and the drede of Isaac hadde not helpid me, perauenture now thou haddist left me nakid; the Lord bihelde my turmentyng and the traueyl of myn hondis, and repreuyde thee yistirdai.

⁴³Laban answeride hym, The douytris, and thi sones, and flockis, and alle thingis whiche thou seest, ben myne, what mai Y do to my sones, and to the sones of sones?

⁴⁴Therfor come thou, and make we boond of pees, that it be witnessyng bitwixe me, and thee.

⁴⁵And so Jacob took a stoon, and reiside it in to a signe, and seide to hise britheren,

⁴⁶Brynge ye stoonus; whiche gadriden, and maden an heep, and eten on it.

⁴⁷And Laban clepide it the heep of wittnesse, and Jacob clepide it the heep of witnessyng; euer eithir clepide bi the proprete of his langage.

⁴⁸And Laban seide, This heep schal be witnesse bytwixe me and thee to day, and herfor the name therof was clepid Galaad, that is, the heep of witnesse.

⁴⁹And Laban addide, The Lord biholde, and deme bitwixe vs, whanne we schulen go awei fro yow;

⁵⁰if thou schalt turmente my douytris, and if thou schal brynge yn othere wyues on hem, noon is witnesse of oure word, outakun God, whiche is present, and biholdith.

⁵¹And eft he seide to Jacob, Lo! this heep, and stoon, whiche Y reiside bitwixe me and thee, schal be witnesse;

⁵²sotheli this heep, and stoon be in to witnessyng, forsothe if Y schal passe it, and go to thee, ether thou shalt passe, and thenke yuel to me.

⁵³God of Abraham, and God of Nachor, God of the fadir of hem, deme bitwixe vs. Therfor Jacob swoor by the drede of his fadir Ysaac;

⁵⁴and whanne slayn sacrifices weren offrid in the hil, he clepyde his britheren to ete breed, and whanne thei hadden ete, thei dwelliden there.

⁵⁵Forsothe Laban roos bi nyyt, and kisside his sones, and douytris, and blesside hem, and turnede ayen in to his place.

Genesis 31

¹And 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 glory.

²And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as before.

³And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

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

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

⁶And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

⁷And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

⁸If he said thus, 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.

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

¹⁰And 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 rams which leaped upon the cattle were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.

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

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

¹³I am the God of Beth–el, 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.

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

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

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

¹⁷Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels;

¹⁸And 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.

¹⁹And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.

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

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

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

²³And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.

²⁴And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.

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

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

²⁷Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and 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?

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

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

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

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

³²With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, 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.

³³And 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.

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

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

³⁶And 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?

³⁷Whereas 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.

³⁸This 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.

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

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

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

⁴²Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the 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.

⁴³And 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?

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

⁴⁵And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

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

⁴⁷And Laban called it Jegar–sahadutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.

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

⁴⁹And Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another.

⁵⁰If 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.

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

⁵²This 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.

⁵³The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the fear of his father Isaac.

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

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