Genesis:31

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* 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 wealth . * And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban , and , behold , it was not toward him as before . * And the Lord said unto Jacob , Return unto the land of thy fathers , and to thy birthplace ; and I will be with thee . * And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock . * And he 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 . * And ye know well that with all my power I have served your father . * And your father hath deceived me , and changed my wages ten times : but God suffered him not to do me evil . * If he said thus , The speckled shall be thy wages : then bore all the flocks speckled : and if he said thus , The ring –streaked shall be thy reward ; then bore all the flocks ring –streaked . * Thus God took away the cattle of your father , and gave them to me . * And it came to pass at the time that the flocks conceived , that I lifted up my eyes , and saw in a dream , and , behold , the rams which leaped upon the flocks were ring –streaked , speckled , and grizzled . * And an angel of God spoke unto me in the dream , Jacob : and I said , Here am I . * And he said , Lift up now thy eyes and see , all the rams which leap upon the flocks are ring –streaked , speckled , and grizzled ; for I have seen all that Laban doth unto thee . * I am the God of Beth –el , where thou anointedst a pillar , where thou madest unto me a vow : now arise , get thee out from this land , and return unto the land of thy birth . * And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him , Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father ’s house ? * Were we not counted of him as strangers ? for he hath sold us ; and he hath quite consumed also our money . * For 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 . * Then Jacob rose up , and set his sons and his wives upon camels ; * And he led away all his cattle , and all his goods which he had gotten , the cattle of his acquiring , which he had gotten in Padan –aram , to go to Isaac his father into the land of Canaan . * And Laban was gone to shear his sheep ; and Rachel stole the images that were her father ’s . * And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian , by not letting him know that he was going to flee . * And he fled with all that he had ; and he rose up , and passed over the river , and set his face toward the mount Gilead . * And it was told to Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled . * And he took his brethren with him , and pursued after him a seven days ’ journey ; and he overtook him at the mount of Gilead . * And God came to Laban , the Syrian , in a dream of the night , and said unto him , Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad . * Then Laban overtook Jacob ; now Jacob had pitched his tent on the mount , and Laban with his brethren pitched on the mount of Gilead . * And Laban said to Jacob , What hast thou done , that thou hast stolen away unawares to me , and led away my daughters , as captives taken with the sword . * Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly , and steal away from me ; and why didst thou not tell me , that I might have sent thee away with mirth , and with songs , with tabret , and with harp ? * And hast thou not suffered me to kiss my sons and my daughters ? now thou hast acted foolishly in so doing . * It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt ; but the God of your father spoke unto me yesternight , saying , Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad . * And now , thou wouldst needs be gone , because thou greatly longedst after thy father ’s house ; wherefore hast thou stolen my gods . * And Jacob answered and said to Laban , Because I was afraid , for I said , Peradventure thou wouldst take by force thy daughters from me . * With whomsoever thou findest thy gods , let him not live ; before our brethren seek out thou what is thine with me , and take it to thee ; but Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them . * And Laban went into the tent of Jacob , and into the tent of Leah , and into the tent of the two maid –servants ; but he found nothing ; he then went out of the tent of Leah , and entered into Rachel ’s tent . * Now Rachel had taken the images , and put them in the saddle –cushion of the camel , and sat upon them ; and Laban searched all the tent , and found nothing . * And 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 thus he searched , but found not the images . * Now Jacob became wroth , and quarrelled 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 ? * Although thou hast searched all my goods , what hast thou found of all the articles of thy household ? set it here before my brethren and thy brethren , that they may judge between us both . * These 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 . * That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee ; I had to bear the loss of it , of my hand didst thou require it , whatever was stolen by day , or stolen by night . * I was in the day the heat consumed me , and the frost by night ; and my sleep departed from my eyes . * These twenty years have I been in thy house ; I have served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters , and six years for thy flocks : and thou hast changed my wages ten times . * Except the God of my father , the God of Abraham , and the Fear of Isaac , had been with me , surely thou hadst now sent me away empty ; my affliction and the labor of my hands God hath seen , and decided yesternight . * And Laban answered and said unto Jacob , The daughters are my daughters , and the children are my children , and the flocks are my flocks , and all that thou seest is mine ; but as to my daughters , what can I do unto them this day , or unto their children whom they have born ? * And now , come thou , let us make a covenant , I and thou ; and let it be for a witness between me and thee . * And Jacob took a stone , and set it up for a pillar . * And Jacob said unto his brethren , Gather stones ; and they took stones , and made a heap ; and they ate there upon the heap . * And Laban called it Yegar –sahadutha ; but Jacob called it Galed . * And Laban said , This heap is a witness between me and thee this day ; therefore called he its name Galed ; * And Mitzpah ; for he said , The Lord shall watch between me and thee , when we are absent one from the other ; * If thou shouldst afflict my daughters , or if thou shouldst take other wives besides my daughters , when there is no man with us : see , God is witness between me and thee . * And Laban said to Jacob , Behold this heap , and behold this pillar , which I have cast up between me and thee ; * Witness be this heap and witness be this pillar , that I will not pass by this heap , and that thou shalt not pass unto me by this heap and this pillar , for evil . * The God of Abraham and the God of Nachor shall judge between us , the God of their father ; but Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac . * Then Jacob slew some cattle upon the mount , and called his brethren to eat bread ; and they did eat bread , and tarried all night on the mount . * And early in the morning Laban rose up , and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them ; and Laban departed , and returned unto his own place .

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