Genesis:31
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Now Jacob heard the words of Laban '
s sons ,
saying , "
Jacob has taken away all that was our father '
s ,
and from what was our father '
s he has acquired all this wealth ."
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And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban ,
and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before .
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Then the LORD said to Jacob , "
Return to the land of your fathers and to your family ,
and I will be with you ."
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So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field ,
to his flock ,
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and said to them , "
I see your father '
s countenance ,
that it is not favorable toward me as before ;
but the God of my father has been with me .
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And you know that with all my might I have served your father .
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Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times ,
but God did not allow him to hurt me .
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If he said thus : "
The speckled shall be your wages ,'
then all the flocks bore speckled .
And if he said thus : "
The streaked shall be your wages ,'
then all the flocks bore streaked .
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So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me .
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And it happened ,
at the time when the flocks conceived ,
that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream ,
and behold ,
the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked ,
speckled ,
and gray-spotted .
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Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream ,
saying , "
Jacob .'
And I said , "
Here I am .'
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And He said , "
Lift your eyes now and see ,
all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked ,
speckled ,
and gray-spotted ;
for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you .
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I am the God of Bethel ,
where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me .
Now arise ,
get out of this land ,
and return to the land of your family ."'
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Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him , "
Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father '
s house ?
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Are we not considered strangers by him ?
For he has sold us ,
and also completely consumed our money .
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For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children '
s ;
now then ,
whatever God has said to you ,
do it ."
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Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels .
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And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained ,
his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram ,
to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan .
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Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep ,
and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father '
s .
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And Jacob stole away ,
unknown to Laban the Syrian ,
in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee .
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So he fled with all that he had .
He arose and crossed the river ,
and headed toward the mountains of Gilead .
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And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled .
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Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days '
journey ,
and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead .
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But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night ,
and said to him , "
Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad ."
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So Laban overtook Jacob .
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains ,
and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead .
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And Laban said to Jacob : "
What have you done ,
that you have stolen away unknown to me ,
and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword ?
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Why did you flee away secretly ,
and steal away from me ,
and not tell me ;
for I might have sent you away with joy and songs ,
with timbrel and harp ?
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And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters .
Now you have done foolishly in so doing .
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It is in my power to do you harm ,
but the God of your father spoke to me last night ,
saying , "
Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad .'
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And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father '
s house ,
but why did you steal my gods ?"
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Then Jacob answered and said to Laban , "
Because I was afraid ,
for I said , "
Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force .'
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With whomever you find your gods ,
do not let him live .
In the presence of our brethren ,
identify what I have of yours and take it with you ."
For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them .
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And Laban went into Jacob '
s tent ,
into Leah '
s tent ,
and into the two maids '
tents ,
but he did not find them .
Then he went out of Leah '
s tent and entered Rachel '
s tent .
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Now Rachel had taken the household idols ,
put them in the camel '
s saddle ,
and sat on them .
And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them .
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And she said to her father , "
Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you ,
for the manner of women is with me ."
And he searched but did not find the household idols .
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Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban ,
and Jacob answered and said to Laban : "
What is my trespass ?
What is my sin ,
that you have so hotly pursued me ?
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Although you have searched all my things ,
what part of your household things have you found ?
Set it here before my brethren and your brethren ,
that they may judge between us both !
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These twenty years I have been with you ;
your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young ,
and I have not eaten the rams of your flock .
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That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you ;
I bore the loss of it .
You required it from my hand ,
whether stolen by day or stolen by night .
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There I was !
In the day the drought consumed me ,
and the frost by night ,
and my sleep departed from my eyes .
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Thus I have been in your house twenty years ;
I served you fourteen years for your two daughters ,
and six years for your flock ,
and you have changed my wages ten times .
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Unless the God of my father ,
the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac ,
had been with me ,
surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed .
God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands ,
and rebuked you last night ."
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And Laban answered and said to Jacob , "
These daughters are my daughters ,
and these children are my children ,
and this flock is my flock ;
all that you see is mine .
But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne ?
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Now therefore ,
come ,
let us make a covenant ,
you and I ,
and let it be a witness between you and me ."
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So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar .
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Then Jacob said to his brethren , "
Gather stones ."
And they took stones and made a heap ,
and they ate there on the heap .
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Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha ,
but Jacob called it Galeed .
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And Laban said , "
This heap is a witness between you and me this day ."
Therefore its name was called Galeed ,
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also Mizpah ,
because he said , "
May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another .
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If you afflict my daughters ,
or if you take other wives besides my daughters ,
although no man is with us--see ,
God is witness between you and me !"
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Then Laban said to Jacob , "
Here is this heap and here is this pillar ,
which I have placed between you and me .
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This heap is a witness ,
and this pillar is a witness ,
that I will not pass beyond this heap to you ,
and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me ,
for harm .
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The God of Abraham ,
the God of Nahor ,
and the God of their father judge between us ."
And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac .
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Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain ,
and called his brethren to eat bread .
And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain .
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And early in the morning Laban arose ,
and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them .
Then Laban departed and returned to his place .