Genesis 31-33

New International Version

Jacob Flees From Laban

31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons^(A) were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.”^{(B) 2} And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been.^(C)

³ Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back^(D) to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”^(E)

⁴ So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. ⁵ He said to them, “I see that your father’s^(F) attitude toward me is not what it was before,^(G) but the God of my father has been with me.^{(H) 6} You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength,^{(I) 7} yet your father has cheated^(J) me by changing my wages^(K) ten times.^(L) However, God has not allowed him to harm me.^{(M) 8} If he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ then all the flocks gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked ones will be your wages,’^(N) then all the flocks bore streaked young. ⁹ So God has taken away your father’s livestock^(O) and has given them to me.^(P)

¹⁰ “In breeding season I once had a dream^(Q) in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. ¹¹ The angel of God^(R) said to me in the dream,^(S) ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’^{(T) 12} And he said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted,^(U) for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.^{(V) 13} I am the God of Bethel,^(W) where you anointed a pillar^(X) and where you made a vow^(Y) to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.^(Z)’”

¹⁴ Then Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we still have any share^(AA) in the inheritance of our father’s estate? ¹⁵ Does he not regard us as foreigners?^(AB) Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us.^{(AC) 16} Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children.^(AD) So do whatever God has told you.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob put his children and his wives^(AE) on camels,^{(AF) 18} and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated^(AG) in Paddan Aram,^[a](AH) to go to his father Isaac^(AI) in the land of Canaan.^(AJ)

¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his sheep,^(AK) Rachel stole her father’s household gods.^{(AL) 20} Moreover, Jacob deceived^(AM) Laban the Aramean^(AN) by not telling him he was running away.^{(AO) 21} So he fled^(AP) with all he had, crossed the Euphrates River,^(AQ) and headed for the hill country of Gilead.^(AR)

Laban Pursues Jacob

²² On the third day^(AS) Laban was told that Jacob had fled.^{(AT) 23} Taking his relatives^(AU) with him^(AV), he pursued Jacob for seven days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.^{(AW) 24} Then God came to Laban the Aramean^(AX) in a dream at night and said to him,^(AY) “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”^(AZ)

²⁵ Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead^(BA) when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there too. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done?^(BB) You’ve deceived me,^(BC) and you’ve carried off my daughters like captives in war.^{(BD) 27} Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me,^(BE) so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of timbrels^(BF) and harps?^{(BG) 28} You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters goodbye.^(BH) You have done a foolish thing. ²⁹ I have the power to harm you;^(BI) but last night the God of your father^(BJ) said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’^{(BK) 30} Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household.^(BL) But why did you steal^(BM) my gods?^(BN)”

³¹ Jacob answered Laban, “I was afraid, because I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force.^{(BO) 32} But if you find anyone who has your gods, that person shall not live.^(BP) In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself whether there is anything of yours here with me; and if so, take it.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the gods.^(BQ)

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent^(BR) and into the tent of the two female servants,^(BS) but he found nothing.^(BT) After he came out of Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household gods^(BU) and put them inside her camel’s saddle^(BV) and was sitting on them. Laban searched^(BW) through everything in the tent but found nothing.

³⁵ Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence;^(BX) I’m having my period.^(BY)” So he searched but could not find the household gods.^(BZ)

³⁶ Jacob was angry and took Laban to task. “What is my crime?” he asked Laban. “How have I wronged^(CA) you that you hunt me down?^{(CB) 37} Now that you have searched through all my goods, what have you found that belongs to your household?^(CC) Put it here in front of your relatives^(CD) and mine, and let them judge between the two of us.^(CE)

³⁸ “I have been with you for twenty years now.^(CF) Your sheep and goats have not miscarried,^(CG) nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. ³⁹ I did not bring you animals torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen^(CH) by day or night.^{(CI) 40} This was my situation: The heat consumed me in the daytime and the cold at night, and sleep fled from my eyes.^{(CJ) 41} It was like this for the twenty years^(CK) I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters^(CL) and six years for your flocks,^(CM) and you changed my wages^(CN) ten times.^{(CO) 42} If the God of my father,^(CP) the God of Abraham^(CQ) and the Fear of Isaac,^(CR) had not been with me,^(CS) you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands,^(CT) and last night he rebuked you.^(CU)”

⁴³ Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks.^(CV) All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne? ⁴⁴ Come now, let’s make a covenant,^(CW) you and I, and let it serve as a witness between us.”^(CX)

⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar.^{(CY) 46} He said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” So they took stones and piled them in a heap,^(CZ) and they ate there by the heap. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.^[b](DA)

⁴⁸ Laban said, “This heap^(DB) is a witness between you and me today.”^(DC) That is why it was called Galeed. ⁴⁹ It was also called Mizpah,^[c](DD) because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. ⁵⁰ If you mistreat^(DE) my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness^(DF) between you and me.”^(DG)

⁵¹ Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap,^(DH) and here is this pillar^(DI) I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness,^(DJ) that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap^(DK) and pillar to my side to harm me.^{(DL) 53} May the God of Abraham^(DM) and the God of Nahor,^(DN) the God of their father, judge between us.”^(DO)

So Jacob took an oath^(DP) in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac.^{(DQ) 54} He offered a sacrifice^(DR) there in the hill country and invited his relatives to a meal.^(DS) After they had eaten, they spent the night there.

⁵⁵ Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters^(DT) and blessed^(DU) them. Then he left and returned home.^[d](DV)

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

32 ^[e]Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God^(DW) met him. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!”^(DX) So he named that place Mahanaim.^[f](DY)

³ Jacob sent messengers^(DZ) ahead of him to his brother Esau^(EA) in the land of Seir,^(EB) the country of Edom.^{(EC) 4} He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord^(ED) Esau: ‘Your servant^(EE) Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban^(EF) and have remained there till now. ⁵ I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants.^(EG) Now I am sending this message to my lord,^(EH) that I may find favor in your eyes.^(EI)’”

⁶ When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”^(EJ)

⁷ In great fear^(EK) and distress^(EL) Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups,^[g](EM) and the flocks and herds and camels as well. ⁸ He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group,^[h] the group^[i] that is left may escape.”

⁹ Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham,^(EN) God of my father Isaac,^(EO) Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’^{(EP) 10} I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness^(EQ) you have shown your servant. I had only my staff^(ER) when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps.^{(ES) 11} Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid^(ET) he will come and attack me,^(EU) and also the mothers with their children.^{(EV) 12} But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand^(EW) of the sea, which cannot be counted.^(EX)’”

¹³ He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift^(EY) for his brother Esau: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,^{(EZ) 15} thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.^{(FA) 16} He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.”^(FB)

¹⁷ He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant^(FC) Jacob. They are a gift^(FD) sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’”

¹⁹ He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁰ And be sure to say, ‘Your servant^(FE) Jacob is coming behind us.’” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts^(FF) I am sending on ahead;^(FG) later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.”^{(FH) 21} So Jacob’s gifts^(FI) went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles With God

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons^(FJ) and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.^{(FK) 23} After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.^{(FL) 24} So Jacob was left alone,^(FM) and a man^(FN) wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip^(FO) so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”^(FP)

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,”^(FQ) he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name^(FR) will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,^[j](FS) because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”^(FT)

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”^(FU)

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?”^(FV) Then he blessed^(FW) him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel,^[k] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face,^(FX) and yet my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,^[l](FY) and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip,^(FZ) because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men;^(GA) so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants.^{(GB) 2} He put the female servants and their children^(GC) in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph^(GD) in the rear. ³ He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground^(GE) seven times^(GF) as he approached his brother.

⁴ But Esau^(GG) ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him.^(GH) And they wept.^{(GI) 5} Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked.

Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.^(GJ)”

⁶ Then the female servants and their children^(GK) approached and bowed down.^{(GL) 7} Next, Leah and her children^(GM) came and bowed down.^(GN) Last of all came Joseph and Rachel,^(GO) and they too bowed down.

⁸ Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?”^(GP)

“To find favor in your eyes, my lord,”^(GQ) he said.

⁹ But Esau said, “I already have plenty,^(GR) my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰ “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes,^(GS) accept this gift^(GT) from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God,^(GU) now that you have received me favorably.^{(GV) 11} Please accept the present^(GW) that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me^(GX) and I have all I need.”^(GY) And because Jacob insisted,^(GZ) Esau accepted it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”

¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord^(HA) knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young.^(HB) If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die. ¹⁴ So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the flocks and herds^(HC) before me and the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.^(HD)”

¹⁵ Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”

“But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”^(HE)

¹⁶ So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.^{(HF) 17} Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth,^(HG) where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Sukkoth.^[m]

¹⁸ After Jacob came from Paddan Aram,^[n](HH) he arrived safely at the city of Shechem^(HI) in Canaan and camped within sight of the city. ¹⁹ For a hundred pieces of silver,^[o] he bought from the sons of Hamor,^(HJ) the father of Shechem,^(HK) the plot of ground^(HL) where he pitched his tent.^{(HM) 20} There he set up an altar^(HN) and called it El Elohe Israel.^[p]