Genesis 31-32

21st Century King James Version

31 And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and from that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.”

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

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

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

⁵ and 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.

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

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

⁸ If he said thus: ‘The speckled shall be thy wages,’ then all the animals bore speckled; and if he said thus: ‘The ringstreaked shall be thy hire,’ then all the animals bore ringstreaked.

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

¹⁰ And it came to pass at the time that the animals conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the animals were ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled.

¹¹ And the angel of God spoke unto me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob!’ And I said, ‘Here am I.’

¹² And he said, ‘Lift up now thine eyes and see: all the rams which leap upon the animals are ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled; for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointed the pillar, and where thou vowed a vow unto Me. Now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.’”

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

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

¹⁶ 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.”

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

¹⁸ And he carried away all his flocks and all his goods which he had gotten, the flocks of his getting which he had gotten in Padanaram, to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

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

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

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

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

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

²⁴ And 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.”

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

²⁶ And 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?

²⁷ Why 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 taboret and with harp,

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

²⁹ 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.’

³⁰ And now, though thou wouldest be gone, because thou sorely longed after thy father’s house, yet why hast thou stolen my gods?”

³¹ And Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid; for I said, ‘Perhaps thou wouldest take by force thy daughters from me.’

³² With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live. Before our brethren, discern thou what is thine with me, and take it with thee.” For Jacob knew not that Rachel had stolen them.

³³ And 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.

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

³⁵ 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 he searched, but found not the images.

³⁶ And Jacob was wroth, and chided Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that thou hast so hotly pursued after me?

³⁷ Whereas thou hast searched all my goods, what hast thou found of all thy household things? Set it here before my brethren and thy brethren, that they may judge between us both.

³⁸ These twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy shegoats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten.

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

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

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

⁴² Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou would have sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight.”

⁴³ And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine. And what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children whom they have borne?

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

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

⁴⁶ And Jacob said unto his brethren, “Gather stones”; and they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there upon the heap.

⁴⁷ And Laban called it Jegarsahadutha [that is, The heap of witness], but Jacob called it Galeed.

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

⁴⁹ and Mizpah [that is, A beacon or watchtower]; for he said, “The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another.

⁵⁰ If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives besides my daughters, no man is with us—see, God is witness between me and thee!”

⁵¹ And Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold this pillar, which I have cast between me and thee.

⁵² This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass beyond this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

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

⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread; and they ate bread, and tarried all night on the mount.

⁵⁵ 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 place.

32 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

² And when Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s host.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim [that is, Two hosts or camps].

³ And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom.

⁴ And he commanded them, saying, “Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau, ‘Thy servant Jacob saith thus: I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now,

⁵ and I have oxen and asses, flocks and menservants and womenservants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight.’”

⁶ And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.”

⁷ Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and the camels into two bands.

⁸ And he said, “If Esau come to the one company and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape.”

⁹ And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who saidst unto me, ‘Return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee’—

¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which Thou hast shown unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two bands.

¹¹ Deliver me, I pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me and the mother with the children.

¹² And Thou saidst, ‘I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’”

¹³ And he lodged there that same night, and took from that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother:

¹⁴ two hundred shegoats and twenty hegoats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty sheasses and ten foals.

¹⁶ And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said unto his servants, “Pass over before me, and put a space between drove and drove.”

¹⁷ And he commanded the foremost, saying, “When Esau my brother meeteth thee and asketh thee, saying, ‘Whose art thou? And whither goest thou? And whose are these before thee?’

¹⁸ then thou shalt say, ‘They are thy servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent unto my lord Esau; and behold also, he is behind us.’”

¹⁹ And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner shall ye speak unto Esau when ye find him.

²⁰ And say ye moreover, ‘Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the presents that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”

²¹ So went the presents over before him, and he himself lodged that night in the company.

²² And he rose up that night, and took his two wives and his two womenservants and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

²³ And he took them and sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.

²⁴ And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

²⁵ And when the man saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.

²⁶ And the man said, “Let me go, for the day breaketh.” And he said, “I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me.”

²⁷ And he said unto him, “What is thy name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

²⁸ And he said, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.”

²⁹ And Jacob asked him, and said, “Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.” And he said, “Why is it that thou dost ask after my name?” And he blessed him there.

³⁰ And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [that is, The face of God]: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”

³¹ And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he limped upon his thigh.

³² Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.