Chapter 31

Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan

1 Now 1Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this 2wealth.”

2 Jacob saw the 1attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as formerly.

3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “aReturn to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and bI will be with you.”

4 So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field,

5 and said to them, “aI see your father’s 1attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as formerly, but bthe God of my father has been with me.

6 “aYou know that I have served your father with all my strength.

7 “Yet your father has acheated me and bchanged my wages ten times; however, cGod did not allow him to hurt me.

8 “If ahe spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,’ then all the flock brought forth striped.

9 “Thus God has ataken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

10 “And it came about at the time when the flock were 1mating that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats which were 2mating were striped, speckled, and mottled.

11 “Then athe angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’

12 “He said, ‘Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are 1mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for aI have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.

13 ‘I am athe God of Bethel, where you banointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, 1leave this land, and creturn to the land of your birth.’ ”

14 Rachel and Leah said to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance in our father’s house?

15 “Are we not reckoned by him as foreigners? For ahe has sold us, and has also 1entirely consumed 2our purchase price.

16 “Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has said to you.”

17 Then Jacob arose and put his children and his wives upon camels;

18 and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had gathered, his acquired livestock which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, ato go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.

19 When Laban had gone to shear his flock, then Rachel stole the 1ahousehold idols that were her father’s.

20 And Jacob 1deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.

21 So he fled with all that he had; and he arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and set his face toward the hill country of aGilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

22 When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled,

23 then he took his 1kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead.

24 aGod came to Laban the Aramean in a bdream of the night and said to him, “1cBe careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”

25 Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his 1kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead.

26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done 1by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?

27 “Why did you flee secretly and 1deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with atimbrel and with blyre;

28 and did not allow me ato kiss my sons and my daughters? Now you have done foolishly.

29 “It is in 1my power to do you harm, but athe God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘2bBe careful not to speak either good or bad to Jacob.’

30 “Now you have indeed gone away because you longed greatly for your father’s house; but why did you steal amy gods?”

31 Then Jacob replied to Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force.

32 “aThe one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our 1kinsmen 2point out what is yours 3among my belongings and take it for yourself.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and into the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.

34 Now Rachel had taken the 1household idols and put them in the camel’s saddle, and she sat on them. And Laban felt through all the tent but did not find them.

35 She said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot arise before you, for the manner of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the 1bhousehold idols.

36 Then Jacob became angry and contended with Laban; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is my transgression? What is my sin that you have hotly pursued me?

37 “Though you have felt through all my goods, what have you found of all your household goods? Set it here before my 1kinsmen and your 1kinsmen, that they may decide between us two.

38 “These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks.

39 “That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it myself. You required it of my hand whether stolen by day or stolen by night.

40 “Thus I was: by day the 1heat consumed me and the frost by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes.

41 “These twenty years I have been in your house; aI served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flock, and you bchanged my wages ten times.

42 “If athe God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. bGod has seen my affliction and the toil of my hands, so He crendered judgment last night.”

The Covenant of Mizpah

43 Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and athe flocks are my flocks, and 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?

44 “So now come, let us amake a covenant, 1you and I, and blet it be a witness between 2you and me.”

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

46 Jacob said to his 1kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there by the heap.

47 Now Laban acalled it 1Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it 2Galeed.

48 Laban said, “aThis heap is a witness between 1you and me this day.” Therefore it was named Galeed,

49 and 1aMizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between 2you and me when we are 3absent one from the other.

50 “If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us, see, aGod is witness between 1you and me.”

51 Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap and behold the pillar which I have set between 1you and me.

52 “This heap is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass by this heap to you for harm, and you will not pass by this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.

53 “aThe God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, bjudge between us.” So Jacob swore by cthe fear of his father Isaac.

54 Then Jacob aoffered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his 1kinsmen to 2the meal; and they ate 3the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

55 1Early in the morning Laban arose, and akissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.

Chapter 32

Jacob’s Fear of Esau

1 Now as Jacob went on his way, athe angels of God met him.

2 Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s 1camp.” So he named that place 2aMahanaim.

3 Then Jacob asent messengers before him to his brother Esau in the land of bSeir, the 1country of cEdom.

4 He also commanded them saying, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: ‘Thus says your servant Jacob, “I have sojourned with Laban, and astayed until now;

5 aI have oxen and donkeys and flocks and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, bthat I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

6 The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore ahe is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”

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

8 for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and 1attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”

9 Jacob said, “O aGod of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, who said to me, ‘bReturn to your country and to your relatives, and I will 1prosper you,’

10 1I am unworthy aof all the lovingkindness and of all the 2faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.

11 “aDeliver me, I pray, bfrom the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and 1attack me and the cmothers with the children.

12 “For You said, ‘aI will surely 1prosper you and bmake your 2descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’ ”

13 So he spent the night there. Then he 1selected from what 2he had with him a apresent for his brother Esau:

14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,

15 thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys.

16 He delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on before me, and put a space between droves.”

17 He commanded the 1one in front, saying, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?’

18 then you shall say, ‘These belong to your servant Jacob; it is a present sent to my lord Esau. And behold, he also is behind us.’ ”

19 Then he commanded also the second and the third, and all those who followed the droves, saying, “After this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;

20 and you shall say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob also is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me. Then afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”

21 So the present passed on before him, while he himself spent that night in the camp.

22 Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the aJabbok.

23 He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.

Jacob Wrestles

24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man awrestled with him until daybreak.

25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “aI will not let you go unless you bless me.”

27 So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.”

28 aHe said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but 1Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

29 Then aJacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there.

30 So Jacob named the place 1Peniel, for he said, “aI have seen God face to face, yet my 2life has been preserved.”

31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over aPenuel, and he was limping on his thigh.

32 Therefore, to this day the sons of Israel do not eat the sinew of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew of the hip.

Chapter 33

Jacob Meets Esau

1 Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, aEsau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children 1among Leah and Rachel and the two maids.

2 He put the maids and their children 1in front, and Leah and her children 2next, and Rachel and Joseph 2last.

3 But he himself passed on ahead of them and abowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

4 Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and afell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.

5 He lifted his eyes and saw the women and the children, and said, “1Who are these with you?” So he said, “aThe children whom God has graciously given your servant.”

6 Then the maids came near 1with their children, and they bowed down.

7 Leah likewise came near with her children, and they bowed down; and afterward Joseph came near with Rachel, and they bowed down.

8 And he said, “What do you mean by aall this company which I have met?” And he said, “bTo find favor in the sight of my lord.”

9 But Esau said, “aI have plenty, my brother; let what you have be your own.”

10 Jacob said, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then take my present from my hand, 1for I see your face as one sees the face of God, and you have received me favorably.

11 “Please take my 1agift which has been brought to you, bbecause God has dealt graciously with me and because I have 2plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it.

12 Then 1Esau said, “Let us take our journey and go, and I will go before you.”

13 But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds which are nursing are 1a care to me. And if they are driven hard one day, all the flocks will die.

14 “Please let my lord pass on before his servant, and I will proceed at my leisure, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord at aSeir.”

15 Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “1What need is there? aLet me find favor in the sight of my lord.”

16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.

17 Jacob journeyed to 1aSuccoth, and built for himself a house and made booths for his livestock; therefore the place is named Succoth.

Jacob Settles in Shechem

18 Now Jacob came safely to the city of aShechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from bPaddan-aram, and camped before the city.

19 aHe bought the piece of land where he had pitched his tent from the hand of the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred 1pieces of money.

20 Then he erected there an altar and called it 1El-Elohe-Israel.