Genesis 31:1–16

Jacob Flees from Laban

31Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father. All his wealth has come from what our father owned.” ²He also saw that Laban was no longer as friendly as he had been earlier. ³Then the Lord said to him, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives. I will be with you.”

⁴So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to meet him in the field where his flocks were. ⁵He said to them, “I have noticed that your father is not as friendly towards me as he used to be; but my father’s God has been with me. ⁶You both know that I have worked for your father with all my strength. ⁷Yet he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. But God did not let him harm me. ⁸Whenever Laban said, ‘The speckled goats shall be your wages,’ all the flocks produced speckled young. When he said, ‘The striped goats shall be your wages,’ all the flocks produced striped young. ⁹God has taken flocks away from your father and given them to me.

¹⁰“During the breeding season I had a dream, and I saw that the male goats that were mating were striped, spotted, and speckled. ¹¹The angel of God spoke to me in the dream and said, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Yes,’ I answered. ¹²‘Look,’ he continued, ‘all the male goats that are mating are striped, spotted, and speckled. I am making this happen because I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. ^13*I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, where you dedicated a stone as a memorial by pouring olive oil on it and where you made a vow to me. Now get ready to go back to the land where you were born.’ ”

¹⁴Rachel and Leah answered Jacob, “There is nothing left for us to inherit from our father. ¹⁵He treats us like foreigners. He sold us, and now he has spent all the money he was paid for us. ¹⁶All this wealth which God has taken from our father belongs to us and to our children. Do whatever God has told you.”