Genesis 31:1–16

Jacob’s Second and Third Encounters with God

¹Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father and has gained all his wealth from him.” ²He also noticed that Laban did not appear as friendly to him as before. 

³Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” 

⁴So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah to come out to the open country where his flocks were. ⁵He said to them, “I have seen that your father isn’t as friendly to me as he was before, but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶You know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father. ⁷Your father has cheated me. He has changed my wages 10 times. But God hasn’t let him harm me. ⁸Whenever he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to speckled young. And whenever he said, ‘The striped ones will be your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to striped young. ⁹So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. 

¹⁰“During the mating season I had a dream: I looked up and saw that the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, or spotted. ¹¹In the dream the Messenger of God called to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I answered, ‘Yes, here I am.’ ¹²He said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, or spotted, because I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. ¹³I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel,^awhere you poured olive oil on a stone marker for a holy purpose and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land, and go back to the land of your relatives.’ ” 

¹⁴Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there anything left in our father’s household for us to inherit? ¹⁵Doesn’t he think of us as foreigners? Not only did he sell us, but he has used up the money that was paid for us. ¹⁶Certainly, all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. Now do whatever God has told you.”