Genesis 31:1–16

Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan

¹Now 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.”

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

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

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

⁵and 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.’ ”

¹⁴Rachel 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.”