Genesis 31:8

Brenton's Septuagint

If he should say thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the cattle would bear speckled; and if he should say, The white shall be thy reward, then would all the cattle bear white.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
If he said this, 'The speckled will be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled. If he said this, 'The streaked will be your wages,' then all the flock bore streaked.

King James Version
If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.

Lexham English Bible
If thus he said, ‘Speckled shall be your wage,' then all the flock bore speckled. And if he said, ‘Streaked shall be your wage,' then all the flock bore streaked.

New Century Version
When Laban said, ‘You can have all the speckled animals as your pay,' all the animals gave birth to speckled young ones. But when he said, ‘You can have all the streaked animals as your pay,' all the flocks gave birth to streaked babies.

New English Translation
If he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your wage,' then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,' then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring.

Amplified Bible
"If he said, 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then the entire flock gave birth to speckled [young]; and if he said, 'The streaked shall be your wages,' then the entire flock gave birth to streaked [young].

New American Standard Bible
"If he said this: 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flock delivered speckled; and if he said this: 'The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock delivered striped.

Geneva Bible (1587)
If he thus sayd, The spotted shall be thy wages, then all the sheepe bare spotted: and if he sayd thus, the party coloured shalbe thy rewarde, then bare all the sheepe particoloured.

Legacy Standard Bible
If he spoke thus, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled; and if he spoke thus, ‘The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore striped.

Contemporary English Version
When your father said the speckled sheep would be my wages, all of them were speckled. And when he said the spotted ones would be mine, all of them were spotted.

Complete Jewish Bible
If he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,' then all the animals gave birth to speckled young; and if he said, ‘The streaked will be your wages,' then all the animals gave birth to streaked young.

Darby Translation
If he said thus; The speckled shall be thy hire, then all the flocks bore speckled; and if he said thus: The ringstraked shall be thy hire, then all the flocks bore ringstraked.

Easy-to-Read Version
"At one time Laban said, ‘You can keep all the goats with spots. This will be your pay.' After he said this, all the animals gave birth to spotted goats, so they were all mine. But then Laban said, ‘I will keep the spotted goats. You can have all the striped goats. That will be your pay.' After he said this, all the animals gave birth to striped goats.

English Standard Version
If he said, ‘The spotted shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore striped.

George Lamsa Translation
If he said thus, The speckled shall be your wages, then all the flock bore speckled; and if he said thus, The spotted shall be your wages; then all the flock bore spotted.

Good News Translation
Whenever 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.

Christian Standard Bible®
If he said, ‘The spotted sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born spotted. If he said, ‘The streaked sheep will be your wages,’ then all the sheep were born streaked.

Literal Translation
And if he said this: The speckled shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said this, The striped shall be your wages, then all the flocks bore striped.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf he sayde: The partye coloured shalbe thy rewarde, then the whole flocke bare partye coloured.Yf he sayde: The speckelde shalbe thy rewarde, the the whole flocke bare speckelde.

American Standard Version
If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstreaked shall be thy wages; then bare all the flock ringstreaked.

Bible in Basic English
If he said, All those in the flock which have marks are to be yours, then all the flock gave birth to marked young; and if he said, All the banded ones are to be yours, then all the flock had banded young.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
When he sayde, the spotted shalbe thy wages: then al the sheepe bare spotted. And when he sayd, the ringstraked shalbe thy rewarde: then bare all the sheepe ringstraked.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
If he said thus: The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bore speckled; and if he said thus: The streaked shall be thy wages; then bore all the flock streaked.

King James Version (1611)
If hee said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages, then all the cattell bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ring-straked shalbe thy hire, then bare all the cattell ring-straked.

English Revised Version
If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy wages; then bare all the flock ringstraked.

Berean Standard Bible
If he said, 'The speckled will be your wages,' then the whole flock bore speckled offspring. If he said, 'The streaked will be your wages,' then the whole flock bore streaked offspring.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If he seide ony tyme, Dyuerse colourid sheep schulen be thi medis, alle sheep brouyten forth dyuerse colourid lambren; forsothe whanne he seide ayenward, Thou shalte take alle white for mede, alle the flockis brouyten forth white beestis;

Young's Literal Translation
`If he say thus: The speckled are thy hire, then bare all the flock speckled ones; and if he say thus: The ring-straked are thy hire, then bare all the flock ring-straked;

Update Bible Version
If he said thus, The speckled shall be your wages; then all the flock bore speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstreaked shall be your wages; then bore all the flock ringstreaked.

Webster's Bible Translation
If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bore speckled: and if he said thus, The ring-streaked shall be thy hire; then all the cattle bore ring-streaked.

World English Bible
If he said this, 'The speckled will be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled. If he said this, 'The streaked will be your wages,' then all the flock bore streaked.

New King James Version
If he said thus: "The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: "The streaked shall be your wages,' then all the flocks bore streaked.

New Living Translation
For if he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your wages,' the whole flock began to produce speckled young. And when he changed his mind and said, ‘The striped animals will be your wages,' then the whole flock produced striped young.

New Life Bible
If he said, ‘The animals that have spots will be your pay,' then all the flock gave birth to young ones with spots. If he said, ‘The animals with black marks will be your pay,' then all the flock gave birth to young ones with black marks.

New Revised Standard
If he said, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore speckled; and if he said, ‘The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore striped.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
If thus he saith, The speckled, shall be thy wages, then do all the flock bring forth speckled, - But if thus he saith, The ring-straked, shall be thy wages, then do all the flock bring forth ring-straked.

Douay-Rheims Bible
If at any time, he said: The speckled shall be thy wages: all the sheep brought forth speckled: but when he said on the contrary: Thou shalt take all the white one for thy wages: all the flocks brought forth white ones.

Revised Standard Version
If he said, 'The spotted shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore spotted; and if he said, 'The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock bore striped.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If he 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.

Contextual Overview

¹ And Jacob heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and of our father’s property has he gotten all this glory. ² And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not toward him as before. ³ And the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of thy father, and to thy family, and I will be with thee. ⁴ And Jacob sent and called Lea and Rachel to the plain where the flocks were. ⁵ And he said to them, I see the face of your father, that it is not toward me as before, but the God of my father was with me. ⁶ And ye too know that with all my might I have served your father. ⁷ But your father deceived me, and changed my wages for the ten lambs, yet God gave him not power to hurt me. ⁸ If he should say thus, The speckled shall be thy reward, then all the cattle would bear speckled; and if he should say, The white shall be thy reward, then would all the cattle bear white. ⁹ So God has taken away all the cattle of your father, and given them to me. ¹⁰ And it came to pass when the cattle conceived and were with young, that I beheld with mine eyes in sleep, and behold the he-goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the she-goats, speckled and variegated and spotted with ash-coloured spots.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Genesis 30:32

Reciprocal: Genesis 30:43 - General Genesis 31:1 - Jacob

Cross-References

Genesis 30:32
Let all thy sheep pass by to-day, and separate thence every grey sheep among the rams, and every one that is speckled and spotted among the goats—this shall be my reward.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If he said thus, the speckled shall be thy wages,.... Sometimes Laban would say to Jacob, only the speckled lambs which the ewes shall bring forth shall be thine hire, and not the spotted; or the ringstraked, or the brown, which according to the bargain should have been his, the one and the other:

then all the cattle bare speckled; that season, God ordering it so in his providence, that Laban might be disappointed, and Jacob might have his full hire; that is, the greatest part of the cattle bore such, as Ben Melech observes:

and if he said thus, the ringstraked shall be thine hire; observing the cattle to bring forth only speckled, or the greatest part such, then he changed his hire, and would have it be not the speckled, nor the brown, only the ringstraked, there being none or few of that colour the last yeaning time:

then bare all the cattle ringstraked; or the greatest part of them were such; so that let Laban fix on what colour he would as Jacob's wages, there were sure to be the greatest part of that colour; which shows the hand of God in it, as is next observed by Jacob.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Jacob’s Flight from Haran

19. תרפים t^erāpı̂ym, Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It appears three times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is always in the plural number. The root does not appear in Biblical Hebrew. It perhaps means “to live well,” intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), “to nourish,” transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls them his gods. They seem to have been busts (προτομαί protomai, Aquila) of the human form, sometimes as large as life 1 Samuel 19:13. Those of full size were probably of wood; the smaller ones may have been of metal. In two passages Judges 17:1-13; Judges 18:0; Hosea 3:4 they are six times associated with the ephod. This intimates either that they were worn on the ephod, like the Urim and Thummim, or more probably that the ephod was worn on them; in accordance with which they were employed for the purposes of divination Genesis 30:27; Zechariah 10:2. The employment of them in the worship of God, which Laban seems to have inherited from his fathers Joshua 24:2, is denounced as idolatry 1 Samuel 15:23; and hence, they are classed with the idols and other abominations put away by Josiah 2 Kings 23:24.

47. שׂהדוּתא יגר y^egar-śâhădûtā', Jegar-sahadutha, “cairn of witness” in the Aramaic dialect of the old Hebrew or Shemite speech. גלעד gal‛ēd, Gal‘ed; and גלעד gı̂l‛ād, Gil‘ad, “cairn of witness” in Hebrew especially so called (see Genesis 11:1-9).

49. מצפה mı̂tspâh, Mizpah, “watch-tower.”

Jacob had now been twenty years in Laban’s service, and was therefore, ninety-six years of age. It has now become manifest that he cannot obtain leave of Laban to return home. He must, therefore, either come off by the high hand, or by secret flight. Jacob has many reasons for preferring the latter course.

Genesis 31:1-13

Circumstances at length induce Jacob to propose flight to his wives. His prosperity provokes the envy and slander of Laban’s sons, and Laban himself becomes estranged. The Lord now commands Jacob to return, and promises him his presence to protect him. Jacob now opens his mind fully to Rachel and Leah. Rachel, we observe, is put first. Several new facts come out in his discourse to them. Ye know - Jacob appeals to his wives on this point - “that with all my might I served your father.” He means, of course, to the extent of his engagement. During the last six years he was to provide for his own house, as the Lord permitted him, with the full knowledge and concurrence of Laban. Beyond this, which is a fair and acknowledged exception, he has been faithful in keeping the cattle of Laban. “Your father deceived me, and changed my wages ten times;” that is, as often as he could.

If, at the end of the first year, he found that Jacob had gained considerably, though he began with nothing, he might change his wages every following half-year, and so actually change them ten times in five years. In this case, the preceding chapter only records his original expedients, and then states the final result. “God suffered him not to hurt me.” Jacob, we are to remember, left his hire to the providence of God. He thought himself bound at the same time to use all legitimate means for the attainment of the desired end. His expedients may have been perfectly legitimate in the circumstances, but they were evidently of no avail without the divine blessing. And they would become wholly ineffectual when his wages were changed. Hence, he says, God took the cattle and gave them to me. Jacob seems here to record two dreams, the former of which is dated at the rutting season. The dream indicates the result by a symbolic representation, which ascribes it rather to the God of nature than to the man of art. The second dream makes allusion to the former as a process still going on up to the present time. This appears to be an encouragement to Jacob now to commit himself to the Lord on his way home. The angel of the Lord, we observe, announces himself as the God of Bethel, and recalls to Jacob the pillar and the vow. The angel, then, is Yahweh manifesting himself to human apprehension.

Genesis 31:14-19

His wives entirely accord with his view of their father’s selfishness in dealing with his son-in-law, and approve of his intended departure. Jacob makes all the needful preparations for a hasty and secret flight. He avails himself of the occasion when Laban is at a distance probably of three or more days’ journey, shearing his sheep. “Rachel stole the teraphim.” It is not the business of Scripture to acquaint us with the kinds and characteristics of false worship. Hence, we know little of the teraphim, except that they were employed by those who professed to worship the true God. Rachel had a lingering attachment to these objects of her family’s superstitious reverence, and secretly carried them away as relics of a home she was to visit no more, and as sources of safety to herself against the perils of her flight.

Genesis 31:20-24

Laban hears of his flight, pursues, and overtakes him. “Stole the heart,” κλέπτειν νοῦν kleptein noun. The heart is the seat of the understanding in Scripture. To steal the heart of anyone is to act without his knowledge. The river. The Frat, near which, we may conclude, Jacob was tending his flocks. Haran was about seventy miles from the river, and therefore, Laban’s flocks were on the other side of Haran. “Toward mount Gilead;” about three hundred miles from the Frat. “On the third day.” This shows that Laban’s flocks kept by his sons were still three days’ journey apart from Jacob’s. His brethren - his kindred and dependents. “Seven days’ journey.” On the third day after the arrival of the messenger, Laban might return to the spot whence Jacob had taken his flight. In this case, Jacob would have at least five days of a start; which, added to the seven days of pursuit, would give him twelve days to travel three hundred English miles. To those accustomed to the pastoral life this was a possible achievement. God appears to Laban on behalf of Jacob, and warns him not to harm him. “Not to speak from good to bad” is merely to abstain from language expressing and prefacing violence.

Genesis 31:25-32

Laban’s expostulation and Jacob’s reply. What hast thou done? Laban intimates that he would have dismissed him honorably and affectionately, and therefore, that his flight was needless and unkind; and finally charges him with stealing his gods. Jacob gives him to understand that he did not expect fair treatment at his hands, and gives him leave to search for his gods, not knowing that Rachel had taken them.

Genesis 31:33-42

After the search for the teraphim has proved vain, Jacob warmly upbraids Laban. “The camel’s saddle.” This was a pack-saddle, in the recesses of which articles might be deposited, and on which was a seat or couch for the rider. Rachel pleads the custom of women as an excuse for keeping her seat; which is admitted by Laban, not perhaps from the fear of ceremonial defilement Leviticus 15:19-27, as this law was not yet in force, but from respect to his daughter and the conviction that in such circumstances she would not sit upon the teraphim. “My brethren and thy brethren” - their common kindred. Jacob recapitulates his services in feeling terms. “By day the drought;” caused by the heat, which is extreme during the day, while the cold is not less severe in Palestine during the night. “The fear of Isaac” - the God whom Isaac fears. Judged - requited by restraining thee from wrong-doing.

Genesis 31:43-47

Laban, now pacified, if not conscience-stricken, proposes a covenant between them. Jacob erects a memorial pillar, around which the clan gather a cairn of stones, which serves by its name for a witness of their compact. “Jegar-sahadutha.” Here is the first decided specimen of Aramaic, as contradistinguished from Hebrew. Its incidental appearance indicates a fully formed dialect known to Jacob, and distinct from his own. Gilead or Galeed remains to this day in Jebel Jel’ad, though the original spot was further north.

Genesis 31:48-54

The covenant is then completed. And Mizpah. This refers to some prominent cliff from which, as a watch-tower, an extensive view might be obtained. It was in the northern half of Gilead Deuteronomy 3:12-13, and is noticed in Judges 11:29. It is not to be confounded with other places called by the same name. The reference of this name to the present occurrence is explained in these two verses. The names Gilead and Mizpah may have arisen from this transaction, or received a new turn in consequence of its occurrence. The terms of the covenant are now formally stated. I have cast. The erection of the pillar was a joint act of the two parties; in which Laban proposes, Jacob performs, and all take part. “The God of Abraham, Nahor, and Terah.” This is an interesting acknowledgment that their common ancestor Terah and his descendants down to Laban still acknowledged the true God even in their idolatry. Jacob swears by the fear of isaac, perhaps to rid himself of any error that had crept into Laban’s notions of God and his worship. The common sacrifice and the common meal ratify the covenant of reconciliation.