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¹ And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob has taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's he has gotten all this glory.² And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and, look, it was not toward him as formerly.³ And Yahweh said to Jacob, Return to the land of your fathers, and to your kindred; and I will be with you.⁴ And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field to his flock,⁵ and said to them, I see your father's countenance, that it is not toward me as formerly; but the God of my father has been with me.⁶ And you know that with all my power I have served your father.⁷ And your father has deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God didn't allow him to hurt me.⁸ 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.⁹ Thus God has taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.¹⁰ And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceived, that I lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, and, look, the he-goats which leaped on the flock were ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled.¹¹ And the angel of God said to me in the dream, Jacob: and I said, Here I am.¹² And he said, Lift up now your eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap on the flock are ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled: for I have seen all that Laban does to you.¹³ I am the God of Beth-el, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to me: now arise, get out from this land, and return to the land of your nativity.¹⁴ And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house?¹⁵ Aren't we accounted by him as foreigners? for he has sold us, and has also quite devoured our money.¹⁶ For all the riches which God has taken away from our father, that is ours and our son's: now then, whatever God has said to you, do.

¹⁷ Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives on the camels;¹⁸ and he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan.¹⁹ Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the talismans that were her father's.²⁰ And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he didn't tell him that he fled.²¹ So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.²² And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled.²³ And he took his brothers with him, and pursued after him seven days' journey; and he overtook him in the mountain of Gilead.²⁴ And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said to him, You be careful not to speak to Jacob either good or bad.

²⁵ And Laban came up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain: and Laban with his brothers encamped in the mountain of Gilead.²⁶ And Laban said to Jacob, What have you done, that you have stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters as captives of the sword?²⁷ Why did you flee secretly, and steal away from me, and did not tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp;²⁸ and did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now you have done foolishly.²⁹ It is in the power of my hand to do you harm: but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, You be careful that you don't speak to Jacob either good or bad.³⁰ And now, [though] you would surely be gone, because you intensely longed after your father's house, [yet] why have you stolen my gods?³¹ And Jacob answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid: for I said if I don't, you will take your daughters from me by force.³² With whoever you find your gods, he shall not live: before our brothers discern for yourself what is yours with me, and take it with you. For Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen them.³³ And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two female slaves; but he didn't find them. And he went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent.³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the talismans, and put them in the camel's saddle, and sat on them. And Laban felt all about the tent, but didn't find them.³⁵ And she said to her father, Don't let my lord be angry that I can't rise up before you; for the manner of women is on me. And he searched, but didn't find the talismans.

³⁶ And Jacob was angry, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that you have hotly pursued after me?³⁷ Whereas you have felt all about my stuff, what have you found of all your household stuff? Set it here before my brothers and your brothers, that they may judge between us two.³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your she-goats haven't cast their young, and the rams of your flocks I have not eaten.³⁹ That which was torn of beasts I didn't bring to you; I bore the loss of it; of my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night.⁴⁰ Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep fled from my eyes.⁴¹ These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock: and you have changed my wages ten times.⁴² Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.

⁴³ And Laban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine: and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their sons whom they have borne?⁴⁴ And now come, let us make a covenant, I and you; and let it be for a witness between me and you.⁴⁵ And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.⁴⁶ And Jacob said to his brothers, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made a heap: and they ate there by the heap.⁴⁷ And Laban called it Jegar-saha-dutha: but Jacob called it Galeed.⁴⁸ And Laban said, This heap is witness between me and you this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed:⁴⁹ and Mizpah, for he said, Yahweh watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another.⁵⁰ If you shall afflict my daughters, and if you shall take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness between me and you.⁵¹ And Laban said to Jacob, Look at this heap, and look at the pillar, which I have set between me and you.⁵² This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to you, and that you shall not pass over this heap and this pillar to me, for harm.⁵³ May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge between us. And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.⁵⁴ And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his brothers to eat bread: and they ate bread, and tarried all night in the mountain.⁵⁵ And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departed and returned to his place.