¹Then he heard the words of Laban's sons, who said, “Jacob has taken everything that our father had, and he has acquired all this glory from what our father had.” ²And when Jacob saw Laban's face, it was clear that he was not favourable to him as he had been in the past. ³And the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your native land, and I will be with you.” ⁴Then Jacob sent a messenger and called for Rachel and Leah to come to the field, to his sheep. ⁵And he said to them, “I can see from your father's face that he is not favourable to me, as in the past, but the God of my father has been with me. ⁶And you know that I have served your father with all my might, ⁷but your father deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God has not allowed him to be to my detriment. ⁸If he said this: ‘Your wages will be the speckled ones’, then all the small cattle gave birth to speckled ones, and if he said this: ‘Your wages will be the striped ones’, then all the small cattle gave birth to striped ones. ⁹So God delivered your father's cattle and gave it to me. ¹⁰And it came to pass at the time of the small cattle becoming ruttish that I lifted up my eyes and saw in a dream, and what I saw was that the he-goats mounting the flock were striped, speckled and dappled. ¹¹And the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob’, and I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹²And he said, ‘Lift up your eyes now and look. All the he-goats mounting the flock are striped, speckled and dappled, for I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. ¹³I am the God of Beth-El where you anointed a pillar – where you made a vow to me. Now arise and depart from this land and return to your native land.’ ” ¹⁴Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Do we still have a portion or inheritance in our father's house? ¹⁵Aren't we considered foreigners to him, for he has sold us and has completely spent our money. ¹⁶But all the wealth which God has transferred from our father is ours and our sons', so now, do everything which God said to you.” ¹⁷So Jacob arose and lifted his sons and his wives onto the camels. ¹⁸And he drove all his cattle and all his property that he had acquired – his acquisition of cattle which he acquired in Paddan-Aram – so as to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. ¹⁹Now when Laban went to shear his sheep, Rachel stole the amulets which belonged to her father. ²⁰Then Jacob broke Laban the Aramaean's heart by not telling him that he was fleeing. ²¹So he fled, with all that were his, and he arose and crossed the river and made for Mount Gilead. ²²And it was reported to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, ²³at which he took his brothers with him and pursued him on a journey of seven days, and he caught up with him at Mount Gilead. ²⁴Then God came to Laban the Aramaean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful in speaking with Jacob, whether what you say is good or bad.” ²⁵And Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent at the mountain, and Laban pitched his with his brothers, at Mount Gilead. ²⁶And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, breaking my heart by making off with my daughters like captives of the sword? ²⁷Why did you flee secretly and act furtively towards me and not tell me, so that I could send you off in joy and with songs and with drum- and harp-music? ²⁸And you did not let me kiss my sons and daughters. Now you have acted foolishly in so doing. ²⁹It is in my power to do you harm, but the God of your father spoke to me last night and said, ‘Take care in speaking good or bad with Jacob.’ ³⁰But as it is, you have gone off without more ado, because you really longed for your father's household. But why have you stolen my gods?” ³¹Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “I fled secretly because I was afraid, for I said to myself, ‘I'll flee so that you don't snatch away your daughters from me.’ ³²Whoever you find your gods with shall not live. Ascertain for yourself before our brothers what I have here and take what is yours.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them. ³³And Laban went into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the two maidservants, but he did not find anything. Then he came out of Leah's tent and went into Rachel's tent. ³⁴Now Rachel had taken the amulets and put them in the saddle of the camel, and she sat on them, and Laban rummaged through the whole tent, but he did not find them. ³⁵And she said to her father, “Do not let my lord be angry because I cannot rise in your presence, for it is the way of women with me.” And he searched, but he did not find the amulets. ³⁶Then Jacob became angry, and he quarrelled with Laban, and Jacob reacted and said to Laban, “What is my transgression, and what is my sin that you should pursue me so ardently? ³⁷When you rummaged through all my baggage, what did you find of any of your household items? Put it here before my brothers and your brothers so they can arbitrate between the two of us. ³⁸For twenty years I was with you. Your ewes and your goats did not miscarry, and I did not eat the rams of your flock. ³⁹I didn't bring you anything savaged by wild animals – I suffered the loss of it. You demanded it of me, whether anything with me got stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰My circumstances were that by day dryness consumed me, and cold by night, and my sleep eluded my eyes. ⁴¹This was my lot for twenty years in your house. I worked for you for fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your small cattle, and you changed my wages ten times. ⁴²If I had not had the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, then you would have sent me away empty-handed now. God has seen my affliction and the weariness of my hands, and he censured you last night.” ⁴³Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters and the sons are my sons, and the small cattle is my small cattle, and everything you see is mine. Now what can I do for these daughters of mine today, or for their sons whom they have borne? ⁴⁴So now, come, let us make a covenant, you and I, and it will be a testimony between you and me.” ⁴⁵Then Jacob took a stone and erected it as a pillar. ⁴⁶And Jacob said to his brothers, “Gather some stones”, and they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. ⁴⁷And Laban called it Jegar-Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸And Laban said, “This heap is a testimony between you and me today.” That is why he called it Galeed, ⁴⁹and Mizpah, in that he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me, for we shall be hidden from one another, ⁵⁰that you most certainly will not oppress my daughters, and that you most certainly will not take wives in addition to my daughters. There is no man with us. See, God is a witness between you and me.” ⁵¹Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is the pillar, which I hereby set between you and me. ⁵²This heap is a testimony, and the pillar is a testimony, that I will not cross this heap to you and that you will not cross this heap to me, nor this pillar, with harmful intentions. ⁵³The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge between us – the God of their father.” And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴And Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and he invited his brothers to eat bread, and they ate bread and spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵Then Laban got up early in the morning and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. Laban then departed and returned to his place.