1 Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has snatched away all that was our father’s. He has obtained all this wealth from that which was our father’s.” 2 And Jacob saw Laban’s face, and indeed, it was not with him as before. 3 And Yehovah said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers, and to your relatives, 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 face, that it is not toward me as before; but the God of my father has been with me. 6 And you know that I have worked for your father with all of my strength. 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 spoke in this way, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ then all the flock gave birth to speckled. And if he spoke in this way, ‘The streaked will be your wages,’ then all the flock gave birth to streaked. 9 So God has taken away your father’s livestock, and given them to me.
10 And it was, during mating season, that I raised my eyes and saw in a dream, and look, the male goats which leaped on the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 11 And God’s Angel said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 12 And He said, ‘Please raise your eyes and see. All the male goats which leap on the flock are streaked, speckled, and spotted, because I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to me. Now get up, get out of this land, and return to the land of your relatives.’”
14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Is there still a share and an inheritance for us in our father’s house? 15 Aren’t we considered as foreigners by him? For he has sold us, and has also used up our money! 16 Indeed, all the riches which God has taken away from our father, they belong to us and our children. So now, whatever God has said to you, do.”
17 And Jacob got up and set his sons and his wives on the camels, 18 and he drove away all his livestock, and all his belongings which he had gathered, the acquired livestock of his acquiring which he had gathered in Paddan Aram, to go to Isaac his father, to the land of Canaan. 19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep; and Rachel stole the household idols that belonged to her father. 20 And Jacob stole away, shocking Laban the Syrian, in that he didn’t tell him that he was running away. 21 So he ran away with all that he had. He rose up and crossed the river, and headed toward the mountains of Gile’ad.
22 And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had run away. 23 And he took his relatives with him and pursued him seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gile’ad. 24 And God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and had said to him, “Be careful that you don’t speak anything against Jacob, from good to bad.”
25 And Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his relatives pitched in the mountains of Gile’ad.
26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have stolen away, shocking me, and drove away my daughters like captives of the sword? 27 Why did you run away secretly, and steal away on me, and didn’t tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and with songs, with tambourine and with harp! 28 And you didn’t allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters! Now have you done foolishly in doing this! 29 It is in the power of my hand to do something bad to all of you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t speak anything against Jacob, from good to bad.’ 30 And now you have certainly left because you yearned greatly for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?”
31 And Jacob answered Laban, “Indeed I was afraid, because I said, ‘Perhaps you will forcefully take away your daughters from me.’ 32 With whomever you find your gods, he shall not live! In front of our relatives, find what is yours with me, and take it.” For Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen them.
33 And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, 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 went into Rachel’s tent. 34 Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban felt all around the tent, but didn’t find them. 35 And she said to her father, “Don’t let my master be angry that I can’t rise up before you; for I’m having my period.” And he searched, but didn’t find the household idols.
36 And Jacob was angry, and made a complaint against Laban, and Jacob responded and said to Laban, “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have hotly pursued me? 37 Although you have felt around in all my stuff, what have you found of all your household stuff? Set it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, that they may judge between us two! 38 These 20 years I have been with you. Your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I haven’t eaten the rams of your flocks. 39 That which was torn by wild animals I didn’t bring to you. I took the loss. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. 40 This was my situation: in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep escaped from my eyes. 41 These 20 years I have been in your house. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times! 42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Awe of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away with nothing! God has seen my oppression and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night!”
43 And Laban replied and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine! And what can I do today to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have given birth to? 44 So now come, let’s make a contract, you and I; and let it be for a witness between me and you.”
45 And Jacob took a stone, and set it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones, and made a mound. And they ate there by the mound. 47 And Laban called it Mound Witness in Aramaic, but Jacob called it Mound Witness in Hebrew. 48 And Laban said, “This mound is witness between me and you today.” Therefore it was named Mound Witness 49 and Watch, for he said, “May Yehovah watch between me and you, when we are absent one from another. 50 If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives in addition to my daughters—no man is with us, but look, God is witness between me and you.”
51 And Laban said to Jacob, “Look at this mound and look at the pillar which I have thrown between me and you. 52 This mound is a witness, and the pillar is a witness, that I will not pass this mound to you, and that you will not pass this mound and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Naḥor, the God of their father, judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Awe of his father, Isaac. 54 And Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his relatives to eat a meal. And they ate a meal, and stayed all night on the mountain. 55 And early in the morning, Laban got up, and kissed his sons and his daughters and blessed them. And Laban departed and returned to his place.