31

Jacob Flees from Laban

¹Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this ⚓wealth.” ²And Jacob saw the ⚓countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not ⚓favorable toward him as before. ³Then the Lord said to Jacob, ⚓“Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will ⚓be with you.”
⁴So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field, to his flock, ⁵and said to them, ⚓“I see your father’s countenance, that it is not favorable toward me as before; but the God of my father ⚓has been with me. ⁶And ⚓you know that with all my might I have served your father. ⁷Yet your father has deceived me and ⚓changed my wages ⚓ten times, but God ⚓did not allow him to hurt me. ⁸If 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. ⁹So God has ⚓taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
¹⁰“And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted. ¹¹Then ⚓the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹²And He said, ‘Lift your eyes now and see, all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted; for ⚓I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. ¹³I am the God of Bethel, ⚓where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now ⚓arise, get out of this land, and return to the land of your family.’ ”
¹⁴Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, ⚓“Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? ¹⁵Are we not considered strangers by him? For ⚓he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money. ¹⁶For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”
¹⁷Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels. ¹⁸And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained, his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of ⚓Canaan. ¹⁹Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the ⚓household idols that were her father’s. ²⁰And Jacob stole away, unknown to Laban the Syrian, in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee. ²¹So he fled with all that he had. He arose and crossed the river, and ⚓headed toward the mountains of Gilead.

Laban Pursues Jacob

²²And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled. ²³Then he took ⚓his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁴But God ⚓had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you ⚓speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”
²⁵So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead.
²⁶And Laban said to Jacob: “What have you done, that you have stolen away unknown to me, and ⚓carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword? ²⁷Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp? ²⁸And you did not allow me ⚓to kiss my sons and my daughters. Now ⚓you have done foolishly in so doing. ²⁹It is in my power to do you harm, but the ⚓God of your father spoke to me ⚓last night, saying, ‘Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.’ ³⁰And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father’s house, but why did you ⚓steal my gods?”
³¹Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was ⚓afraid, for I said, ‘Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force.’ ³²With whomever you find your gods, ⚓do not let him live. In the presence of our brethren, identify what I have of yours and take it with you.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
³³And Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the two maids’ tents, but he did not find them. Then he went out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴Now Rachel had taken the household idols, put them in the camel’s saddle, and sat on them. And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them. ³⁵And she said to her father, “Let it not displease my lord that I cannot ⚓rise before you, for the manner of women is with me.” And he searched but did not find the household idols.
³⁶Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban, and Jacob answered and said to Laban: “What is my trespass? What is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued me? ³⁷Although you have searched all my things, what part of your household things have you found? Set it here before my brethren and your brethren, that they may judge between us both! ³⁸These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young, and I have not eaten the rams of your flock. ³⁹⚓That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you; I bore the loss of it. ⚓You required it from my hand, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. ⁴⁰There I was! In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes. ⁴¹Thus I have been in your house twenty years; I ⚓served 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 Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. ⚓God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and ⚓rebuked you last night.”

Laban’s Covenant with Jacob

⁴³And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne? ⁴⁴Now therefore, come, ⚓let us make a covenant, ⚓you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.”
⁴⁵So Jacob ⚓took a stone and set it up as a pillar. ⁴⁶Then Jacob said to his brethren, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a heap, and they ate there on the heap. ⁴⁷Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. ⁴⁸And Laban said, ⚓“This heap is a witness between you and me this day.” Therefore its name was called Galeed, ⁴⁹also ⚓Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another. ⁵⁰If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”
⁵¹Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. ⁵²This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. ⁵³The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father ⚓judge between us.” And Jacob ⚓swore by ⚓the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. ⁵⁵And early in the morning Laban arose, and ⚓kissed his sons and daughters and ⚓blessed them. Then Laban departed and ⚓returned to his place.

31

雅各逃離拉班

¹雅各聽見拉班兒子們的話，說：「雅各把我們父親所有的都奪去了！他從我們父親所擁有的獲得這一切的財富。」 ²雅各見拉班的臉色，看哪，待他不如從前了。 ³耶和華對雅各說：「你要回你祖先之地，到你本族那裏去，我必與你同在。」 ⁴雅各就派人叫拉結和利亞到田野他的羊羣那裏去， ⁵對她們說：「我看你們父親待我的臉色不如從前了，但我父親的上帝向來與我同在。 ⁶你們也知道，我盡了全力服事你們的父親。 ⁷可是你們的父親欺騙我，十次更改我的工資，但上帝不容許他害我。 ⁸他若說：『有點的歸給你作工資』，羊羣所生的都是有點的；他若說：『有紋的歸給你作工資』，羊羣所生的都是有紋的。 ⁹這樣，上帝把你們父親的牲畜拿來賜給我了。
¹⁰「羊羣交配的時候，我在夢中舉目一看，看哪，跳母羊的公羊都是有紋的、有點的、有花斑的。 ¹¹上帝的使者在夢中呼叫我說：『雅各。』我說：『我在這裏。』 ¹²他說：『你舉目觀看，跳母羊的公羊都是有紋的、有點的、有花斑的。拉班向你所做的一切，我都看見了。 ¹³我是伯特利的上帝；你曾在那裏用油膏過柱子，向我許過願。現在你起來，離開這地，回你本族之地去吧！』」 ¹⁴拉結和利亞回答雅各說：「在我們父親家裏還有我們可分得的產業嗎？ ¹⁵我們不是被他看作外人嗎？因為他賣了我們，還吞吃了我們的銀錢。 ¹⁶上帝從我們父親所拿走的一切財物，都是我們和我們孩子的。現在，凡上帝所吩咐你的，你只管去做吧！」
¹⁷雅各起來，叫他的孩子和妻子都騎上駱駝， ¹⁸又趕着他一切的牲畜和他所得的一切財物，就是他在巴旦‧亞蘭所得的，他擁有的牲畜⚓，往迦南地他父親以撒那裏去了。 ¹⁹當時拉班去剪羊毛，拉結偷了他父親家中的神像。 ²⁰雅各瞞住亞蘭人拉班，不通知他就逃走了。 ²¹雅各帶着他所有的逃走了；他起程，渡過大河，面向着基列山。

拉班追趕雅各

²²到第三天，有人告訴拉班，雅各逃跑了。 ²³拉班帶着他的弟兄們去追他，追了七天，就在基列山追上了。 ²⁴夜間，上帝來到亞蘭人拉班那裏，在夢中對他說：「你要小心，不可對雅各說好說歹。」
²⁵拉班追上雅各。雅各在山上支搭帳棚；拉班和他的弟兄們也在基列山上支搭帳棚。 ²⁶拉班對雅各說：「你做的是甚麼事呢？你瞞着我把我的女兒們帶走，好像用刀劍擄去一般。 ²⁷你為甚麼暗暗地逃跑，瞞着我，不通知我一聲，叫我可以歡樂、唱歌、擊鼓、彈琴送你回去呢？ ²⁸為甚麼不容許我與外孫和女兒吻別呢？你現在所做的真是愚蠢！ ²⁹我的手本有能力害你，只是你父親的上帝昨夜對我說：『你要小心，不可對雅各說好說歹。』 ³⁰現在你既然這麼想念你的父家，不得不去，為甚麼又偷了我的神明呢？」 ³¹雅各回答拉班說：「因為我害怕，我想，恐怕你把你的女兒從我這裏奪走。 ³²至於你的神明，你若在誰那裏搜出來，就不讓誰活。當着我們弟兄面前，你認一認在我這裏有甚麼東西是你的，你就拿去吧。」原來雅各並不知道拉結偷了神明。
³³拉班進了雅各、利亞，以及兩個使女的帳棚，卻沒有找到，就從利亞的帳棚出來，進入拉結的帳棚。 ³⁴拉結拿了神像，藏在駱駝的鞍子裏，自己坐在上面。拉班搜遍了那帳棚，並沒有找到。 ³⁵拉結對她父親說：「請我主不要生氣，因為我恰有月事，不能在你面前起來。」拉班搜尋，卻找不到神像。
³⁶於是雅各發怒，斥責拉班。雅各對拉班說：「我有甚麼過犯，有甚麼罪惡，你竟這樣火速地追我？ ³⁷你搜遍了我一切的物件，你找到甚麼呢？可以放在你我弟兄面前，叫他們在我們兩個之間評評理。 ³⁸我在你那裏這二十年，你的母綿羊、母山羊沒有掉過胎。你羊羣中的公綿羊，我沒有吃過； ³⁹被野獸撕裂的，我沒有帶來給你，是我自己賠償的。無論是白日被偷的，或是黑夜被偷的，你都從我手中索取。 ⁴⁰我常常白日受盡炎熱，黑夜受盡寒霜，不得合眼入睡。 ⁴¹我這二十年在你家裏，為你兩個女兒服事了你十四年，為你的羊羣服事了你六年，你卻十次更改我的工資。 ⁴²若不是我父親以撒所敬畏的上帝，就是亞伯拉罕的上帝與我同在，你如今必定打發我空手而去。上帝看見我的苦情和我手的辛勞，就在昨夜責備了你。」

雅各和拉班立約

⁴³拉班回答雅各說：「這兩個女兒是我的女兒，這些孩子是我的孩子，這些羊羣也都是我的羊羣；凡你所看見的都是我的。我的女兒和她們所生的孩子，我今日還能對他們做甚麼呢？ ⁴⁴現在，來吧！讓我和你立約，作你我之間的證據。」 ⁴⁵雅各就拿一塊石頭立作柱子， ⁴⁶對弟兄們說：「大家來堆積石頭。」他們拿石頭堆成一堆，於是在那裏，在石堆旁邊吃喝。 ⁴⁷拉班稱那石堆為伊迦爾‧撒哈杜他，雅各卻稱那石堆為迦累得⚓。 ⁴⁸拉班說：「今日這石堆成為你我之間的證據。」因此這地方名叫迦累得， ⁴⁹又叫米斯巴，因為他說：「我們彼此離別以後，願耶和華在你我中間鑒察⚓。 ⁵⁰你若苦待我的女兒，或在我的女兒以外另娶妻，雖沒有人在場，你看，有上帝在你我中間作證。」
⁵¹拉班又對雅各說：「看哪，這石堆，看哪，這柱子，是我在你我中間所立的。 ⁵²這石堆是證據，這柱子也是證據。我必不越過這石堆去害你；你也不可越過這石堆和柱子來害我。 ⁵³願亞伯拉罕的上帝和拿鶴的上帝，就是他們父親的上帝⚓，在你我中間判斷。」雅各就指着他父親以撒所敬畏的上帝起誓， ⁵⁴又在山上獻祭，請弟兄們來吃飯。他們吃了飯，就在山上過夜。 ⁵⁵拉班清早起來，與他外孫和女兒親吻，為他們祝福，就回到自己的地方去了。