Genesis 31:20 - Prayer Tents



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Genesis 31
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Jacob Decides to Leave Laban

31Now Jacob used to listen while Laban's sons kept on complaining, "Jacob has taken over everything our father owns! He made himself wealthy from what belongs to our father!"H8085H1697H3837H1121H559H3290H3947H1H1H6213H3519
2Jacob also noticed that the way Laban had been looking at him wasn't as nice as it had been just three days before.H3290H7200H6440H3837H8543H8032
3Then the Lord ordered Jacob, "Go back to your father's territory and to your relatives. I'll be with you."H3068H559H3290H7725H776H1H4138
4Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come out to the field where his flock wasH3290H7971H7121H7354H3812H7704H6629
5and informed them, "I've noticed that the way your father has been looking at us hasn't been as nice as it was just a few days ago. But my father's God has been with me.H559H7200H1H6440H8543H8032H430H1H1961
6You know I've been serving your father with all my heart.H859H3045H3581H5647H1
7Even so, your father has cheated me. He broke our wage agreement ten times. However, God didn't allow him to harm me.H1H2048H2498H4909H6235H4489H430H5414H7489H5978
8"When Laban said, 'The speckled ones will be your wages,' then all the flock gave birth to speckled ones. Then when he said, 'The streaked ones will be your wages,' all the flock gave birth to streaked offspring.H559H5348H7939H6629H3205H5348H559H6124H7939H3205H6629H6124
9"So God has taken away your father's livestock and has given them to me.H430H5337H4735H1H5414
10As it was, when it was time for the livestock to breed, I once looked up in a dream, and the male goats that were mating with the flock were producing streaked, speckled, and spotted offspring.H6256H6629H3179H5375H5869H7200H2472H6260H5927H6629H6124H5348H1261
11"Then the angel of God spoke to me in a dream, 'Jacob. "'Here I am,' I repliedH4397H430H559H2472H3290H559
12"'Look around!' he said. 'Go ahead, look! All the male goats have been mating with the flock, producing offspring that are streaked, speckled, and spotted, because I've been watching everything that Laban has done to you.H559H5375H5869H7200H6260H5927H6629H6124H5348H1261H7200H3837H6213
13I am the God of Bethel, the place where you consecrated that stone and made a vow to me. Now get up, leave this territory, and return to your native land.'"H410H1008H4886H4676H5087H5088H6965H3318H776H7725H776H4138

Rachel and Leah Consent to Leave

14Then Rachel and Leah asked him, "Do we have anything left of inheritance remaining in our father's house -H7354H3812H6030H559H2506H5159H1H1004
15He's treating us like foreigners. He sold us and spent all of the money that rightfully belonged to us.H2803H5237H4376H398H398H3701
16Furthermore, all of the wealth that God has stripped away from our father belongs to us now and to our children. So do everything that God tells you to do."H6239H430H5337H1H1121H430H559H6213
17So Jacob got up, seated his children and wives on camels,H3290H6965H5375H1121H802H1581
18and drove all his livestock ahead of him, with everything that belonged to him, including the livestock that he had bought and accumulated in Paddan-Aram, intending to deliver them to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.H5090H4735H7399H7408H4735H7075H7408H6307H935H3327H1H776H3667

Laban Pursues Jacob

19Meanwhile, Laban had been out shearing his sheep. While he was away, Rachel stole her father's teraphim.H3837H1980H1494H6629H7354H1589H8655H1
20Moreover, Jacob had deceived Laban the Syrian, because he had never told him that he was intending to leave.H3290H1589H3820H3837H761H5921H5046H1097H1272
21Jacob fled, taking everything that he owned. He got up, crossed the Jordan river, and headed toward the hill country of Gilead.H1272H6965H5674H5104H7760H6440H2022H1568
22Three days later, somebody reported to Laban that Jacob had fled,H5046H3837H7992H3117H3290H1272
23so he took his relatives with him and pursued Jacob. Laban was on the road for seven days when he finally caught up with Jacob in the hill country of Gilead.H3947H251H7291H310H7651H3117H1870H1692H2022H1568

God Warns Laban

24That night, God appeared to Laban the Syrian in a dream and warned him, "Be careful what you say to Jacob, whether it's one word good or bad."H430H935H3837H761H2472H3915H559H8104H1696H5973H3290H2896H5704H7451
25Meanwhile, Jacob had pitched his tent on the mountain, where Laban had caught up with him. Laban and his relatives encamped on that same mountain in the hill country of Gilead, too.H3837H5381H3290H3290H8628H168H2022H3837H251H8628H2022H1568
26Then Laban asked Jacob, "What did you do - You deceived me, carried off my daughters like you would war captives,H3837H559H3290H6213H1589H3824H5090H1323H7617H2719
27ran away from me secretly, and stole from me by not letting me know. Otherwise, I could have sent you off with a party and singing, accompanied by a band playing tambourines and harps.H1272H2244H1589H5046H7971H8057H7892H8596H3658
28As it is, you didn't even allow me to kiss my grandchildren and daughters goodbye! You've acted foolishly.H5203H5401H1121H1323H5528H6213
29It's actually in my power to do some serious evil to you, but last night, the God of your father said to me, 'Be careful of what you say to Jacob whether good or evil.'H3426H410H3027H6213H7451H430H1H559H570H559H8104H1696H3290H2896H7451
30Now, you can go if you must go, because you certainly are longing to go to your father's house. But why did you steal my gods?"H1980H1980H3700H3700H1H1004H1589H430

Laban Searches for His Idols

31"I was afraid," Jacob replied. "I thought you might separate your daughters from me.H3290H6030H559H3837H3372H559H6435H1497H1323
32Now as to your gods, if you find someone has them in their possession, he's a dead man. Go with our relatives, search through our belongings, and take whatever belongs to you that's with me." But Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen them.H834H4672H430H2421H5048H251H5234H3947H3290H3045H7354H1589
33So Laban entered Jacob's tent, Leah's tent, and the tents of the two maid servants, but he didn't find them. Then he left Leah's tent and entered Rachel's tent.H3837H935H3290H168H3812H168H8147H519H168H4672H3318H3812H168H935H7354H168
34Meanwhile, Rachel had taken the teraphim, placed them inside the camel's saddle, and sat on them. Laban searched through the whole tent, but found nothing.H7354H3947H8655H7760H1581H3733H3427H3837H4959H168H4672
35Then Rachel said to her father, "Sir, please don't be angry that I cannot stand up in your presence. It's that time of the month." So he searched for - but never did find - the teraphim.H559H1H2734H5869H113H3201H6965H6440H1870H802H2664H4672H8655

Jacob Rebukes Laban

36Then Jacob got angry and started an argument with Laban. "What have I done?" he demanded. "What's my crime that you would cause you to come pursue me so violently -H3290H2734H7378H3837H3290H6030H559H3837H6588H2403H1814H310
37Now that you've searched all my properties, what did you find that belong to your house - Set it here before our relatives and we'll let them judge between us!H3588H4959H3627H4672H1004H3627H7760H3541H251H251H3198H996H8147
38"Meanwhile, these past 20 years that I've been with you, your sheep and goats never had miscarriages, I never once ate any of the rams from your flock,H6242H8141H7353H5795H7921H352H6629H398
39and whatever was torn by beasts, I never bothered to bring to you. Instead, I bore the losses myself. Even so, you demanded that I provide restitution for anything what was stolen, whether during the day or the night.H2966H935H2398H3027H1245H1589H3117H1589H3915
40"As it was, I was attacked by drought during the day and by cold at night. I never got any decent rest.H3117H2721H398H7140H3915H8142H5074H5869
41I've been in your house these 20 years - serving fourteen years for your two daughters and another six years for your flocks. During all that time you changed my wages ten times.H6242H8141H1004H5647H702H6240H8141H8147H1323H8337H8141H6629H2498H4909H6235H4489
42If the God of my father - the God of Abraham, the God whom Isaac feared - had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty handed. But God saw my misery and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night."H3884H430H1H430H85H6343H3327H7971H7387H430H7200H6040H3018H3709H3198H570
43But Laban answered Jacob. "These women are my daughters. These children are my children. The flocks are mine. In fact, everything that you see belongs to me. But what would I do today to my daughters and the children they have borne -H3837H6030H559H3290H1323H1323H1121H1121H6629H6629H7200H6213H3117H1323H176H1121H3205
44Come, let's make a covenant. Just between you and me. And let it serve as a witness between you and me."H3212H3772H1285H5707
45So Jacob took a stone and raised it as a pillar.H3290H3947H68H7311H4676
46Then Jacob said to his relatives, "Go gather some stones." So they picked up stones and stacked them one on the other to form a stack. Then they had a meal together there by the stack of stones.H3290H559H251H3950H68H3947H68H6213H1530H398H1530
47Laban named the place Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed.H3837H7121H3026H3290H7121H1567
48Then Laban said, "This stack will serve a witness between you and me today." That's how the place came to be named Galeed.H3837H559H1530H5707H3117H8034H7121H1567
49It was also called Mizpah, because he said, "May the Lord watch between you and me, when we are estranged from each other.H4709H834H559H3068H6822H5641H376H7453
50If you mistreat my daughters or if you take other wives besides them, though no one is with us, keep in mind that God stands as a witness between you and me."H6031H1323H3947H802H5921H1323H376H7200H430H5707
51"Look!" Laban added, "Here is the stack of stones and here is the pillar that I've set up between you and me.H3837H559H3290H1530H4676H3384
52This stack is a witness, and so is this pillar, reminding me not to cross beyond this stack of stones, and reminding you not to pass by this stack in my direction, intending to cause harm.H1530H5707H4676H5713H5674H1530H5674H1530H4676H7451
53May Abraham's God and Nahor's god judge between us." So Jacob made an oath by his father's Fear,H430H85H430H5152H430H1H8199H3290H7650H6343H1H3327
54offered sacrifices there on the mountain, and called on his relatives to eat some food. So they ate the food and spent the night on the mountain.H3290H2076H2077H2022H7121H251H398H3899H398H3899H3885H2022
55Early the next morning, Laban woke up, kissed his grandchildren and daughters, blessed them, and then left for home.H7925H1242H3837H7925H5401H1121H1323H1288H3837H3212H7725H4725


International Standard Version. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible: International Standard Version®. Copyright © 1996-forever by The ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission. More details.
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