Study Desk

Now ^(F1)Jacob heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, "Jacob has taken away all that was our father's, and from what belonged to our father he has made all this ^(F2)wealth."

And Jacob saw the ^(F1)attitude of Laban, and behold, it was not friendly toward him as it had been before.

Then the LORD said to Jacob, "^(C1)Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and ^(C2)I will be with you."

So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field,

and said to them, "^(C1)I see your father's ^(F1)attitude, that it is not friendly toward me as it was before, but ^(C2)the God of my father has been with me.

"^(C1)You know that I have served your father with all my strength.

"Yet your father has ^(C1)cheated me and ^(C2)changed my wages ten times; however, ^(C3)God did not allow him to do me harm.

"If ^(C1)he said this: 'The speckled shall be your wages,' then all the flock delivered speckled; and if he said this: 'The striped shall be your wages,' then all the flock delivered striped.

"So God has ^(C1)taken away your father's livestock and given them to me.

"And it came about at the time when the flock was breeding that I raised my eyes and saw in a dream—and behold—the male goats that were ^(F1)mating were striped, speckled, or mottled.

"Then ^(C1)the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob'; and I said, 'Here I am.'

"He said, 'Now raise your eyes and see that all the male goats that are ^(F1)mating are striped, speckled, or mottled; for ^(C1)I have seen everything that Laban has been doing to you.

'I am ^(C1)the God of Bethel, where you ^(C2)anointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, ^(F1)leave this land, and ^(C3)return to the land of your birth.'"

Rachel and Leah said to him, "Do we still have any share or inheritance in our father's house?

"Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For ^(C1)he has sold us, and has also ^(F1)entirely consumed our ^(F2)purchase price.

"Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has told you."

Then Jacob stood up and put his children and his wives on camels;

and he drove away all his livestock and all his property which he had acquired, the livestock he possessed which he had acquired in Paddan-aram, ^(C1)to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac.

Laban had gone to shear his flock, and Rachel stole the ^(F1)(C1)household idols that were her father's.

And Jacob ^(F1)deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was fleeing.

So he fled with all that he had; and he got up and crossed the Euphrates River, and set ^(F1)out for the hill country of ^(C1)Gilead.