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Genesis 32 ... page 34
tent without finding them, 35she said to her father, “Please, sir, forgive me if I don’t get up for
you. I’m having my monthly period.” So Laban
continued his search, but he could not find the
household idols.
36Then Jacob became very angry, and he challenged Laban. “What’s my crime?” he demanded.
“What have I done wrong to make you chase after
me as though I were a criminal? 37 You have rummaged through everything I own. Now show me
what you found that belongs to you! Set it out here
in front ofus, before our relatives, for all to see. Let
them judge between us!
38 “For twenty years I have been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep
and goats never miscarried. In all those years I
never used a single ram of yours for food. 39 If
any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I
never showed you the carcass and asked you to
reduce the count of your flock. No, I took the loss
myself! You made me pay for every stolen animal,
whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the
dark of night.
40 “I worked for you through the scorching heat
of the day and through cold and sleepless nights.
41 Yes, for twenty years I slaved in your house!
I worked for fourteen years earning your two
daughters, and then six more years for your flock.
And you changed my wages ten times! 42In fact,
if the God of my father had not been on my
side—the God of Abraham and the fearsome God
of Isaac—you would have sent me away emptyhanded. But God has seen your abuse and my
hard work. That is why he appeared to you last
night and rebuked you!”
Jacob’s Treaty with Laban
43 Then
Laban replied to Jacob, “These women
are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks—in fact,
everything you see is mine. But what can I do
now about my daughters and their children?
44So come, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and it
will be a witness to our commitment.”
45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. 46Then he told his family members,
“Gather some stones.” So they gathered stones
and piled them in a heap. Then Jacob and Laban
sat down beside the pile of stones to eat a covenant meal. 47 To commemorate the event, Laban
called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means
“witness pile” in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means “witness pile” in Hebrew).
48Then Laban declared, “This pile of stones
will stand as a witness to remind us of the cov-
enant we have made today.” This explains why it
was called Galeed—“Witness Pile.” 49 But it was
also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”),
for Laban said, “May the Lord keep watch between us to make sure that we keep this covenant
when we are out of each other’s sight. 50If you
mistreat my daughters or if you marry other
wives, God will see it even if no one else does. He
is a witness to this covenant between us.
51“See this pile of stones,” Laban continued,
“and see this monument I have set between us.
52 They stand between us as witnesses of our
vows. I will never pass this pile of stones to harm
you, and you must never pass these stones or this
monument to harm me. 53I call on the God of our
ancestors—the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor—to
serve as a judge between us.”
So Jacob took an oath before the fearsome
God of his father, Isaac, to respect the boundary
line. 54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God
there on the mountain and invited everyone to a
covenant feast. After they had eaten, they spent
the night on the mountain.
55Laban got up early the next morning, and he
kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and
blessed them. Then he left and returned home.
CHAPTER
32
As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God
came to meet him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he
exclaimed, “This is God’s camp!” So he named
the place Mahanaim.
Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau
3 Then
Jacob sent messengers ahead to his
brother, Esau, who was living in the region of Seir
in the land of Edom. 4He told them, “Give this
message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings
from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been
living with Uncle Laban, 5and now I own cattle,
donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many
servants, both men and women. I have sent these
messengers to inform my lord of my coming,
hoping that you will be friendly to me.’”
6After delivering the message, the messengers
returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your
brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to
meet you—with an army of 400 men!” 7Jacob
was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups. 8He thought, “If Esau meets
one group and attacks it, perhaps the other
group can escape.”
9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grand-
