Genesis 31:26-30 New English Translation
26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me[a] and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war![b] 27 Why did you run away secretly[c] and deceive me?[d] Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps?[e] 28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren[f] goodbye. You have acted foolishly! 29 I have the power[g] to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful[h] that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’[i] 30 Now I understand that[j] you have gone away[k] because you longed desperately[l] for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?”[m]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 31:26 tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).
- Genesis 31:26 tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”
- Genesis 31:27 tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”
- Genesis 31:27 tn Heb “and steal me.”
- Genesis 31:27 tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”
- Genesis 31:28 tn Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 31:29 tn Heb “There is to the power of my hand.”
- Genesis 31:29 tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.
- Genesis 31:29 tn Heb “from speaking with Jacob from good to evil.” The precise meaning of the expression, which occurs only here and in v. 24, is uncertain. See the note on the same phrase in v. 24.
- Genesis 31:30 tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 31:30 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.
- Genesis 31:30 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.
- Genesis 31:30 sn Yet why did you steal my gods? This last sentence is dropped into the speech rather suddenly. See C. Mabee, “Jacob and Laban: The Structure of Judicial Proceedings,” VT 30 (1980): 192-207, and G. W. Coats, “Self-Abasement and Insult Formulas,” JBL 91 (1972): 90-92.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.