Israel

Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.

“What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.

Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

Jacob set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laban’s animals.

Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches.

But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

Now Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.”

And Jacob saw from the countenance of Laban that his attitude toward him had changed.

Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”

So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were,

In that dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I replied, ‘Here I am.’

Then Jacob got up and put his children and his wives on camels,

Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away.

On the third day Laban was informed that Jacob had fled.

But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him, and Laban and his relatives camped there as well.

Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war!

I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

“I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.

If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.

Then Jacob became incensed and challenged Laban. “What is my crime?” he said. “For what sin of mine have you so hotly pursued me?

But Laban answered Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne?

So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a pillar,