Kejadian 31:29-31

31:29 I have ¹  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ²  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ³  31:30 Now I understand that ⁴  you have gone away ⁵  because you longed desperately ⁶  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ⁷ 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ⁸  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ⁹  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ¹⁰ 

[31:29]  ¹ tn Heb “there is to my hand.”

[31:29]  ² tn Heb “watch yourself,” which is a warning to be on guard against doing something that is inappropriate.

[31:29]  ³ 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.

[31:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “and now.” The words “I understand that” have been supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[31:30]  ⁵ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the certainty of the action.

[31:30]  ⁶ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the perfect verbal form to emphasize the degree of emotion involved.

[31:30]  ⁷ 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.

[31:31]  ⁸ tn Heb “and Jacob answered and said to Laban, ‘Because I was afraid.’” This statement is a not a response to the question about Laban’s household gods that immediately precedes, but to the earlier question about Jacob’s motivation for leaving so quickly and secretly (see v. 27). For this reason the words “I left secretly” are supplied in the translation to indicate the connection to Laban’s earlier question in v. 27. Additionally the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[31:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “for I said.”

[31:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lest you steal your daughters from with me.”