22 Three days later, Lavan (Laban) was informed that Ya’akov (Jacob) had fled with his family, 23 so he took some of his relatives with him and chased after Ya’akov and his family for seven days until they overtook them in the hill-country of Gilead. 24 But that night God appeared to Lavan the Arami (Syrian) in a dream and told him, “Watch yourself that you don’t say anything to Ya’akov, either good or bad.” 25 When Lavan had caught up to Ya’akov, Ya’akov had pitched their tents in the hills, so Lavan with his relatives also pitched theirs on the Gilead hills.

26 Then Lavan said to Ya’akov, “What have you done? You’ve deceived me and carried away my daughters like prisoners of war. 27 Why did you flee secretly and deceive me and not tell me? I would have sent you all off with music and singing and a cheery party. 28 You didn’t let me kiss my grandchildren goodbye and my daughters, instead you made a foolish decision. 29 I have the right and the ability to punish you, but last night your father’s god told me, ‘Be careful not to speak either good or bad to Ya’akov.’ 30 So now, you probably left because you miss your father’s place badly, but why did you steal my gods?”

31 “We left like that,” Ya’akov answered Lavan, “because I was afraid, because I said that perhaps you would use force to take your married daughters from me. 32 As for your idols, anyone you find your gods with will be put to death. Look through everything we have and take back anything that belongs to you, with our relatives as witnesses.” (Now Ya’akov didn’t know that Rahel (Rachel) had stolen them.)

33 So Lavan inspected Ya’akov’s and Le’ah’s tents, and the tent of the two slave women, but he didn’t find anything. Then he came out of Le’ah’s tent and went into Rahel’s tent. 34 Now Rahel had taken the idols and put them in the camel’s saddle which she was now sitting on, so although Lavan searched throughout her entire tent, he didn’t find them, 35 and she said to her father, “Don’t let my master be upset that I’m not able to stand up in your presence, because I have the regular female concern at the moment.” So he searched, but he didn’t find the idols.

36 So Ya’akov got very angry and he argued with Lavan, demanding from him, “What’s my crime? What’s my sin, that you’ve hotly chased after me? 37 Since you’ve searched through all our things, what things from your house have you found? Put it here in front of my relatives and your relatives, and let them judge between the two of us!

38 “I’ve worked for you for twenty years. Your ewes and your female goats didn’t miscarry, and I haven’t eaten rams from your flocks. 39 I didn’t bring dead sheep or goats to you that had been attacked by wild animals—I bore the loss of those myself. You required that I cover anything stolen during the day or during the night. 40 I was always out there—during the day the heat tormented me, and at night the frost so bad that I couldn’t sleep. 41 That’s how it was for me for twenty years in your house. I worked for you for fourteen years for your two daughters, then six more years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times to your advantage. 42 If my father’s god—the god of Avraham and the one Yitshak (Isaac) respected—had not been with me, surely you would have sent me away empty-handed now. God has seen my suffering and my hard work, and last night, he rebuked you.”