16:7 He must then take the two goats ¹  and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, 16:8 and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, ²  one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel. ³  16:9 Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, ⁴  and he is to make it a sin offering, 16:10 but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive ⁵  before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away to Azazel into the wilderness. ⁶ 

30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she ¹  became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children ²  or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious ³  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ⁴  30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with ⁵  her so that she can bear ⁶  children ⁷  for me ⁸  and I can have a family through her.” ⁹ 

30:4 So Rachel ¹⁰  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ¹¹  her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant ¹²  and gave Jacob a son. ¹³  30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer ¹⁴  and given me a son.” That is why ¹⁵  she named him Dan. ¹⁶ 

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ¹⁷  30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” ¹⁸  So she named him Naphtali. ¹⁹ 

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave ²⁰  her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. ²¹  30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” ²²  So she named him Gad. ²³ 

30:12 Then Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. ²⁴  30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am, ²⁵  for women ²⁶  will call me happy!” So she named him Asher. ²⁷ 

30:14 At the time ²⁸  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ²⁹  in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, ³⁰  “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” ³¹  Rachel said, “he may sleep ³²  with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep ³³  with me because I have paid for your services ³⁴  with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations ³⁵  with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention ³⁶  to Leah; she became pregnant ³⁷  and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. ³⁸  30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ³⁹  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ⁴⁰  So she named him Issachar. ⁴¹ 

30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. ⁴²  30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. ⁴³ 

30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

30:22 Then God took note of ⁴⁴  Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. ⁴⁵  30:23 She became pregnant ⁴⁶  and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” ⁴⁷  30:24 She named him Joseph, ⁴⁸  saying, “May the Lord give me yet another son.”

30:25 After Rachel had given birth ⁴⁹  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ⁵⁰  me on my way so that I can go ⁵¹  home to my own country. ⁵²  30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. ⁵³  Then I’ll depart, ⁵⁴  because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” ⁵⁵ 

30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, ⁵⁶  for I have learned by divination ⁵⁷  that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 30:28 He added, “Just name your wages – I’ll pay whatever you want.” ⁵⁸ 

30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, ⁵⁹  “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. ⁶⁰  30:30 Indeed, ⁶¹  you had little before I arrived, ⁶²  but now your possessions have increased many times over. ⁶³  The Lord has blessed you wherever I worked. ⁶⁴  But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?” ⁶⁵ 

30:31 So Laban asked, ⁶⁶  “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” ⁶⁷  Jacob replied, ⁶⁸  “but if you agree to this one condition, ⁶⁹  I will continue to care for ⁷⁰  your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among ⁷¹  all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, ⁷²  and the spotted or speckled goats. ⁷³  These animals will be my wages. ⁷⁴  30:33 My integrity will testify for me ⁷⁵  later on. ⁷⁶  When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, ⁷⁷  if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” ⁷⁸  30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” ⁷⁹ 

30:35 So that day Laban ⁸⁰  removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care ⁸¹  of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, ⁸²  while ⁸³  Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. ⁸⁴  30:39 When the sheep mated ⁸⁵  in front of the branches, they ⁸⁶  gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face ⁸⁷  the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, ⁸⁸  Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. ⁸⁹  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ⁹⁰  and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob ⁹¹  became extremely prosperous. He owned ⁹²  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, ⁹³  “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich ⁹⁴  at our father’s expense!” ⁹⁵  31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. ⁹⁶ 

31:3 The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers ⁹⁷  and to your relatives. I will be with you.” ⁹⁸  31:4 So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah ⁹⁹  to come to the field ¹⁰⁰  where his flocks were. ¹⁰¹  31:5 There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, ¹⁰²  but the God of my father has been with me. 31:6 You know that I’ve worked for your father as hard as I could, ¹⁰³  31:7 but your father has humiliated ¹⁰⁴  me and changed my wages ten times. But God has not permitted him to do me any harm. 31:8 If he said, ¹⁰⁵  ‘The speckled animals ¹⁰⁶  will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled offspring. But if he said, ‘The streaked animals will be your wage,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked offspring. 31:9 In this way God has snatched away your father’s livestock and given them to me.

31:10 “Once ¹⁰⁷  during breeding season I saw ¹⁰⁸  in a dream that the male goats mating with ¹⁰⁹  the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe ¹¹⁰  that all the male goats mating with ¹¹¹  the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, ¹¹²  where you anointed ¹¹³  the sacred stone and made a vow to me. ¹¹⁴  Now leave this land immediately ¹¹⁵  and return to your native land.’”

31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance ¹¹⁶  in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted ¹¹⁷  the money paid for us! ¹¹⁸  31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”

31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. ¹¹⁹  31:18 He took ¹²⁰  away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. ¹²¹ 

31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, ¹²²  Rachel stole the household idols ¹²³  that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived ¹²⁴  Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. ¹²⁵  31:21 He left ¹²⁶  with all he owned. He quickly crossed ¹²⁷  the Euphrates River ¹²⁸  and headed for ¹²⁹  the hill country of Gilead.

31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. ¹³⁰  31:23 So he took his relatives ¹³¹  with him and pursued Jacob ¹³²  for seven days. ¹³³  He caught up with ¹³⁴  him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, ¹³⁵  “Be careful ¹³⁶  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” ¹³⁷ 

31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. ¹³⁸  31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me ¹³⁹  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! ¹⁴⁰  31:27 Why did you run away secretly ¹⁴¹  and deceive me? ¹⁴²  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? ¹⁴³  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren ¹⁴⁴  good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have ¹⁴⁵  the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful ¹⁴⁶  that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ ¹⁴⁷  31:30 Now I understand that ¹⁴⁸  you have gone away ¹⁴⁹  because you longed desperately ¹⁵⁰  for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” ¹⁵¹ 

31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” ¹⁵²  Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought ¹⁵³  you might take your daughters away from me by force. ¹⁵⁴  31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! ¹⁵⁵  In the presence of our relatives ¹⁵⁶  identify whatever is yours and take it.” ¹⁵⁷  (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) ¹⁵⁸ 

31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. ¹⁵⁹  Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. ¹⁶⁰  31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle ¹⁶¹  and sat on them.) ¹⁶²  Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. ¹⁶³  31:35 Rachel ¹⁶⁴  said to her father, “Don’t be angry, ¹⁶⁵  my lord. I cannot stand up ¹⁶⁶  in your presence because I am having my period.” ¹⁶⁷  So he searched thoroughly, ¹⁶⁸  but did not find the idols.

31:36 Jacob became angry ¹⁶⁹  and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. ¹⁷⁰  “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? ¹⁷¹  31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? ¹⁷²  Set it here before my relatives and yours, ¹⁷³  and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! ¹⁷⁴ 

31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. ¹⁷⁵  You always made me pay for every missing animal, ¹⁷⁶  whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat ¹⁷⁷  during the day and by piercing cold ¹⁷⁸  at night, and I went without sleep. ¹⁷⁹  31:41 This was my lot ¹⁸⁰  for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave ¹⁸¹  for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears ¹⁸²  – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, ¹⁸³  and he rebuked you last night.”

31:43 Laban replied ¹⁸⁴  to Jacob, “These women ¹⁸⁵  are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, ¹⁸⁶  and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today ¹⁸⁷  or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, ¹⁸⁸  you and I, and it will be ¹⁸⁹  proof that we have made peace.” ¹⁹⁰ 

31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he ¹⁹¹  said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. ¹⁹²  They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, ¹⁹³  but Jacob called it Galeed. ¹⁹⁴ 

31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement ¹⁹⁵  today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah ¹⁹⁶  because he said, “May the Lord watch ¹⁹⁷  between us ¹⁹⁸  when we are out of sight of one another. ¹⁹⁹  31:50 If you mistreat my daughters or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one else is with us, realize ²⁰⁰  that God is witness to your actions.” ²⁰¹ 

31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. ²⁰²  31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. ²⁰³  31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, ²⁰⁴  the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. ²⁰⁵  31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice ²⁰⁶  on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. ²⁰⁷  They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.

31:55 ²⁰⁸  Early in the morning Laban kissed ²⁰⁹  his grandchildren ²¹⁰  and his daughters goodbye and blessed them. Then Laban left and returned home. ²¹¹ 

32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God ²¹²  met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ²¹³  “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. ²¹⁴ 

32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead ²¹⁵  to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region ²¹⁶  of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant ²¹⁷  Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent ²¹⁸  this message ²¹⁹  to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” ²²⁰  he thought, ²²¹  “then the other camp will be able to escape.” ²²² 

32:9 Then Jacob prayed, ²²³  “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said ²²⁴  to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ ²²⁵  32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love ²²⁶  you have shown ²²⁷  your servant. With only my walking stick ²²⁸  I crossed the Jordan, ²²⁹  but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, ²³⁰  I pray, from the hand ²³¹  of my brother Esau, ²³²  for I am afraid he will come ²³³  and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. ²³⁴  32:12 But you ²³⁵  said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper ²³⁶  and will make ²³⁷  your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” ²³⁸ 

32:13 Jacob ²³⁹  stayed there that night. Then he sent ²⁴⁰  as a gift ²⁴¹  to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to ²⁴²  his servants, who divided them into herds. ²⁴³  He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, ²⁴⁴  “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? ²⁴⁵  Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ ²⁴⁶  32:18 then you must say, ²⁴⁷  ‘They belong ²⁴⁸  to your servant Jacob. ²⁴⁹  They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. ²⁵⁰  In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” ²⁵¹ 

32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. ²⁵²  32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” ²⁵³  Jacob thought, ²⁵⁴  “I will first appease him ²⁵⁵  by sending a gift ahead of me. ²⁵⁶  After that I will meet him. ²⁵⁷  Perhaps he will accept me.” ²⁵⁸  32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him ²⁵⁹  while he spent that night in the camp. ²⁶⁰ 

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ²⁶¹  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ²⁶²  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²⁶³  32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. ²⁶⁴  32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man ²⁶⁵  wrestled ²⁶⁶  with him until daybreak. ²⁶⁷  32:25 When the man ²⁶⁸  saw that he could not defeat Jacob, ²⁶⁹  he struck ²⁷⁰  the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.

32:26 Then the man ²⁷¹  said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” ²⁷²  “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, ²⁷³  “unless you bless me.” ²⁷⁴  32:27 The man asked him, ²⁷⁵  “What is your name?” ²⁷⁶  He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, ²⁷⁷  “but Israel, ²⁷⁸  because you have fought ²⁷⁹  with God and with men and have prevailed.”

32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” ²⁸⁰  “Why ²⁸¹  do you ask my name?” the man replied. ²⁸²  Then he blessed ²⁸³  Jacob ²⁸⁴  there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, ²⁸⁵  explaining, ²⁸⁶  “Certainly ²⁸⁷  I have seen God face to face ²⁸⁸  and have survived.” ²⁸⁹ 

32:31 The sun rose ²⁹⁰  over him as he crossed over Penuel, ²⁹¹  but ²⁹²  he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day ²⁹³  the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck ²⁹⁴  the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.

33:1 Jacob looked up ²⁹⁵  and saw that Esau was coming ²⁹⁶  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. ²⁹⁷  33:3 But Jacob ²⁹⁸  himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached ²⁹⁹  his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau ³⁰⁰  looked up ³⁰¹  and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob ³⁰²  replied, “The children whom God has graciously given ³⁰³  your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. ³⁰⁴  33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

33:8 Esau ³⁰⁵  then asked, “What did you intend ³⁰⁶  by sending all these herds to meet me?” ³⁰⁷  Jacob ³⁰⁸  replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. ³⁰⁹  “If I have found favor in your sight, accept ³¹⁰  my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, ³¹¹  it is as if I have seen the face of God. ³¹²  33:11 Please take my present ³¹³  that was brought to you, for God has been generous ³¹⁴  to me and I have all I need.” ³¹⁵  When Jacob urged him, he took it. ³¹⁶ 

33:12 Then Esau ³¹⁷  said, “Let’s be on our way! ³¹⁸  I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob ³¹⁹  said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, ³²⁰  and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. ³²¹  If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, ³²²  until I come to my lord at Seir.”

33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” ³²³  “Why do that?” Jacob replied. ³²⁴  “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” ³²⁵ 

33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back ³²⁶  to Seir. 33:17 But ³²⁷  Jacob traveled to Succoth ³²⁸  where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called ³²⁹  Succoth. ³³⁰ 

33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near ³³¹  the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it ³³²  from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. ³³³  33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” ³³⁴ 

34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet ³³⁵  the young women ³³⁶  of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, ³³⁷  and sexually assaulted her. ³³⁸  34:3 Then he became very attached ³³⁹  to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. ³⁴⁰  34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” ³⁴¹  34:5 When ³⁴²  Jacob heard that Shechem ³⁴³  had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent ³⁴⁴  until they came in.

34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. ³⁴⁵  34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. ³⁴⁶  They ³⁴⁷  were offended ³⁴⁸  and very angry because Shechem ³⁴⁹  had disgraced Israel ³⁵⁰  by sexually assaulting ³⁵¹  Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. ³⁵² 

34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. ³⁵³  Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. ³⁵⁴  Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. ³⁵⁵  34:10 You may live ³⁵⁶  among us, and the land will be open to you. ³⁵⁷  Live in it, travel freely in it, ³⁵⁸  and acquire property in it.”

34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s ³⁵⁹  father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me ³⁶⁰  I’ll give. ³⁶¹  34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, ³⁶²  and I’ll give ³⁶³  whatever you ask ³⁶⁴  of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”

34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem ³⁶⁵  had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give ³⁶⁶  our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace ³⁶⁷  to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become ³⁶⁸  like us by circumcising ³⁶⁹  all your males. 34:16 Then we will give ³⁷⁰  you our daughters to marry, ³⁷¹  and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms ³⁷²  by being circumcised, then we will take ³⁷³  our sister ³⁷⁴  and depart.”

34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. ³⁷⁵  34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked ³⁷⁶  because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah ³⁷⁷  badly. (Now he was more important ³⁷⁸  than anyone in his father’s household.) ³⁷⁹  34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate ³⁸⁰  of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough ³⁸¹  for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. ³⁸²  34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand ³⁸³  that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, ³⁸⁴  won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate ³⁸⁵  agreed with ³⁸⁶  Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate ³⁸⁷  was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword ³⁸⁸  and went to the unsuspecting city ³⁸⁹  and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them ³⁹⁰  and looted the city because their sister had been violated. ³⁹¹  34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. ³⁹²  34:29 They captured as plunder ³⁹³  all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.

34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin ³⁹⁴  on me by making me a foul odor ³⁹⁵  among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I ³⁹⁶  am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, ³⁹⁷  “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”