New American Standard Bible 2020
Genesis 31:24
24However, 1God came to Laban the Aramean in a 2dream of the night and said to him, “34Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.”
Genesis 31:24 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
- New International Version (NIV)Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."
- New King James Version (NKJV)But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said to him, “Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad.”
Context of Genesis 31:24
22When Laban was informed on the third day that Jacob had fled, 23he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days’ journey, and he overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. However, God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream of the night and said to him, “Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob either good or bad.” 25And Laban caught up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban with his kinsmen camped in the hill country of Gilead. 26Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done by deceiving me and carrying away my daughters like captives of the sword?
Read all of Genesis 31Genesis 31:24 word by word
וַיָּבֹ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶל־לָבָ֥ן הָאֲרַמִּ֖י בַּחֲלֹ֣ם הַלָּ֑יְלָה וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ הִשָּׁ֧מֶר לְךָ֛ פֶּן־תְּדַבֵּ֥ר עִֽם־יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִטּ֥וֹב עַד־רָֽע׃Read the interlinear
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to Labanלָבָןlâbân · LabanH3837
- the Arameanאֲרַמִּי'ărammîy · ArameanH761
- dreamחֲלוֹםchălôm chălôm · dreamH2472
- of the nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Beשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
- that you do not speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- to Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
- eitherמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
- goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
- orעַד‛ad · tillH5704
- badרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
Cross-references for Genesis 31:24
- Genesis 28:5Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
- Deuteronomy 26:5And you shall respond and say before the Lord your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and resided there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty, and populous nation.
- Hosea 12:12Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram, And Israel worked for a wife, And for a wife he kept sheep.
- Genesis 31:10And it came about at the time when the flock was breeding that I raised my eyes and saw in a dream--and behold--the male goats that were mating were striped, speckled, or mottled.
- Genesis 20:3But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
- Genesis 40:5Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.
- Genesis 41:1Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile.
- Numbers 12:6He said, “Now hear My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make Myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream.
- Numbers 22:20And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise and go with them; but you shall do only the thing that I tell you.”
- 1 Kings 3:5In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish Me to give you.”
- Job 33:15In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on people, While they slumber in their beds,
- Matthew 1:20But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
- Matthew 2:12And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
- Matthew 27:19And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, “See that you have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.”
- Genesis 31:42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been for me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, so He rendered judgment last night.”
- Genesis 24:50Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “The matter has come from the Lord; so we cannot speak to you bad or good.
Commentaries on Genesis 31:24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 24And God came to Laban - God's caution to Laban was of high importance to Jacob - Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad; or rather, as is the literal meaning of the Hebrew, רע עד מטוב mittob ad ra, from good to evil; for had he neither spoken good nor evil to Jacob, they could have had no intercourse at all. The original is, therefore, peculiarly appropriate; for when people meet, the language at first is the language of friendship; the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-55Verses 1-55 - Jacob‘s Flight from Haran 19. תרפים terāpı̂ym Teraphim. This word occurs fifteen times in the Old Testament. It appears three times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. It is always in the plural number. The root does not appear in Biblical Hebrew. It perhaps means “to live well,” intransitively (Gesenius, Roedig.), “to nourish,” transitively (Furst). The teraphim were symbols or representatives of the Deity, as Laban calls…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-35Verses 22-35 God can put a bridle in the mouth of wicked men, to restrain their malice, though he do not change their hearts. Though they have no love to God's people, they will pretend to it, and try to make a merit of necessity. Foolish Laban! to call those things his gods which could be stolen! Enemies may steal our goods, but not our God. Here Laban lays to Jacob's charge things that he knew not. Those who commit their cause to God, are not forbidden…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 24Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad: God told Laban not to try to bring justice himself. When we try to enact our own sense of good and evil apart from God’s command, we always do evil (see study note on 2:9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-5522-24. it was told Laban on the third day--No sooner did the news reach Laban than he set out in pursuit, and he being not encumbered, advanced rapidly; whereas Jacob, with a young family and numerous flocks, had to march slowly, so that he overtook the fugitives after seven days' journey as they lay encamped on the brow of mount Gilead, an extensive range of hills forming the eastern boundary of Canaan. Being accompanied by a number of his people, he…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 31:24
In the dictionaries
Notes
Commentaries on Genesis 31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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