New English Translation
Genesis 31:24
24But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, “Be careful that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.”
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
22Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. 23So he took his relatives with him and pursued Jacob for seven days. He caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, “Be careful that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” 25Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. 26“What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war!
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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to Labanלָבָןlâbân · LabanH3837
- the Syrianאֲרַמִּי'ărammîy · ArameanH761
- in a dreamחֲלוֹםchălôm chălôm · dreamH2472
- by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto him, Take heedשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: carefulH8104
- that thou speakדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- not toעִם‛im · withH5973
- Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
- either goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
- orעַד‛ad · tillH5704
- badרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
Cross-references for Genesis 31:24
- Genesis 28:5So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
- Deuteronomy 26:5Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people.
- Hosea 12:12Jacob fled to the country of Aram, then Israel worked to acquire a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her.
- Genesis 31:10“Once during breeding season I saw in a dream that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted.
- Genesis 20:3But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”
- Genesis 40:5Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream the same night. Each man’s dream had its own meaning.
- Genesis 41:1At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream. As he was standing by the Nile,
- Numbers 12:6The Lord said, “Hear now 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 22:20God came to Balaam that night, and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, get up and go with them; but the word that I will say to you, that you must do.”
- 1 Kings 3:5One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell me what I should give you.”
- Job 33:15In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds.
- Matthew 1:20When he had contemplated this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
- Matthew 2:12After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back by another route to their own country.
- Matthew 27:19As he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent a message to him: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man; I have suffered greatly as a result of a dream about him today.”
- Genesis 31:42If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears – 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, and he rebuked you last night.”
- Genesis 24:50Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. Our wishes are of no concern.
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
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
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