New English Translation
Genesis 31:3
3The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives. I will be with you.”
Genesis 31:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Lord said to Jacob, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”
Context of Genesis 31:3
1Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich at our father’s expense!” 2When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives. I will be with you.” 4So Jacob sent a message for Rachel and Leah to come to the field where his flocks were. 5There he said to them, “I can tell that your father’s attitude toward me has changed, but the God of my father has been with me.
Read all of Genesis 31Genesis 31:3 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֔ב שׁ֛וּב אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ אֲבוֹתֶ֖יךָ וּלְמוֹלַדְתֶּ֑ךָ וְאֶֽהְיֶ֖ה עִמָּֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 31:3
- Genesis 28:15I am with you! I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”
- Genesis 32:9Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’
- Genesis 35:1Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
- Genesis 46:2God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!”
- Genesis 50:24Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
- Psalms 46:1God is our strong refuge; he is truly our helper in times of trouble.
- Psalms 50:15Pray to me when you are in trouble! I will deliver you, and you will honor me!”
- Psalms 90:15Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us, in proportion to the years we have experienced trouble!
- Genesis 31:13I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the sacred stone and made a vow to me. Now leave this land immediately and return to your native land.’”
- Genesis 13:15I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants forever.
- Genesis 26:3Stay in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will fulfill the solemn promise I made to your father Abraham.
- Genesis 28:4May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham so that you may possess the land God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.”
- Genesis 30:25After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can go home to my own country.
- Genesis 21:22At that time Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do.
- Genesis 26:24The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
- Isaiah 41:10Don’t be afraid, for I am with you! Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! I strengthen you – yes, I help you – yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!
Commentaries on Genesis 31:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3And the Lord said unto Jacob, Return - and I will be with thee - I will take the same care of thee in thy return, as I took of thee on thy way to this place. The Targum reads, My Word shall be for thy help, see Genesis 15:1. A promise of this kind was essentially necessary for the encouragement of Jacob, especially at this time; and no doubt it was a powerful means of support to him through the whole journey; and it was particularly so when he heard that…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
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3the land of your fathers was Canaan, to which God had called Abraham (12:1–7; 17:8). Go back … I will be with you: See study notes on 26:2–5; 28:12–15. God protected Jacob (also called “Israel,” 32:28) as he led his family back to the land God promised them. Later, God brought Israel back to Canaan after many years of slavery in Egypt. This return had many similarities to this passage: God defeated foreign gods and beliefs. He used dreams for rescue and…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. the Lord said ... Return unto the land of thy fathers--Notwithstanding the ill usage he had received, Jacob might not have deemed himself at liberty to quit his present sphere, under the impulse of passionate fretfulness and discontent. Having been conducted to Haran by God (Ge 28:15) and having got a promise that the same heavenly Guardian would bring him again into the land of Canaan, he might have thought he ought not to leave it, without being…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 31:3
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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