New International Version
Genesis 31:50
50If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
Genesis 31:50 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee.
- English Standard Version (ESV)If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me."
- New King James Version (NKJV)If you afflict my daughters, or if you take other wives besides my daughters, although no man is with us—see, God is witness between you and me!”
- New Living Translation (NLT)If you mistreat my daughters or if you marry other wives, God will see it even if no one else does. He is a witness to this covenant between us.
Context of Genesis 31:50
48Laban said, “This heap is a witness between you and me today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 49It was also called Mizpah, because he said, “May the Lord keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. If you mistreat my daughters or if you take any wives besides my daughters, even though no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.” 51Laban also said to Jacob, “Here is this heap, and here is this pillar I have set up between you and me. 52This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not go past this heap to your side to harm you and that you will not go past this heap and pillar to my side to harm me.
Read all of Genesis 31Genesis 31:50 word by word
אִם־תְּעַנֶּ֣ה אֶת־בְּנֹתַ֗י וְאִם־תִּקַּ֤ח נָשִׁים֙ עַל־בְּנֹתַ֔י אֵ֥ין אִ֖ישׁ עִמָּ֑נוּ רְאֵ֕ה אֱלֹהִ֥ים עֵ֖ד בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵינֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- If thou shalt afflictעָנָה‛ânâh · to afflictH6031
- my daughtersבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- or if thou shalt takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: marryH3947
- wivesאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- besideעַל‛al · uponH5921
- no manאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
- with us; seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- witnessעֵד‛êd · witnessH5707
Cross-references for Genesis 31:50
- Leviticus 18:18“ ‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.
- Matthew 19:5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
- Judges 11:10The elders of Gilead replied, “The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say.”
- 1 Samuel 12:5Samuel said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is witness,” they said.
- Jeremiah 29:23For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know it and am a witness to it,” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 42:5Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us.
- Micah 1:2Hear, you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it, that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
- Malachi 2:14You ask, “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.
- Malachi 3:5“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:5You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness.
Commentaries on Genesis 31:50
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 50No man is with us - Though all were present at the sacrifice offered, yet it appears that in making the contract Jacob and Laban withdrew, and transacted the business in private, calling on God to witness it. Jacob had already four wives; but Laban feared that he might take others, whose children would naturally come in for a share of the inheritance to the prejudice of his daughters and grandchildren. Though the Koran allows a man to have four wives if…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. 43-55Verses 43-55 Laban could neither justify himself nor condemn Jacob, therefore desires to hear no more of that matter. He is not willing to own himself in fault, as he ought to have done. But he proposes a covenant of friendship between them, to which Jacob readily agrees. A heap of stones was raised, to keep up the memory of the event, writing being then not known or little used. A sacrifice of peace offerings was offered. Peace with God puts true comfort…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 50-53Laban added conditions to the treaty to try to justify himself. He used many words to hide his own dishonesty and make Jacob look unethical. He even claimed credit for the monument Jacob had built ("here is the pillar I have set up," 31:51). The women and children would be safer and better cared for with Jacob than they ever were with Laban.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 31:50
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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