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Are we not counted of him strangers? for he hath sold us, and hath quite devoured also our money.
Genesis 31:15 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Aren’t we accounted by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also quite devoured our money.
  • BSB Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? Not only has he sold us, but he has certainly squandered what was paid for us.
  • NKJV Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and also completely consumed our money.
  • NASB Are we not regarded by him as foreigners? For he has sold us, and has also entirely consumed our purchase price.
  • NLT He has reduced our rights to those of foreign women. And after he sold us, he wasted the money you paid him for us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

They complain that Laban treated them as foreigners and squandered the money paid for them. They feel sold and used by their own father.

Overview

Rachel and Leah feel Laban exploited even the bride-service Jacob rendered, consuming what should have benefited them. Their grievance exposes the depth of Laban's greed within his own family. This shared sense of injustice unites the sisters in supporting Jacob's departure under God's direction.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Gen 29:15–20And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be?
  • Neh 5:8And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.
  • Exod 21:7–11And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
  • Gen 31:41Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times.
  • Gen 29:27–30Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
  • Gen 30:26Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 31:15YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 31:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.