Surely all the wealth which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and our children; now then, do whatever God has told you.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For all the riches which God has taken away from our father, that is ours and our children’s. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.”
- KJV For all the riches which God hath taken from our father, that is ours, and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.
- BSB Surely all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you.”
- NKJV For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children’s; now then, whatever God has said to you, do it.”
- NLT All the wealth God has given you from our father legally belongs to us and our children. So go ahead and do whatever God has told you.”
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
The sisters conclude that the wealth God took from Laban rightly belongs to them and their children, and urge Jacob to obey God. They fully endorse following the Lord's command.
Overview
Rachel and Leah interpret Jacob's prosperity as God's just provision for their family rather than theft. Their final words, 'whatever God has said to you, do,' show a faith-driven submission to God's leading. This united resolve to obey God marks a positive turn in a family long divided by rivalry.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ps 45:10Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father’s house.
- Gen 31:9Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock, and given them to me.
- Gen 30:35That day, he removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 31:16 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.