Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.
Parallel translations
- WEB Why did you flee secretly, and deceive me, and didn’t tell me, that I might have sent you away with mirth and with songs, with tambourine and with harp;
- KJV Wherefore didst thou flee away secretly, and steal away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, with tabret, and with harp?
- NKJV Why did you flee away secretly, and steal away from me, and not tell me; for I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with timbrel and harp?
- NASB Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me, so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with tambourine and with lyre;
- NLT Why did you slip away secretly? Why did you deceive me? And why didn’t you say you wanted to leave? I would have given you a farewell feast, with singing and music, accompanied by tambourines and harps.
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
Laban protests that Jacob fled secretly, denying him a proper farewell with celebration. He casts himself as the aggrieved host.
Overview
Laban claims he would have sent Jacob off with joyful music had he known. Given Laban's track record, such warmth is doubtful, and Jacob's secrecy sprang from well-founded fear. The hollow complaint underscores the broken trust between the two men, which only God's restraint keeps from erupting into conflict.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 15:20Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.
- Judg 6:27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime.
- Prov 26:23–26Like glaze covering an earthen vessel are burning lips and a wicked heart.
- Job 21:11–14They send forth their little ones like a flock; their children skip about,
- Gen 31:20–21Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was running away.
- Gen 24:59–60So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, along with her nurse and Abraham’s servant and his men.
- Gen 4:21And his brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.
- Gen 31:3–5Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you.”
- Gen 31:31“I was afraid,” Jacob answered, “for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force.
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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 31:27 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
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