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.
Parallel translations
- WEB If you afflict my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, no man is with us; behold, God is witness between me and you.”
- BSB If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
- 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!”
- NASB If you mistreat my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.”
- 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.
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 warns Jacob not to mistreat his daughters or take other wives, with God as witness. He seeks to protect his daughters' welfare.
Overview
Laban's concern for Rachel and Leah, though late and self-interested, leads him to invoke God as the unseen witness to Jacob's conduct. The clause guards the marriage covenant even amid a strained family treaty. It affirms that God watches over the vulnerable and holds husbands accountable for how they treat their wives.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 42:5Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.
- Jer 29:23Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours’ wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
- Mic 1:2Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the LORD from his holy temple.
- Judg 11:10And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
- Mal 2:14Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
- Matt 19:5–6And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
- Mal 3:5And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
- 1 Th 2:5For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
- 1 Sam 12:5And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
- Lev 18:18Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
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 31:50 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.