Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me.
Parallel translations
- WEB Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock, and given them to me.
- BSB Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
- NKJV So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me.
- NASB So God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
- NLT In this way, God has taken your father’s animals and given them to me.
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
Jacob declares that God has taken Laban's livestock and given them to him. He credits his wealth entirely to God.
Overview
Jacob explicitly attributes his prosperity to God's action, not to clever breeding techniques. This statement reframes the entire account of chapter 30, revealing God as the true cause of the marked offspring. It models giving God the glory for one's blessings rather than crediting human effort or schemes.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gen 31:1And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.
- Gen 31:16For 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.
- Prov 13:22A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
- Esth 8:1–2On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews’ enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her.
- Ps 50:10For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
- Matt 20:15Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 31:9 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.