Genesis 31:43
New International Version
Laban answered Jacob, “The women are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks. All you see is mine. Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about the children they have borne?

New Living Translation
Then Laban replied to Jacob, “These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks—in fact, everything you see is mine. But what can I do now about my daughters and their children?

English Standard Version
Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day for these my daughters or for their children whom they have borne?

Berean Standard Bible
But Laban answered Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne?

King James Bible
And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have born?

New King James Version
And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and this flock is my flock; all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?

New American Standard Bible
Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my grandchildren, the flocks are my flocks, and everything that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these daughters of mine or to their children to whom they have given birth?

NASB 1995
Then Laban replied to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?

NASB 1977
Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne?

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do this day to these daughters of mine or to their children whom they have borne?

Amplified Bible
Laban answered Jacob, “These women [that you married] are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, these flocks are [from] my flocks, and all that you see [here] is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters or to their children to whom they have given birth?

Christian Standard Bible
Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the children, my children; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the sons, my sons; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne?

American Standard Version
And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children whom they have borne?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Laban answered and said to Yaquuv, “The daughters of my daughters, and the sons of my sons, and the flocks of my flocks, and everything that you see is mine. What shall I do for these my daughters today, or for their sons whom they have borne?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Laban answered and said to Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the sons my sons, and the cattle are my cattle, and all things which thou seest are mine, and the property of my daughters; what shall I do to them to-day, or their children which they bore?

Contemporary English Version
Laban said to Jacob, "Leah and Rachel are my daughters, and their children belong to me. All these sheep you are taking are really mine too. In fact, everything you have belongs to me. But there is nothing I can do to keep my daughters and their children.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Laban answered him: The daughters are mine and the children, and thy flocks, and all things that thou seest are mine: what can I do to my children, and grandchildren?

English Revised Version
And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine: and what can I do this day unto these my daughters, or unto their children which they have borne?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then Laban answered Jacob, "These are my daughters, my grandchildren, and my flocks. Everything you see is mine! Yet, what can I do today for my daughters or for their children?

Good News Translation
Laban answered Jacob, "These young women are my daughters; their children belong to me, and these flocks are mine. In fact, everything you see here belongs to me. But since I can do nothing to keep my daughters and their children,

International Standard Version
But Laban answered Jacob, "These women are my daughters. These children are my children. The flocks are mine. In fact, everything that you see belongs to me. But what would I do today to my daughters and the children they have borne?

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Laban answered and said unto Jacob: 'The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is mine; and what can I do this day for these my daughters, or for their children whom they have borne?

Literal Standard Version
And Laban answers and says to Jacob, “The daughters [are] my daughters, and the sons my sons, and the flock my flock, and all that you are seeing [is] mine; and to my daughters—what do I to these today, or to their sons whom they have born?

Majority Standard Bible
But Laban answered Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne?

New American Bible
Laban replied to Jacob: “The daughters are mine, their children are mine, and the flocks are mine; everything you see belongs to me. What can I do now for my own daughters and for the children they have borne?

NET Bible
Laban replied to Jacob, "These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today or the children to whom they have given birth?

New Revised Standard Version
Then Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine. But what can I do today about these daughters of mine, or about their children whom they have borne?

New Heart English Bible
Laban answered Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine: and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne?

Webster's Bible Translation
And Laban answered, and said to Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine; and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children which they have borne?

World English Bible
Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine! What can I do today to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne?

Young's Literal Translation
And Laban answereth and saith unto Jacob, 'The daughters are my daughters, and the sons my sons, and the flock my flock, and all that thou art seeing is mine; and to my daughters -- what do I to these to-day, or to their sons whom they have born?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jacob's Covenant with Laban
43But Laban answered Jacob, “These daughters are my daughters, these sons are my sons, and these flocks are my flocks! Everything you see is mine! Yet what can I do today about these daughters of mine or the children they have borne? 44Come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”…

Cross References
Genesis 31:1
Now Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, "Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father's expense."

Genesis 31:55
Early the next morning, Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and daughters and blessed them. Then he left to return home.


Treasury of Scripture

And Laban answered and said to Jacob, These daughters are my daughters, and these children are my children, and these cattle are my cattle, and all that you see is mine: and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children which they have born?

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Genesis 31
1. Jacob, displeased with the envy of Laban and his sons, departs secretly.
19. Rachel steals her father's household gods.
22. Laban pursues after him, and complains of the wrong.
34. Rachel's plan to hide the images.
36. Jacob's complaint of Laban.
43. The covenant of Laban and Jacob at Galeed.














(43) Laban answered . . . --Laban does not attempt any reply to Jacob's angry invectives, but answers affectionately. Why should he wish to injure Jacob, and send him away empty? All that he had was still Laban's in the best of senses; for were not Rachel and Leah his daughters? And were not their children his grandsons? How was it possible that he could wish to rob them? He proposes, therefore, that they should make a covenant, by which Jacob should bind himself to deal kindly with his daughters, and to take no other wife; while he promises for himself that he would do Jacob no wrong. Jacob therefore sets up a large stone, as a pillar and memorial; and Laban subsequently does the same; while, probably between the two hills on which they had severally encamped (Genesis 31:25), they collect a large mass of other stones, on which they feast together, in token of friendship (Genesis 26:30).

Verses 43, 44. - And Laban answered and said unto Jacob, - neither receiving Jacob's torrent of invective with affected meekness (Candlish), nor proving himself to be completely reformed by the angry recriminations of his "callous and hardened son-in-law (Kalisch); but perhaps simply owning the truth of Jacob's wants, and recognizing that he had no just ground of complaint (Calvin), as well as touched in his paternal affections by the sight of his daughters, from whom he felt that he was about to part for ever. These daughters - literally, the daughters (there) - are my daughters, and these (literally, the) children are my children, and these (literally, the) cattle are my cattle; and all that thou seest is mine. Not as reminding Jacob that he had still a legal claim to his (Jacob's) wives and possessions (Candlish), or at least possessions (Kalisch), though prepared to waive it, but rather as acknowledging that in doing injury to Jacob he would only be proceeding against his own flesh and blood (Calvin, Rosenmüller, Gerlach, Alford). And what can I do this day unto these my daughters, - literally, and as for (or to) my daughters, what can I do to these this day? The LXX., connecting "and to my daughters" with what precedes, reads, καὶ πάντα ὅσα σὺ ὁρᾷς ἐμά ἐσι καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων μου ( <ΒΤΤ·Ξομμενταρψ Ωορδ>or unto their children which they have born? - i.e. why should I do anything unto them An ego in viscera mea saervirem (Calvin). Now therefore literally, and now, νῦν ο΅υν (LXX.) - come thou, - לְכָה, imperf., of יָלַך- age, go to, come now (cf. Genesis 19:32) - let us make a covenant, - literally, let us cut a covenant, an expression which, according to partitionists (Tuch, Stahelin, Delitzsch, et alii), is not used by the Elohist until after Exodus 14:8; and yet by all such authorities the present verse is assigned to the Elohist (cf. Keil's 'Introduction,' part 1. § 2, div. 1. § 27) - I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

CHAPTER 31:45-55

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But Laban
לָבָ֜ן (lā·ḇān)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3837: Laban -- father-in-law of Jacob

answered
וַיַּ֨עַן (way·ya·‘an)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6030: To answer, respond

Jacob,
יַעֲקֹ֗ב (ya·‘ă·qōḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3290: Jacob -- a son of Isaac, also his desc

“[These] daughters
הַבָּנ֨וֹת (hab·bā·nō·wṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 1323: A daughter

are my daughters,
בְּנֹתַ֜י (bə·nō·ṯay)
Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1323: A daughter

[these] sons
וְהַבָּנִ֤ים (wə·hab·bā·nîm)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1121: A son

[are] my sons,
בָּנַי֙ (bā·nay)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1121: A son

and [these] flocks
וְהַצֹּ֣אן (wə·haṣ·ṣōn)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 6629: Small cattle, sheep and goats, flock

[are] my flocks!
צֹאנִ֔י (ṣō·nî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6629: Small cattle, sheep and goats, flock

Everything
וְכֹ֛ל (wə·ḵōl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

you
אַתָּ֥ה (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

see is mine!
רֹאֶ֖ה (rō·’eh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

Yet what
מָֽה־ (māh-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

can I do
אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֤ה (’e·‘ĕ·śeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

today
הַיּ֔וֹם (hay·yō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

about these
לָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ (lā·’êl·leh)
Preposition-l | Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

daughters
וְלִבְנֹתַ֞י (wə·liḇ·nō·ṯay)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular
Strong's 1323: A daughter

of mine or
א֥וֹ (’ōw)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

the children
לִבְנֵיהֶ֖ן (liḇ·nê·hen)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine plural
Strong's 1121: A son

they have borne?
יָלָֽדוּ׃ (yā·lā·ḏū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage


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OT Law: Genesis 31:43 Laban answered Jacob The daughters are my (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 31:42
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