Genesis 31:41

Plain English Version

I worked for you like that for 20 years. First, I worked for you for 14 years so that I could marry your 2 daughters. Then I worked for you for 6 years, so that you would give me some of your sheep and goats. You kept promising to give me things for working for you, but then you kept changing your mind. That’s not fair.”

Cross References

Genesis 27:44

Stay with Laban for a little while, until your brother Esau stops being angry.

Genesis 29:15

Jacob’s uncle Laban had 2 daughters. His older daughter was called Leah, and his younger daughter was called Rachel. Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel was really beautiful. So Jacob loved Rachel, and he wanted to marry her. After one month, Laban talked to Jacob. Laban said, “You are working for me, but I am not paying you anything, because you are my relative. Is that fair? No way. I want to start paying you for the work that you do for me. Tell me, how much do you want me to pay you?” Jacob said, “You don’t have to pay me anything. I just want to marry Rachel, your younger daughter. If I work for you for 7 years, will you give her to me to marry?”

Genesis 30:28

If you stay here, I will pay you to work for me. Just tell me how much you want, and I will pay you.”

Genesis 31:38

Then Jacob said to Laban, “I worked hard for you for 20 years, and I looked after your sheep and goats really well. They had lots of babies, and none of those babies died. And I never took any of your sheep for my food, not even your male sheep.

Genesis 31:40

And I had a really hard time when I worked for you. In the day time, it was really hot. And in the night time, it was really cold. It was so cold that I couldn’t sleep.

Genesis 31:6

You both know that I worked really hard for your father.

Genesis 31:7

But your father kept cheating me. He promised to give me things for working for him, but then he kept changing his mind. He did that lots and lots of times. He wanted to give me trouble, but God didn’t let him. Yes, God looked after me.

Genesis 32:4

I want him to know that I respect him, just like a work-man respects his boss. Tell Esau that I said, ‘I went and stayed with our uncle Laban for a long time, and now I’m coming back.

1 Corinthians 15:10

But God was very good to me. He changed me and made me the way I am now. And so more people heard the good news about Jesus. You see, I’ve worked harder than any of his other special workers. But it wasn’t really me that did that work. No. It was God that gave me the power to do his work, so he is the one that did it.