Genesis 31:26-28

31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me 1  and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! 2  31:27 Why did you run away secretly 3  and deceive me? 4  Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? 5  31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren 6  good-bye. You have acted foolishly!

1 tn Heb “and you have stolen my heart.” This expression apparently means “to deceive” (see v. 20).

2 tn Heb “and you have led away my daughters like captives of a sword.”

3 tn Heb “Why did you hide in order to flee?” The verb “hide” and the infinitive “to flee” form a hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the main verb and the other the adverb: “flee secretly.”

4 tn Heb “and steal me.”

5 tn Heb “And [why did] you not tell me so I could send you off with joy and with songs, with a tambourine and with a harp?”

6 tn Heb “my sons and my daughters.” Here “sons” refers to “grandsons,” and has been translated “grandchildren” since at least one granddaughter, Dinah, was involved. The order has been reversed in the translation for stylistic reasons.