Genesis 31:29
in Genesis 31I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
KJV
It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
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This verse in Genesis 31
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIt is in the power of my hand to do you hurt - Literally, My hand is unto God to do you evil, i.e., I have vowed to God that I will punish thee for thy flight, and the stealing of my teraphim; but the God of Your father has prevented me from doing it. It is a singular instance that the plural pronoun, when addressing an individual, should be twice used in this place - the God of your father, אביכם abichem, for אביך abicha, thy father.
This site's exposition
I have power to do you great harm
on Genesis 31:29-30
Laban says he has the power to do harm and that God stopped him. Clarke reads the Hebrew as a vow already made, his hand lifted to God against Jacob. Then comes the charge, why have you stolen my gods. Gods that fit in a saddlebag stand in the same verse as the God who speaks in dreams.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt. He supposes that he had both right on his side ( a good action, as we say, against Jacob) and strength on his side, either to avenge the wrong or recover the right. Note, Bad people commonly value themselves much upon their power to do hurt, whereas a power to do good is much more valuable.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Considering the past conduct of Laban, his complaint on this ground was hypocritical cant. But his second charge was a grave one--the carrying off his gods--Hebrew, "teraphim," small images of human figures, used not as idols or objects of worship, but as talismans, for superstitious purposes.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יֶשׁ־ | yesh- | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| לְאֵ֣ל | leel | [is] to [the] power of | H410 → | 241 times |
| יָדִ֔י | yadi | hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עִמָּכֶ֖ם | ʾimakhem | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| רָ֑ע | ra' | harm | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וֵֽאלֹהֵ֨י | velohei | and [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבִיכֶ֜ם | ʾavikhem | father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֶ֣מֶשׁ׀ | ʾemesh | last night | H570 → | 5 times |
| אָמַ֧ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַ֣י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִשָּׁ֧מֶר | hishamer | take heed | H8104 → | 468 times |
| לְךָ֛ | lekha | to <the> yourself | ||
| מִדַּבֵּ֥ר | midaber | from speaking | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עִֽם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֖ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| מִטּ֥וֹב | mitov | from good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | unto | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| רָֽע׃ | ra' | bad | H7451 → | 662 times |
יֶשׁ־there
yesh-H3426 →140 times
לְאֵ֣ל[is] to [the] power of
leelH410 →241 times
יָדִ֔יhand my
yadiH3027 →1618 times
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
עִמָּכֶ֖םwith you
ʾimakhemH5973 →1050 times
רָ֑עharm
ra'H7451 →662 times
וֵֽאלֹהֵ֨יand [the] God of
veloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבִיכֶ֜םfather your
ʾavikhemH1 →1212 times
אֶ֣מֶשׁ׀last night
ʾemeshH570 →5 times
אָמַ֧רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֵלַ֣יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הִשָּׁ֧מֶרtake heed
hishamerH8104 →468 times
לְךָ֛to <the> yourself
lekha
מִדַּבֵּ֥רfrom speaking
midaberH1696 →1141 times
עִֽם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
יַעֲקֹ֖בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
מִטּ֥וֹבfrom good
mitovH2896 →538 times
עַד־unto
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
רָֽע׃bad
ra'H7451 →662 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 31:42If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen…
it leads to
- Psalms 31:7
I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul.
- Psalms 31:7
Through
Genesis 31:53May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.
it leads to
- Genesis 31:42
If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, surely by now you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 31:42
Through
Genesis 28:13And there at the top the LORD was standing and saying, “I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the…
it leads to
- Genesis 13:15
for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
- Genesis 35:12
The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.”
- Genesis 48:3
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
- Genesis 26:24
and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your…
- Genesis 35:1
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
- Genesis 13:15
Through
Genesis 31:24But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
it leads to
- Genesis 24:50
Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter.
- Genesis 24:50
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.