311 Now it came to the ears of Jacob that Laban's sons were saying, Jacob has taken away all our father's property, and in this way he has got all this wealth. 2 And Jacob saw that Laban's feeling for him was no longer what it had been before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, Go back to the land of your fathers, and to your relations, and I will be with you. 4 And Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah to come to him in the field among his flock. 5 And he said to them, It is clear to me that your father's feeling is no longer what it was to me; but the God of my father has been with me 6 And you have seen how I have done all in my power for your father, 7 But your father has not kept faith with me, and ten times he has made changes in my payment; but God has kept him from doing me damage. 8 If he said, All those in the flock which have marks are to be yours, then all the flock gave birth to marked young; and if he said, All the banded ones are to be yours, then all the flock had banded young. 9 So God has taken away your father's cattle and has given them to me. 10 And at the time when the flock were with young, I saw in a dream that all the he-goats which were joined with the she-goats were banded and marked and coloured. 11 And in my dream the angel of the Lord said to me, Jacob: and I said, Here am I. 12 And he said, See how all the he-goats are banded and marked and coloured: for I have seen what Laban has done to you. 13 I am the God of Beth-el, where you put oil on the pillar and took an oath to me: now then, come out of this land and go back to the country of your birth. 14 Then Rachel and Leah said to him in answer, What part or heritage is there for us in our father's house? 15 Are we not as people from a strange country to him? for he took a price for us and now it is all used up. 16 For the wealth which God has taken from him is ours and our children's; so now, whatever God has said to you, do.

Jacob Flees from Laban

17 Then Jacob put his wives and his sons on camels; 18 And sending on before him all his cattle and his property which he had got together in Paddan-aram, he made ready to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. 19 Now Laban had gone to see to the cutting of the wool of his sheep; so Rachel secretly took the images of the gods of her father's house. 20 And Jacob went away secretly, without giving news of his flight to Laban the Aramaean. 21 So he went away with all he had, and went across the River in the direction of the hill-country of Gilead. 22 And on the third day Laban had news of Jacob's flight. 23 And taking the men of his family with him, he went after him for seven days and overtook him in the hill-country of Gilead. 24 Then God came to Laban in a dream by night, and said to him, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob.

25 Now when Laban overtook him, Jacob had put up his tent in the hill-country; and Laban and his brothers put up their tents in the hill-country of Gilead. 26 And Laban said to Jacob, Why did you go away secretly, taking my daughters away like prisoners of war? 27 Why did you make a secret of your flight, not giving me word of it, so that I might have sent you away with joy and songs, with melody and music? 28 You did not even let me give a kiss to my sons and my daughters. This was a foolish thing to do. 29 It is in my power to do you damage: but the God of your father came to me this night, saying, Take care that you say nothing good or bad to Jacob. 30 And now, it seems, you are going because your heart's desire is for your father's house; but why have you taken my gods? 31 And Jacob, in answer, said to Laban, My fear was that you might take your daughters from me by force. 32 As for your gods, if anyone of us has them, let him be put to death: make search before us all for what is yours, and take it. For Jacob had no knowledge that Rachel had taken them. 33 So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent, and into the tents of the two servant-women, but they were not there; and he came out of Leah's tent and went into Rachel's. 34 Now Rachel had taken the images, and had put them in the camels' basket, and was seated on them. And Laban, searching through all the tent, did not come across them. 35 And she said to her father, Let not my lord be angry because I do not get up before you, for I am in the common condition of women. And with all his searching, he did not come across the images.

36 Then Jacob was angry with Laban, and said, What crime or sin have I done that you have come after me with such passion? 37 Now that you have made search through all my goods, what have you seen which is yours? Make it clear now before my people and your people, so that they may be judges between us. 38 These twenty years I have been with you; your sheep and your goats have had young without loss, not one of your he-goats have I taken for food. 39 Anything which was wounded by beasts I did not take to you, but myself made up for the loss of it; you made me responsible for whatever was taken by thieves, by day or by night. 40 This was my condition, wasted by heat in the day and by the bitter cold at night; and sleep went from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house; I was your servant for fourteen years because of your daughters, and for six years I kept your flock, and ten times was my payment changed. 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away with nothing in my hands. But God has seen my troubles and the work of my hands, and this night he kept you back.

43 Then Laban, answering, said, These women are my daughters and these children my children, the flocks and all you see are mine: what now may I do for my daughters and for their children? 44 Come, let us make an agreement, you and I; and let it be for a witness between us. 45 Then Jacob took a stone and put it up as a pillar. 46 And Jacob said to his people, Get stones together; and they did so; and they had a meal there by the stones. 47 And the name Laban gave it was Jegar-sahadutha: but Jacob gave it the name of Galeed. 48 And Laban said, These stones are a witness between you and me today. For this reason its name was Galeed, 49 And Mizpah, for he said, May the Lord keep watch on us when we are unable to see one another's doings. 50 If you are cruel to my daughters, or if you take other wives in addition to my daughters, then though no man is there to see, God will be the witness between us. 51 And Laban said, See these stones and this pillar which I have put between you and me; 52 They will be witness that I will not go over these stones to you, and you will not go over these stones or this pillar to me, for any evil purpose. 53 May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, be our judge. Then Jacob took an oath by the Fear of his father Isaac. 54 And Jacob made an offering on the mountain, and gave orders to his people to take food: so they had a meal and took their rest that night on the mountain. 55 And early in the morning Laban, after kissing and blessing his daughters, went on his way back to his country.

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

321 And on his way Jacob came face to face with the angels of God. 2 And when he saw them he said, This is the army of God: so he gave that place the name of Mahanaim.

3 Now Jacob sent servants before him to Esau, his brother, in the land of Seir, the country of Edom; 4 And he gave them orders to say these words to Esau: Your servant Jacob says, Till now I have been living with Laban: 5 And I have oxen and asses and flocks and men-servants and women-servants: and I have sent to give my lord news of these things so that I may have grace in his eyes. 6 When the servants came back they said, We have seen your brother Esau and he is coming out to you, and four hundred men with him. 7 Then Jacob was in great fear and trouble of mind: and he put all the people and the flocks and the herds and the camels into two groups; 8 And said, If Esau, meeting one group, makes an attack on them, the others will get away safely.

9 Then Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, the God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, Go back to your country and your family and I will be good to you: 10 I am less than nothing in comparison with all your mercies and your faith to me your servant; for with only my stick in my hand I went across Jordan, and now I have become two armies. 11 Be my saviour from the hand of Esau, my brother: for my fear is that he will make an attack on me, putting to death mother and child. 12 And you said, Truly, I will be good to you, and make your seed like the sand of the sea which may not be numbered.

13 Then he put up his tent there for the night; and from among his goods he took, as an offering for his brother Esau, 14 Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred females and twenty males from the sheep, 15 Thirty camels with their young ones, forty cows, ten oxen, twenty asses, and ten young asses. 16 These he gave to his servants, every herd by itself, and he said to his servants, Go on before me, and let there be a space between one herd and another. 17 And he gave orders to the first, saying, When my brother Esau comes to you and says, Whose servant are you, and where are you going, and whose are these herds? 18 Then say to him, These are your servant Jacob's; they are an offering for my lord, for Esau; and he himself is coming after us. 19 And he gave the same orders to the second and the third and to all those who were with the herds, saying, This is what you are to say to Esau when you see him; 20 And you are to say further, Jacob, your servant, is coming after us. For he said to himself, I will take away his wrath by the offering which I have sent on, and then I will come before him: it may be that I will have grace in his eyes. 21 So the servants with the offerings went on in front, and he himself took his rest that night in the tents with his people.

Jacob Wrestles at Peniel

22 And in the night he got up, and taking with him his two wives and the two servant-women and his eleven children, he went over the river Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them over the stream with all he had.

24 Then Jacob was by himself; and a man was fighting with him till dawn. 25 But when the man saw that he was not able to overcome Jacob, he gave him a blow in the hollow part of his leg, so that his leg was damaged. 26 And he said to him, Let me go now, for the dawn is near. But Jacob said, I will not let you go till you have given me your blessing. 27 Then he said, What is your name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel: for in your fight with God and with men you have overcome. 29 Then Jacob said, What is your name? And he said, What is my name to you? Then he gave him a blessing. 30 And Jacob gave that place the name of Peniel, saying, I have seen God face to face, and still I am living. 31 And while he was going past Peniel, the sun came up. And he went with unequal steps because of his damaged leg. 32 For this reason the children of Israel, even today, never take that muscle in the hollow of the leg as food, because the hollow of Jacob's leg was touched.

The Ruler's Daughter and the Woman Who Touched Jesus' Garment

18 While he was saying these things to them, there came a ruler and gave him worship, saying, My daughter is even now dead; but come and put your hand on her, and she will come back to life. 19 And Jesus got up and went after him, and so did his disciples. 20 And a woman, who for twelve years had had a flow of blood, came after him, and put her hand on the edge of his robe: 21 Because, she said to herself, if I may but put my hand on his robe, I will be made well. 22 But Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, Daughter, take heart; your faith has made you well. And the woman was made well from that hour. 23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house and saw the players with their instruments and the people making a noise, 24 He said, Make room; for the girl is not dead, but sleeping. And they were laughing at him. 25 But when the people were sent out, he went in and took her by the hand; and the girl got up. 26 And the news of it went out into all that land.

Two Blind Men Receive Sight

27 And when Jesus went on from there, two blind men came after him, crying out, Have mercy on us, you Son of David. 28 And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, Have you faith that I am able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord. 29 Then he put his hand on their eyes, saying, As your faith is, let it be done to you. 30 And their eyes were made open. And Jesus said to them sharply, Let no man have knowledge of it. 31 But they went out and gave news of him in all that land.

A Dumb Man Speaks

32 And while they were going away, there came to him a man without the power of talking, and with an evil spirit. 33 And when the evil spirit had been sent out, the man had the power of talking: and they were all surprised, saying, Such a thing has never been seen in Israel. 34 But the Pharisees said, By the ruler of evil spirits, he sends evil spirits out of men.

The Harvest Is Plenteous

35 And Jesus went about all the towns and small places, teaching in their Synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and making well all sorts of disease and pain. 36 But when he saw all the people he was moved with pity for them, because they were troubled and wandering like sheep without a keeper. 37 Then he said to his disciples, There is much grain but not enough men to get it in. 38 Make prayer, then, to the Lord of the grain-fields, that he may send out workers to get in his grain.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 9:18-38

Commentary on Matthew 9:18-26

(Read Matthew 9:18-26)

The death of our relations should drive us to Christ, who is our life. And it is high honour to the greatest rulers to attend on the Lord Jesus; and those who would receive mercy from Christ, must honour him. The variety of methods Christ took in working his miracles, perhaps was because of the different frames and tempers of mind, which those were in who came to him, and which He who searches the heart perfectly knew. A poor woman applied herself to Christ, and received mercy from him by the way. If we do but touch, as it were, the hem of Christ's garment by living faith, our worst evils will be healed; there is no other real cure, nor need we fear his knowing things which are a grief and burden to us, but which we would not tell to any earthly friend. When Christ entered the ruler's house, he said, Give place. Sometimes, when the sorrow of the world prevails, it is difficult for Christ and his comforts to enter. The ruler's daughter was really dead, but not so to Christ. The death of the righteous is in a special manner to be looked on as only a sleep. The words and works of Christ may not at first be understood, yet they are not therefore to be despised. The people were put forth. Scorners who laugh at what they do not understand, are not proper witnesses of the wonderful works of Christ. Dead souls are not raised to spiritual life, unless Christ take them by the hand: it is done in the day of his power. If this single instance of Christ's raising one newly dead so increased his fame, what will be his glory when all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and come forth; those that have done good to the resurrection of life, and those that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation!

Commentary on Matthew 9:27-31

(Read Matthew 9:27-31)

At this time the Jews expected Messiah would appear; these blind men knew and proclaimed in the streets of Capernaum that he was come, and that Jesus was he. Those who, by the providence of God, have lost their bodily sight, may, by the grace of God, have the eyes of their understanding fully enlightened. And whatever our wants and burdens are, we need no more for supply and support, than to share in the mercy of our Lord Jesus. In Christ is enough for all. They followed him crying aloud. He would try their faith, and would teach us always to pray, and not to faint, though the answer does not come at once. They followed Christ, and followed him crying; but the great question is, Do ye believe? Nature may make us earnest, but it is only grace that can work faith. Christ touched their eyes. He gives sight to blind souls by the power of his grace going with his word, and he puts the cure upon their faith. Those who apply to Jesus Christ, shall be dealt with, not according to their fancies, nor according to their profession, but according to their faith. Christ sometimes concealed his miracles, because he would not indulge the conceit which prevailed among the Jews, that their Messiah should be a temporal prince, and so give occasion to the people to attempt tumults and seditions.

Commentary on Matthew 9:32-34

(Read Matthew 9:32-34)

Of the two, better a dumb devil than a blaspheming one. Christ's cures strike at the root, and remove the effect by taking away the cause; they open the lips, by breaking Satan's power in the soul. Nothing can convince those who are under the power of pride. They will believe anything, however false or absurd, rather than the Holy Scriptures; thus they show the enmity of their hearts against a holy God.

Commentary on Matthew 9:35-38

(Read Matthew 9:35-38)

Jesus visited not only the great and wealthy cities, but the poor, obscure villages; and there he preached, there he healed. The souls of the meanest in the world are as precious to Christ, and should be so to us, as the souls of those who make the greatest figure. There were priests, Levites, and scribes, all over the land; but they were idol shepherds, Zechariah 11:17; therefore Christ had compassion on the people as sheep scattered, as men perishing for lack of knowledge. To this day vast multitudes are as sheep not having a shepherd, and we should have compassion and do all we can to help them. The multitudes desirous of spiritual instruction formed a plenteous harvest, needing many active labourers; but few deserved that character. Christ is the Lord of the harvest. Let us pray that many may be raised up and sent forth, who will labour in bringing souls to Christ. It is a sign that God is about to bestow some special mercy upon a people, when he stirs them up to pray for it. And commissions given to labourers in answer to prayer, are most likely to be successful.