Genesis 31 · Verse 44

Genesis 31:44

Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
Genesis 31:44, King James Version

Genesis 31:44 in other translations

BSBCome now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.”
WEBNow come, let’s make a covenant, you and I. Let it be for a witness between me and you.”
ASVAnd now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.
YLTand now, come, let us make a covenant, I and thou, and it hath been for a witness between me and thee.'
DARBYAnd now, come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be a witness between me and thee.
BBECome, let us make an agreement, you and I; and let it be for a witness between us.
WebsterNow therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

What does Genesis 31:44 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
44. Come thou, let us make a covenant--The way in which this covenant was ratified was by a heap of stones being laid in a circular pile, to serve as seats, and in the center of this circle a large one was set up perpendicularly for an altar. It is probable that a sacrifice was first offered, and then that the feast of reconciliation was partaken of by both parties seated on the stones around it. To this day heaps of stones, which have been used as memorials, are found abundantly in the region where this transaction took place.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 31:43-55

Laban could neither justify himself nor condemn Jacob, therefore desires to hear no more of that matter. He is not willing to own himself in fault, as he ought to have done. But he proposes a covenant of friendship between them, to which Jacob readily agrees. A heap of stones was raised, to keep up the memory of the event, writing being then not known or little used. A sacrifice of peace offerings was offered. Peace…

Read the full comment on Genesis 31:43-55 →

Genesis 31:44 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְעַתָּ֗הve.'a.Tahand thereforeH6258
לְכָ֛הle.Khahcome !H1980
נִכְרְתָ֥הnikh.re.Tahlet us makeH3772
בְרִ֖יתve.Rita covenantH1285
אֲנִ֣י'a.NiIH589
וָאָ֑תָּהva.'A.tahand youH859
וְהָיָ֥הve.ha.Yahand it will becomeH1961
לְעֵ֖דle.'Ed<into> a witnessH5707
בֵּינִ֥יbei.Nibetween meH996
וּבֵינֶֽךָ\׃u.vei.Ne.khaand between youH996

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 31:44

  • Joshua 24:25-27

    So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.

  • 1 Samuel 20:14-17

    And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not: But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David’s enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

  • Genesis 15:18

    In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

  • Joshua 22:27

    But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the Lord.

  • Deuteronomy 31:19

    Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

  • Genesis 31:48

    And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and thee this day. Therefore was the name of it called Galeed;

  • Genesis 26:28-31

    And they said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord. And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

  • Deuteronomy 31:26

    Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

  • Genesis 31:52

    This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm.

  • Deuteronomy 31:21

    And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

  • Genesis 21:22-32

    And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest: Now therefore swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my son’s son: but according to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast sojourned. And Abraham said, I will swear. And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
let us.
15:18; 21:22-32; 26:28-31; 1Sa 20:14-17
a witness.
48,52; 21:30; De 31:19,21,26; Jos 22:27; 24:25-27God can put a bridle into the mouth of wicked man to restrain their malice; and then, though they have no love for his people, they will pretend to it, and try to make a merit of necessity. Scott.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 31:43

    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?

  • Genesis 31:44

    Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee.

  • Genesis 31:45

    And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar.

Read all of Genesis 31

Genesis 31:44 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Ven pues ahora, y hagamos alianza yo y tú; y sea en testimonio entre mí y entre ti.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et maintenant, viens, nous ferons une alliance, moi et toi; et elle sera en témoignage entre moi et toi.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und nun komm, laß uns einen Bund machen, ich und du, und er sei zum Zeugnis zwischen mir und dir!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Veni ergo, et ineamus fœdus, ut sit in testimonium inter me et te.