And in the morning, behold, it was Leah: the text does not make clear that it is Jacob who discovers that he has been tricked, but this is certainly the intended sense. In the morning refers to “The next morning,” “When daylight came,” or “When it was light.” Behold expresses the element of shock or surprise in Jacob’s discovery. We may translate, for example, “The next morning he saw that it was not Rachel but Leah!” “In the morning he looked at her and exclaimed, ‘Leah!’ ” In some languages an exclamation is probably required to express the element of shock and surprise: “In the morning … and said, ‘Hey! This is Leah!’ ” In other languages a word or expression may be used to describe what Jacob felt: “In the morning Jacob was shocked to see that the woman sleeping with him was not Rachel. It was Leah.”
And Jacob said to Laban: in some languages a word or expression stronger than just the word said may be required here to express the force of Jacob’s words; for example, “… went and accused Laban” or “… spoke angrily to Laban.”
What is this you have done to me?: Jacob’s question is rhetorical. He is not asking what happened but is using this form of the question to express his anger and surprise that Laban could do such a thing. Good News Translation shifts to “Why did you do this to me?” In languages that have different words for “Why?” the use of the word that expresses anger will be most appropriate here.
Did I not serve with you for Rachel? is another rhetorical question that may also be translated as a statement: “I worked for you to get Rachel,” “I served you in order to marry Rachel.”
Why then have you deceived me?: this is the climax of Jacob’s angry speech, “Why [angry] have you tricked me?” It is expressed idiomatically in some languages as “Why did you speak to me with two tongues?” or “Why did you deal with me with two hearts?”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .