And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before is literally “and Jacob saw the face of Laban and behold it was not toward him as before.” What Jacob saw was a change in Laban’s face, that he was no longer friendly toward him. In some languages this statement is expressed in figurative language; for example, “Jacob saw that Laban’s eyes had turned cold” or “… did not show him his good face.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “Laban no longer looked at him with good eyes, as before.” Many languages speak about people being friendly or unfriendly in a context like this; two examples of translations that use such expressions here are “Jacob saw that his father-in-law was not good friends with him like he was before” and “Jacob saw that Laban was unfriendly toward him now.” The fact that Jacob observed a change in the relationship is brought out in some translations; for example, “Jacob saw that Laban’s behavior toward him had changed, and that he didn’t like him as he had before.”

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 .