3156. Verses 49-51 And now if you are going to show mercy and truth to my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, and I will look to the right or to the left. And Laban answered, then Bethuel, and they said, From Jehovah has this thing come; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as Jehovah has spoken.

'Now if you are going to show mercy and truth to my master' means investigation of their consent by both mental powers - will and understanding. 'Tell me; and if not, tell me' means a state in which they are free to deliberate. 'And I will look to the right or to the left' means reciprocal freedom. 'And Laban answered, then Bethuel, and they said, From Jehovah has this thing come; we cannot speak to you bad or good' means acknowledgement that it was the Lord's alone. 'Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be your master's son's wife, as Jehovah has spoken' means consent inspired from the Lord.

Like "say," the word "speak" refers to thoughts and feelings moving from our more internal spiritual levels to our more external ones -- and ultimately from the Lord, who is in a sense the most internal spiritual level of all. This is generally called "influx" and "perception" in the Writings, meaning they are thoughts and feelings that flow in in a complete way from the Lord, rather than being things we have to think about and figure out. On a number of occasions "speak" and "say" are used together; in these cases "speak" refers more to intellectual instruction in matters of thought and "say" refers more to feelings and affections that flow in directly.