Genesis 29
1 Toen begaf Jakob zich weer op weg, en ging naar het land der Oosterlingen.
Jacob continued on the road [MTY], and he arrived at the land that was east of Canaan.
2 Daar zag hij in het veld een put, waarbij drie kudden schapen waren gelegerd; want uit die put werden de kudden gedrenkt. Daar de steen, die de put bedekte, groot was,
There he [was surprised to] see a well in a field, and three flocks of sheep were lying near the well. It was the well from which shepherds habitually got water for their sheep. There was a large stone covering the top of the well.
3 rolde men eerst de steen van de opening van de put, als alle kudden daar waren verzameld; en als men de kudden had laten drinken, wentelde men de steen weer op zijn plaats, op de opening van de put.
When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would work together to roll the stone away from the top of the well and get water for the sheep. When they finished doing that, they would put the stone back in its place over the top of the well.
4 Jakob sprak hen aan: Broeders, waar komt gij vandaan? Zij antwoordden: Wij zijn van Charan.
[On that day], Jacob asked the shepherds who were sitting there, “Where are you from?” They replied, “We are from Haran.”
5 Hij vervolgde: Kent gij dan Laban, den zoon van Nachor? Zij zeiden: Ja!
He asked them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” They replied, “Yes, we know him.”
6 Hij vroeg hun: Gaat het hem goed? Ze zeiden: Uitstekend; zie, daar komt juist zijn dochter Rachel aan met de kudde.
Jacob asked them, “Is Laban well?” They replied, “Yes, he is well. Look! Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!”
7 Toen hernam hij: Het is nog volop dag, en nog lang geen tijd, om de kudden bijeen te drijven; geeft dus de kudden te drinken, en laat ze nog grazen.
Jacob said, “Hey! The sun is still high in the sky. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered for nighttime. Give the sheep some water and then take them back to (graze/eat grass) in the pastures!”
8 Ze zeiden: Dat kunnen we niet, voordat alle kudden bijeen zijn; dan wordt de steen van de put gewenteld, en kunnen we het vee te drinken geven.
They replied, “No, we cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered here and the stone is removed from the top of the well. After that, we will give water to the sheep.”
9 Nog was hij met hen in gesprek, toen Rachel naderde met de kudde van haar vader; want zij was een herderin.
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. She was the one who took care of her father’s sheep.
10 Zodra Jakob Rachel, de dochter van zijn oom Laban, met de kudde van zijn oom Laban zag, trad hij vooruit, om de steen van de putopening te wentelen en de kudde van zijn oom Laban te drenken.
When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, who was his mother’s brother, [Jacob was so excited that] he went over and [by himself] rolled away the stone that covered the top of the well, and he got water for his uncle’s sheep.
11 Daarop kuste Jakob Rachel, en weende hardop.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel [on the cheek], and he cried loudly [because he was so happy].
12 En toen Jakob Rachel had meegedeeld, dat hij de neef van haar vader was en de zoon van Rebekka, ging Rachel het vlug aan haar vader vertellen.
Jacob told Rachel that he was one of her father’s relatives, the son of her aunt Rebekah. So she ran and told that to her father.
13 Zodra Laban het nieuws over Jakob, den zoon van zijn zuster, vernam, liep hij hem tegemoet, omhelsde en kuste hem, en leidde hem zijn huis binnen. Daar vertelde hij Laban al wat er gebeurd was.
As soon as Laban heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, was there, he ran to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him [on the cheek]. Then he brought him to his home, and Jacob told him all that had happened to him.
14 En Laban zeide hem: Waarachtig, gij zijt mijn gebeente en vlees! En hij bleef een volle maand bij hem.
Then Laban said to him, “Truly, you are part of my family!” After Jacob had stayed there and worked for Laban for a month,
15 Daarna zei Laban tot Jakob: Zoudt ge, omdat ge mijn broeder zijt, mij dienen om niet? Zeg me, wat voor loon ge wilt hebben.
Laban said to him “(You should not work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine!/Why should you work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine?) [RHQ] Tell me how much you want me to pay you.”
16 Nu had Laban twee dochters: de oudste heette Lea, de jongste Rachel;
Well, Laban had two daughters. The older one was named Leah, and the younger one was named Rachel.
17 Lea had fletse ogen, maar Rachel was kloek van gestalte en knap van uiterlijk.
Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel had a very attractive figure and was beautiful.
18 En daar Jakob Rachel beminde, gaf hij ten antwoord: Ik zal u zeven jaar dienen voor Rachel, uw jongste dochter.
Jacob (was in love with/wanted very much to be married to) Rachel, and he said, “I will work for you for seven years. That will be my payment for your letting me marry your younger daughter, Rachel.”
19 En Laban antwoordde: Ik geef ze liever aan u dan aan een vreemde; blijf dus bij mij.
Laban replied, “It is better for me to let you marry her than for her to marry some other man!”
20 Zo diende Jakob om Rachel zeven jaar lang; doch ze leken hem maar enkele dagen, zoveel hield hij van haar.
So Jacob worked for Laban for seven years to get Rachel, but to him it seemed like it was only a few days, because he loved her so much.
21 Toen zei Jakob tot Laban: Geef mij mijn vrouw; want mijn tijd is om, en ik wil gemeenschap met haar houden.
After the seven years were ended, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me marry Rachel now, because the time we agreed upon for me to work for you is ended, and I want to marry her. [EUP]”
22 Nu nodigde Laban alle mannen van de stad uit, en richtte een feestmaal aan.
So Laban gathered together all the people who lived in that area and made a feast.
23 Maar toen het avond was geworden, haalde hij zijn dochter Lea, en leidde haar tot hem; en hij hield gemeenschap met haar.
But that evening, instead of taking Rachel to Jacob, Laban took his older daughter, Leah, to him. But because it was already dark, he could not see that it was Leah and not Rachel, and he had sex [EUP] with her.
24 Laban gaf zijn dienstmaagd Zilpa mee als slavin voor zijn dochter Lea.
(Laban had already given his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid/servant.)
25 De volgende morgen: daar was het Lea! Nu zei hij tot Laban: Wat hebt ge me nu gedaan? Heb ik u niet om Rachel gediend? Waarom hebt ge me dan bedrogen?
The next morning, Jacob was shocked to see that it was Leah who was with him! So he went to Laban [and told him] very angrily, “(What you have done to me is disgusting!/What is this that you have done to me?) [RHQ] I worked for you to get Rachel, did I not? So why did you deceive me?”
26 Laban antwoordde: Het is hier in ons land geen gewoonte, om de jongste vóór de oudste uit te huwen.
Laban replied, “In this land, it is not our custom to give a younger daughter to be married before we let someone marry our firstborn daughter.
27 Breng dus eerst maar met deze de bruiloftsweek door, dan zal ik u ook de andere geven, als ge me opnieuw zeven jaren wilt dienen.
After we finish this week of celebration, we will let you marry the younger one also. But in return, you must pay for Rachel by working for me for another seven years.”
28 Jakob deed het, en bracht met haar de bruiloftsweek door. Toen gaf Laban hem zijn dochter Rachel tot vrouw.
So that is what Jacob did. After the week of celebration was ended, Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel, to be his wife.
29 Laban gaf aan zijn dochter Rachel zijn dienstmaagd Bilha als slavin mee.
Laban gave his slave girl, Bilhah, to Rachel to be her maid/servant.
30 Ook met Rachel had Jakob gemeenschap; en hij hield meer van haar dan van Lea. Zo diende hij hem opnieuw zeven jaren.
Jacob had sex [EUP] with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
31 Toen Jahweh zag, dat Lea achteruit werd gezet, opende Hij haar schoot, terwijl Rachel kinderloos bleef.
When Yahweh saw that Jacob did not love Leah [very much], he enabled her to become pregnant. But Rachel was not able to become pregnant.
32 Lea werd zwanger en baarde een zoon. Zij noemde hem Ruben, want ze zeide: Jahweh heeft mijn ellende gezien; nu zal mijn man van mij houden.
Leah gave birth to a son, whom she named Reuben, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘Look, a son]!’ She said, “Yahweh has seen that I was miserable, and because of that he has given me a son. Now, surely my husband will love me for giving birth to a son for him.”
33 Zij werd een tweede maal zwanger, en baarde een zoon. Nu sprak zij: Jahweh heeft gehoord, dat ik een verschoppeling ben, en heeft mij ook dezen gegeven. En ze noemde hem Simeon.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Because Yahweh has heard that my husband doesn’t love me, he has given me this son, too.” So she named him Simeon, [which means ‘someone who hears’].
34 Nog eens werd ze zwanger, en baarde een zoon. En ze sprak: Nu zal mijn man zich toch wel aan mij hechten; want ik heb hem al drie zonen gebaard. Daarom noemde zij hem Levi.
Later she became pregnant again, and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now, finally, my husband will hold me close to him.” So she named him Levi, [which means ‘hold close’].
35 Opnieuw werd ze zwanger en baarde een zoon. En ze sprak: Nu loof ik Jahweh! Daarom noemde zij hem Juda. Daarna kreeg zij een geen kinderen meer.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “(This time/Now) I will praise Yahweh.” So she called his name Judah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘praise’]. After that, she did not give birth to any more children [for several years].
