Genesis 29
1 Then Jacob went on his journey till he came to the land of the children of the East.
And so Jacob, setting out, arrived in the eastern land.
2 And there he saw a water-hole in a field, and by the side of it three flocks of sheep, for there they got water for the sheep: and on the mouth of the water-hole there was a great stone.
And he saw a well in a field, and also three flocks of sheep reclining near it. For the animals were watered from it, and its mouth was closed with a great stone.
3 And all the flocks would come together there, and when the stone had been rolled away, they would give the sheep water, and put the stone back again in its place on the mouth of the water-hole.
And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered together, to roll away the stone. And when the flocks had been refreshed, they placed it over the mouth of the well again.
4 Then Jacob said to the herdmen, My brothers, where do you come from? And they said, From Haran.
And he said to the shepherds, “Brothers, where are you from?” And they answered. “From Haran.”
5 And he said to them, Have you any knowledge of Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, We have.
And questioning them, he said, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.”
6 And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.
He said, “Is he well?” “He is very well,” they said. “And behold, his daughter Rachel approaches with his flock.”
7 Then Jacob said, The sun is still high and it is not time to get the cattle together: get water for the sheep and go and give them their food.
And Jacob said, “There is still much daylight remaining, and it is not time to return the flocks to the sheepfold. Give the sheep to drink first, and then lead them back to pasture.”
8 And they said, We are not able to do so till all the flocks have come together and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the water-hole; then we will get water for the sheep.
They responded, “We cannot, until all the animals are gathered together and we remove the stone from the mouth of the well, so that we may water the flocks.”
9 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she took care of them.
They were still speaking, and behold, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep; for she pastured the flock.
10 Then when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, coming with Laban's sheep, he came near, and rolling the stone away from the mouth of the hole, he got water for Laban's flock.
When Jacob had seen her, and he realized that she was his maternal first cousin, and that these were the sheep of his uncle Laban, he removed the stone which closed the well.
11 And weeping for joy, Jacob gave Rachel a kiss.
And having watered the flock, he kissed her. And lifting up his voice, he wept.
12 And Rachel, hearing from Jacob that he was her father's relation and that he was the son of Rebekah, went running to give her father news of it.
And he revealed to her that he was a brother of her father, and the son of Rebekah. And so, hurrying, she announced it to her father.
13 And Laban, hearing news of Jacob, his sister's son, came running, and took Jacob in his arms, and kissing him, made him come into his house. And Jacob gave him news of everything.
And when he had heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, had arrived, he ran to meet him. And embracing him, and kissing him heartily, he brought him into his house. But when he had heard the reasons for his journey,
14 And Laban said to him, Truly, you are my bone and my flesh. And he kept Jacob with him for the space of a month.
he responded, “You are my bone and my flesh.” And after the days of one month were completed,
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my brother are you to be my servant for nothing? say now, what is your payment to be?
he said to him: “Though you are my brother, will you serve me for nothing? Tell me what wages you would accept.”
16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
In truth, he had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah; and truly the younger was called Rachel.
17 And Leah's eyes were clouded, but Rachel was fair in face and form.
But while Leah was bleary-eyed, Rachel had an elegant appearance and was attractive to behold.
18 And Jacob was in love with Rachel; and he said, I will be your servant seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.
And Jacob, loving her, said, “I will serve you for seven years, for your younger daughter Rachel.”
19 And Laban said, It is better for you to have her than another man: go on living here with me.
Laban responded, “It is better that I give her to you than to another man; remain with me.”
20 And Jacob did seven years' work for Rachel; and because of his love for her it seemed to him only a very little time.
Therefore, Jacob served for seven years for Rachel. And these seemed like only a few days, because of the greatness of love.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife so that I may have her, for the days are ended.
And he said to Laban, “Give my wife to me. For now the time has been fulfilled, so that I may go in to her.”
22 And Laban got together all the men of the place and gave a feast.
And he, having called a great crowd of his friends to the feast, agreed to the marriage.
23 And in the evening he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him, and he went in to her.
And at night, he brought in his daughter Leah to him,
24 And Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her waiting-woman.
giving his daughter a handmaid named Zilpah. After Jacob had gone in to her, according to custom, when morning had arrived, he saw Leah.
25 And in the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What have you done to me? was I not working for you so that I might have Rachel? why have you been false to me?
And he said to his father-in-law, “What is it that you intended to do? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?”
26 And Laban said, In our country we do not let the younger daughter be married before the older.
Laban responded, “It is not the practice in this place to give the younger in marriage first.
27 Let the week of the bride-feast come to its end and then we will give you the other in addition, if you will be my servant for another seven years.
Complete a week of days with this mating. And then I will give this one to you also, for the service that you will provide to me for another seven years.”
28 And Jacob did so; and when the week was ended, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel for his wife.
He agreed to his pleading. And after the week had passed, he took Rachel as a wife.
29 And Laban gave Rachel his servant-girl Bilhah to be her waiting-woman.
To her, the father had given Bilhah as her servant.
30 Then Jacob took Rachel as his wife, and his love for her was greater than his love for Leah; and he went on working for Laban for another seven years.
And, having at last obtained the marriage he desired, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and he served with him another seven years.
31 Now the Lord, seeing that Leah was not loved, gave her a child; while Rachel had no children.
But the Lord, seeing that he despised Leah, opened her womb, but her sister remained barren.
32 And Leah was with child, and gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name Reuben: for she said, The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me.
Having conceived, she gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, saying: “The Lord saw my humiliation; now my husband will love me.”
33 Then she became with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Because it has come to the Lord's ears that I am not loved, he has given me this son in addition: and she gave him the name Simeon.
And again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “Because the Lord heard that I was treated with contempt, he has also given this one to me.” And she called his name Simeon.
34 And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Now at last my husband will be united to me, because I have given him three sons: so he was named Levi.
And she conceived a third time, and she gave birth to another son, and she said: “Now likewise my husband will unite with me, because I have borne him three sons.” And because of this, she called his name Levi.
35 And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son: and she said, This time I will give praise to the Lord: so he was named Judah; after this she had no more children for a time.
A fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “Only now will I confess to the Lord.” And for this reason, she called him Judah. And she ceased from child-bearing.
