Genesis 30
1 And Rachel, seeing herself without children, envied her sister, and said to her husband: Give me children, otherwise I shall die.
When Rachel realized she was unable to give Jacob any children she was jealous of her sister. She complained to Jacob, “I'll die if you don't give me children!”
2 And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb?
Jacob became angry with Rachel and told her, “Am I God? Do you think I'm the one stopping you having children?”
3 But she said: I have here my servant Bala: go in unto her, that she may bear upon my knees, and I may have children by her.
“Here's my personal maid Bilhah,” Rachel replied. “Sleep with her and she can have children for me so I'll have a family too.”
4 And she gave him Bala in marriage: who,
She gave her personal maid Bilhah to him as a wife and Jacob slept with her.
5 When her husband had gone in unto her, conceived and bore a son.
Bilhah became pregnant and had a son for Jacob.
6 And Rachel said: The Lord hath judged for me, and hath heard my voice, giving me a son, and therefore she called his name Dan.
Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor! He listened to me and gave me a son.” So she named him Dan.
7 And again Bala conceived and bore another,
Rachel's personal maid Bilhah became pregnant again and had second son for Jacob.
8 For whom Rachel said: God hath compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called him Nephtali.
Rachel said, “I've had a hard struggle with my sister, but I've won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 Lia, perceiving that she had left off bearing, gave Zelpha her handmaid to her husband.
Leah realized she wasn't having any more children, so she gave her personal maid Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.
10 And when she had conceived and brought forth a son,
Zilpah had a son for Jacob.
11 She said: Happily. And therefore called his name Gad.
Leah said, “I'm really fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
12 Zelpha also bore another.
Leah's personal maid Zilpah became pregnant again and had a second son for Jacob.
13 And Lia said: This is for my happiness: for women will call me blessed. Therefore she called him Aser.
Leah said, “I'm so happy, and the other women will say I'm happy too!” So she named him Asher.
14 And Ruben, going out in the time of the wheat harvest into the field, found mandrakes: which he brought to his mother Lia. And Rachel said: Give me part of thy son’s mandrakes.
At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben found some mandrake plants when he was out in the fields. He took them back to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah, “Please give me some of the mandrakes your son found.”
15 She answered: Dost thou think it a small matter, that thou hast taken my husband from me, unless thou take also my son’s mandrakes? Rachel said: He shall sleep with thee this night, for thy son’s mandrakes.
“Aren't you satisfied with stealing my husband?” Leah replied. “Are you going to take my son's mandrakes too?” “Fine, he can sleep with you tonight if you give me some mandrakes in return,” Rachel responded.
16 And when Jacob returned at even from the field, Lia went out to meet him, and said: Thou shalt come in unto me, because I have hired thee for my son’s mandrakes. And he slept with her that night.
When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You have to sleep with me because I've paid for you with my son's mandrakes,” she told him. So he slept with her that night.
17 And God heard her prayers: and she conceived and bore the fifth son,
God heard Leah's request, and she became pregnant and had a fifth son for Jacob.
18 And said: God hath given me a reward, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.
Leah said, “The Lord has rewarded me for giving my personal maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19 And Lia conceived again, and bore the sixth son,
Then Leah became pregnant again and had a sixth son for Jacob.
20 And said: God hath endowed me with a good dowry: this turn also my husband will be with me, because I have borne him six sons: and therefore she called his name Zabulon.
Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I've given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
21 After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina.
Later she had a daughter she named Dinah.
22 The Lord also remembering Rachel, heard her, and opened her womb.
Then God paid attention to Rachel and listened to her appeals, and helped her to have children.
23 And she conceived, and bore a son, saying: God hath taken away my reproach.
She became pregnant and had a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said.
24 And she called his name Joseph, saying: The Lord give me also another son.
She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me an additional son.”
25 And when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father in law: Send me away that I may return into my country, and to my land.
Once Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me leave so I can return to my home and my own country.
26 Give me my wives, and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart: thou knowest the service that I have rendered thee.
Give me my wives and children because I worked for you to have them. Let me go now because you know very well how much work I've done for you.”
27 Laban said to him: Let me find favour in thy sight: I have learned by experience, that God hath blessed me for thy sake.
“Please be so kind as to stay,” Laban replied, “because I have discovered that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”
28 Appoint thy wages which I shall give thee.
Then Laban continued, “Tell me how much to pay you and I'll give it to you.”
29 But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession hath been in my hands.
“You certainly know how much work I've done for you, and how well your flocks have done under my care.
30 Thou hadst but little before I came to thee, and now thou art become rich: and the Lord hath blessed thee at my coming. It is reasonable therefore that I should now provide also for my own house.
You hardly had anything before I arrived, but now you have so much! The Lord has blessed you through what I've done. When am I going to be able to provide for my own family?”
31 And Laban said: What shall I give thee? But he said: I require nothing: but if thou wilt do what I demand, I will feed, and keep thy sheep again.
“Well, what do you propose I give you?” Laban asked again. “You don't have to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you want to do something for me, then how about this: I'll go on looking after your flocks, making sure they're fed.
32 Go round through all thy flocks, and separate all the sheep of divers colours, and speckled: and all that is brown and spotted, and of divers colours, as well among the sheep, as among the goats, shall be my wages.
Let me go through your flocks today and take all the sheep that are speckled or spotted, and all the dark ones, as well as all the speckled and spotted goats. They'll be my wages.
33 And my justice shall answer for me tomorrow before thee when the time of the bargain shall come: and all that is not of divers colours, and spotted, and brown, as well among the sheep as among the goats, shall accuse me of theft.
In the future you'll be able to prove that I've been honest. When you check my flock, any goats that don't have speckles or spots, or any sheep that aren't dark will be considered stolen from you.”
34 And Laban said: I like well what thou demandest.
“Very good,” Laban agreed. “We'll do as you say.”
35 And he separated the same day the she goats, and the sheep, and the he goats, and the rams of divers colours, and spotted: and all the flock of one colour, that is, of white and black fleece, he delivered into the hands of his sons.
However, the same day Laban went and removed all the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats, and all the dark sheep. He had his sons look after them and sent them away—
36 And he set the space of three days’ journey betwixt himself and his son in law, who fed the rest of his flock.
a three day journey between them and Jacob, while Jacob was looking after the rest of Laban's flocks.
37 And Jacob took green rods of poplar, and of almond, and of plane trees, and pilled them in part: so when the bark was taken off, in the parts that were pilled, there appeared whiteness: but the parts that were whole remained green: and by this means the colour was divers.
Then Jacob cut some sticks from poplar, almond, and plane trees that had white wood under the bark. He peeled off some of the bark, making the sticks look streaked with white.
38 And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured out: that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might conceive.
He put the sticks he'd peeled in the water troughs where the flocks came to drink because that's where they mated.
39 And it came to pass that in the very heat of coition, the sheep beheld the rods, and brought forth spotted, and of divers colours, and speckled.
The flocks mated in front of the sticks and gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.
40 And Jacob separated the flock, and put the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the rams: and all the white and the black were Laban’s: and the rest were Jacob’s, when the flocks were separated one from the other.
Jacob separated all these ones out. Then he made his flock face towards those in Laban's flock that were streaked and dark. This is the way he kept his flocks apart from Laban's flock.
41 So when the ewes went first to ram, Jacob put the rods in the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams, and of the ewes, that they might conceive while they were looking upon them:
When the strong females were ready to breed, Jacob put the sticks in the troughs where the flocks could see them when they mated.
42 But when the latter coming was, and the last conceiving, he did not put them. And those that were lateward, became Laban’s: and they of the first time, Jacob’s.
He didn't do this for the weaker females. The weaker ones went to Laban, and the strong ones went to Jacob.
43 And the man was enriched exceedingly, and he had many flocks, maid servants and men servants, camels and asses.
In this way Jacob became an extremely rich man with large flocks, and many male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.
