Genesis 30

1 And Rachel, seeing herself without children, envied her sister, and said to her husband: Give me children, otherwise I shall die.

And when Rahel saw that she bare Iaakob no children, Rahel enuied her sister, and said vnto Iaakob, Giue me children, or els I dye.

2 And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb?

Then Iaakobs anger was kindled against Rahel, and he sayde, Am I in Gods steade, which hath withholden from thee the fruite of the wombe?

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.

And she said, Behold my maide Bilhah, goe in to her, and she shall beare vpon my knees, and I shall haue children also by her.

4 And she gave him Bala in marriage: who,

Then shee gaue him Bilhah her mayde to wife, and Iaakob went in to her.

5 When her husband had gone in unto her, conceived and bore a son.

So Bilhah conceiued and bare Iaakob a sonne.

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.

Then said Rahel, God hath giuen sentence on my side, and hath also heard my voyce, and hath giuen mee a sonne: therefore called shee his name, Dan.

7 And again Bala conceived and bore another,

And Bilhah Rahels maide coceiued againe, and bare Iaakob the second sonne.

8 For whom Rachel said: God hath compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called him Nephtali.

Then Rahel said, with excellent wrestlings haue I wrestled with my sister, and haue gotten the vpper hande: and shee called his name, Naphtali.

9 Lia, perceiving that she had left off bearing, gave Zelpha her handmaid to her husband.

And when Leah saw that she had left bearing, shee tooke Zilpah her mayde, and gaue her Iaakob to wife.

10 And when she had conceived and brought forth a son,

And Zilpah Leahs mayde bare Iaakob a sonne.

11 She said: Happily. And therefore called his name Gad.

Then sayd Leah, A companie commeth: and she called his name, Gad.

12 Zelpha also bore another.

Againe Zilpah Leahs mayde bare Iaakob another sonne.

13 And Lia said: This is for my happiness: for women will call me blessed. Therefore she called him Aser.

Then sayde Leah, Ah, blessed am I, for the daughters will blesse me. and she called his name, 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.

Nowe Reuben went in the dayes of the wheateharuest, and founde mandrakes in the fielde and brought them vnto his mother Leah. Then sayde Rahel to Leah, Giue me, I pray thee, of thy sonnes mandrakes.

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.

But shee answered her, Is it a small matter for thee to take mine husband, except thou take my sonnes mandrakes also? Then sayde Rahel, Therefore he shall sleepe with thee this night for thy sonnes mandrakes.

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.

And Iaakob came from the fielde in the euening, and Leah went out to meete him, and sayde, Come in to mee, for I haue bought and payed for thee with my sonnes mandrakes: and he slept with her that night.

17 And God heard her prayers: and she conceived and bore the fifth son,

And God heard Leah and shee conceiued, and bare vnto Iaakob the fift sonne.

18 And said: God hath given me a reward, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.

Then said Leah, God hath giuen me my reward, because I gaue my mayde to my husband, and she called his name Issachar.

19 And Lia conceived again, and bore the sixth son,

After, Leah conceiued againe, and bare Iaakob the sixt sonne.

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.

Then Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowrie: nowe will mine husband dwell with me, because I haue borne him sixe sonnes: and she called his name Zebulun.

21 After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina.

After that, shee bare a daughter, and shee called her name Dinah.

22 The Lord also remembering Rachel, heard her, and opened her womb.

And God remembred Rahel, and God heard her, and opened her wombe.

23 And she conceived, and bore a son, saying: God hath taken away my reproach.

So she conceiued and bare a sonne, and said, God hath taken away my rebuke.

24 And she called his name Joseph, saying: The Lord give me also another son.

And shee called his name Ioseph, saying, The Lord wil giue me yet another sonne.

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.

And assoone as Rahel had borne Ioseph, Iaakob said to Laban, Sende me away that I may go vnto my place and to my countrey.

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.

Giue me my wiues and my children, for whom I haue serued thee, and let me go: for thou knowest what seruice I haue done thee.

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.

To whom Laban answered, If I haue nowe found fauour in thy sight tarie: I haue perceiued that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.

28 Appoint thy wages which I shall give thee.

Also he said, Appoynt vnto me thy wages, and I will giue it thee.

29 But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession hath been in my hands.

But he sayd vnto him, Thou knowest, what seruice I haue done thee, and in what taking thy cattell hath bene vnder me.

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.

For the litle, that thou haddest before I came, is increased into a multitude: and the Lord hath blessed thee by my comming: but nowe when shall I trauell for mine owne house also?

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.

Then he saide, What shall I giue thee? And Iaakob answered, Thou shalt giue mee nothing at all: if thou wilt doe this thing for mee, I will returne, feede, and keepe thy sheepe.

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.

I wil passe through all thy flockes this day, and separate from them all the sheepe with litle spots and great spots, and al blacke lambes among the sheepe, and the great spotted, and litle spotted among the goates: and it shalbe 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.

So shall my righteousnesse answere for me hereafter, when it shall come for my rewarde before thy face, and euery one that hath not litle or great spots among the goates, and blacke among the sheepe, the same shalbe theft with me.

34 And Laban said: I like well what thou demandest.

Then Laban sayde, Goe to, woulde God it might be according to thy saying.

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.

Therefore he tooke out the same day the hee goates that were partie coloured and with great spots, and all the shee goates with litle and great spots, and all that had white in them, and all the blacke among the sheepe, and put them in the keeping of his sonnes.

36 And he set the space of three days’ journey betwixt himself and his son in law, who fed the rest of his flock.

And hee set three dayes iourney betweene himselfe and Iaakob. And Iaakob kept the rest of Labans sheepe.

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 Iaakob tooke rods of greene popular, and of hasell, and of the chesnut tree, and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appeare in the rods.

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.

Then he put the rods, which he had pilled, in the gutters and watering troughes, when the sheepe came to drink, before the sheepe. (for they were in heate, when they came to drinke)

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.

And the sheepe were in heate before the rods, and afterward brought forth yong of partie colour, and with small and great spots.

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.

And Iaakob parted these lambes, and turned the faces of the flocke towardes these lambes partie coloured and all maner of blacke, among the sheepe of Laban: so hee put his owne flockes by themselues, and put them not with Labans flocke.

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:

And in euery ramming time of the stronger sheepe, Iaakob layde the rods before the eyes of the sheepe in the gutters, that they might conceiue before the rods.

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.

But when the sheepe were feeble, hee put them not in: and so the feebler were Labans, and the stronger Iaakobs.

43 And the man was enriched exceedingly, and he had many flocks, maid servants and men servants, camels and asses.

So the man increased exceedingly, and had many flockes, and maide seruantes, and men seruants, and camels and asses.