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 Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

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

And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

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 maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

4 And she gave him Bala in marriage: who,

And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

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

And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

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.

And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.

7 And again Bala conceived and bore another,

And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

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

And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

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

When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.

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

And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.

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

And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.

12 Zelpha also bore another.

And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.

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

And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: 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.

And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s 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.

And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s 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 Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

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

And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.

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

And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

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

And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.

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.

And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

21 After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina.

And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

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

And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

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

And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

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

And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another 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.

And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my 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 my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have 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.

And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.

28 Appoint thy wages which I shall give thee.

And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

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

And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with 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 it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own 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.

And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:

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 will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

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 righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

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

And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.

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.

And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

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 he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed 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.

And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was 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.

And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

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 flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, 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.

And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle.

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 it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among 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 cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

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

And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.