Genesis 30

1 And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I 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’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?

Jacob became angry with Rachel and told her, “Am I God? Do you think I'm the one stopping you having children?”

3 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in to her; and she shall bear on my knees, that I may also 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 Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in to her.

She gave her personal maid Bilhah to him as a wife and Jacob slept with her.

5 And Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son.

Bilhah became pregnant and had a son for Jacob.

6 And Rachel said, God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son: therefore called she 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 Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son.

Rachel's personal maid Bilhah became pregnant again and had second son for Jacob.

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

Rachel said, “I've had a hard struggle with my sister, but I've won.” So she named him Naphtali.

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

Leah realized she wasn't having any more children, so she gave her personal maid Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bore Jacob a son.

Zilpah had a son for Jacob.

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

Leah said, “I'm really fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bore Jacob a second son.

Leah's personal maid Zilpah became pregnant again and had a second son for Jacob.

13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

Leah said, “I'm so happy, and the other women will say I'm happy too!” So she named him Asher.

14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray you, of your 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 And she said to her, Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? and would you take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with you to night for your 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 Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, You must come in to me; for surely I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay 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 listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob the fifth son.

God heard Leah's request, and she became pregnant and had a fifth son for Jacob.

18 And Leah said, God has given me my hire, because I have given my maiden 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 Leah conceived again, and bore Jacob the sixth son.

Then Leah became pregnant again and had a sixth son for Jacob.

20 And Leah said, God has 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.

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

Later she had a daughter she named Dinah.

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God listened to 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; and said, God has 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; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.

She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me an additional son.”

25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country.

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 you, and let me go: for you know my service which I have done you.

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 And Laban said to him, I pray you, if I have found favor in your eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.

“Please be so kind as to stay,” Laban replied, “because I have discovered that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”

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

Then Laban continued, “Tell me how much to pay you and I'll give it to you.”

29 And he said to him, You know how I have served you, and how your cattle was with me.

“You certainly know how much work I've done for you, and how well your flocks have done under my care.

30 For it was little which you had before I came, and it is now increased to a multitude; and the LORD has blessed you since my coming: and now when shall I provide for my own house also?

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 he said, What shall I give you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me any thing: if you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flock.

“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 I will pass through all your flock to day, removing from there 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.

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

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, Behold, I would it might be according to your word.

“Very good,” Laban agreed. “We'll do as you say.”

35 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.

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 three days’ journey between himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

a three day journey between them and Jacob, while Jacob was looking after the rest of Laban's flocks.

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

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 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.

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

The flocks mated in front of the sticks and gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

40 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 to Laban’s cattle.

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 And it came to pass, whenever 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.

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 cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger 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 increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

In this way Jacob became an extremely rich man with large flocks, and many male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.