< Genesis 30 >

1 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.
Forsothe Rachel seiy, that sche was vnfruytful, and hadde enuye to the sister, and seide to hir hosebonde, Yyue thou fre children to me, ellis Y schal die.
2 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?
To whom Jacob was wrooth, and answerde, Wher Y am for God, which haue priued thee fro the fruyt of thi wombe?
3 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.
And sche seide, Y haue `a seruauntesse Bala, entre thou to hir that she childe on my knees, and that Y haue sones of hir.
4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
And sche yaf to hym Bala in to matrimony;
5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
and whanne the hosebonde hadde entrid to hir, sche conseyuede, and childide a sone.
6 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.
And Rachel seide, the Lord demede to me, and herde my preier, and yaf a sone to me; and therfor sche clepide his name Dan.
7 And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
And eft Bala conseyuede, and childide anothir sone,
8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
for whom Rachel seide, The Lord hath maad me lijk to my sistir, and Y wexide strong; and sche clepide hym Neptalym.
9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
Lya feelide that sche ceesside to bere child, and sche yaf Selfa, hir handmayde, to the hosebonde.
10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.
And whanne Selfa aftir conseyuyng childide a sone, Lya seide, Blessidly;
11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
and therfor sche clepide his name Gad.
12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son.
Also Selfa childide anothir sone,
13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
and Lia seide, This is for my blis, for alle wymmen schulen seie me blessid; therfor sche clepide hym Aser.
14 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.
Forsothe Ruben yede out in to the feeld in the tyme of wheete heruest, and foond mandragis, whiche he brouyte to Lya, his modir. And Rachel seide, Yyue thou to me a part of the mandragis of thi sone.
15 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.
Lya answeride, Whether it semeth litil to thee, that thou hast rauyschid the hosebonde fro me, no but thou take also the mandragis of my sone? Rachel seide, The hosebonde sleepe with thee in this nyyt for the mandragis of thi sone.
16 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.
And whanne Jacob cam ayen fro the feeld at euentid, Lya yede out in to his comyng, and seide, Thou shalt entre to me, for Y haue hired thee with hire for the mandragis of my sone. He slepte with hir in that nyyt;
17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
and God herde hir preiers, and sche conseyuede, and childide the fyuethe sone;
18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
and seide, God yaf meede to me, for Y yaf myn handmayde to myn hosebond; and sche clepide his name Isacar.
19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
Eft Lia conseyuede, and childide the sixte sone,
20 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.
and seide, The Lord hath maad me riche with a good dower, also in this tyme myn hosebonde schal be with me, for Y childide sixe sones to hym; and therfore sche clepide his name Sabulon.
21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
Aftir whom sche childide a douyter, Dyna bi name.
22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
Also the Lord hadde mynde on Rachel, and herde hir, and openyde hir wombe.
23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
And sche conseyuede, and childide a sone, and seide, God hath take a wey my schenschipe; and sche clepid his name Joseph,
24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
and seide, The Lord yyue to me another sone.
25 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.
Sotheli whanne Joseph was borun, Jacob seide to his wyues fadir, Delyuere thou me, that Y turne ayen in to my cuntrey and to my lond.
26 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.
Yyue thou to me my wyues and fre children for whiche Y seruede thee, that Y go; forsothe thou knowist the seruyce bi which Y seruede thee.
27 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.
Laban seide to hym, Fynde Y grace in thi siyt, Y haue lerned bi experience that God blesside me for thee;
28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give [it].
ordeyne thou the meede which Y schal yyue to thee.
29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
And he answeride, Thou woost hou Y seruede thee, and hou greet thi possessioun was in myn hondis;
30 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?
thou haddist litil bifore that Y cam to thee, and now thou art maad riche, and the Lord blesside thee at myn entryng; therfor it is iust that Y purueye sum tyme also to myn hows.
31 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:
And Laban seide, What schal Y yyue to thee? And Jacob seide, Y wole no thing but if thou doist that that Y axe, eft Y schal fede and kepe thi scheep.
32 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.
Cumpasse thou alle thi flockis, and departe thou alle diuerse scheep and of spottid flees, and what euer thing schal be dun, and spottid, and dyuerse, as wel in scheep as in geet, it schal be my mede.
33 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.
And my riytfulnesse schal answere to me to morewe, whanne the tyme of couenaunt schal come bifor thee; and alle that ben not dyuerse and spottid and dunne, as well in sheep as in geet, schulen repreue me of thefte.
34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
And Laban seide, Y haue acceptable that that thou axist.
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.
And he departide in that dai the geet, and scheep, geet buckis, and rammes, dyuerse and spottid. Sothely he bitook al the flok of o coloure, that is, of white and of blak flees in the hond of hise sones;
36 And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
and he settide the space of weie of thre daies bitwixe hise sones and the hosebonde of hise douytris, that fedde othere flockis` of hym.
37 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.
Therfor Jacob took greene yerdis of popeleris, and of almoundis, and of planes, and in parti dide awei the rynde of tho, and whanne the ryndis weren `drawun a wei, whitnesse apperide in these that weren maad bare; sothely tho that weren hoole dwelliden grene, and bi this maner the coloure was maad dyuerse.
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.
And Jacob puttide tho yerdis in the trowis, where the watir was held out, that whanne the flockis schulden come to drynke, thei schulden haue the yerdis bifor the iyen, and schulden conseyue in the siyt of the yerdis.
39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
And it was doon that in thilke heete of riding the sheep schulde biholde the yerdis, and that thei schulden brynge forth spotti beestis, and dyuerse, and bispreynt with dyuerse colour.
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 unto Laban’s cattle.
And Jacob departide the floc, and puttide the yerdis in the trowis bifor the iyen of the rammys. Sotheli alle the white and blake weren Labans; sotheli the othere weren Jacobis; for the flockis weren departid bytwixe hem silf.
41 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.
Therfor whanne the scheep weren ridun in the firste tyme, Jacob puttide the yerdis in the `trouyis of watir bifor the iyen of rammys and of scheep, that thei schulden conseyue in the siyt of tho yerdis.
42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put [them] not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
Forsothe whanne the late medlyng and the laste conseyuyng weren, Jacob puttide not tho yerdis; and tho that weren late, weren maad Labans, and tho that weren of the firste tyme weren Jacobis.
43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
And he was maad ful riche, and hadde many flockis, handmaydis, and seruauntis, camels, and assis.

< Genesis 30 >