Genesis 29
1 And Jacob lifts up his feet, and goes toward the land of the sons of the east;
Then Jacob went on his journey till he came to the land of the children of the East.
2 and he looks, and behold, a well in the field, and behold, there [are] three droves of a flock crouching by it, for they water the droves from that well, and the great stone [is] on the mouth of the well.
And there he saw a water-hole in a field, and by the side of it three flocks of sheep, for there they got water for the sheep: and on the mouth of the water-hole there was a great stone.
3 (When all the droves have been gathered there, and they have rolled the stone from off the mouth of the well, and have watered the flock, then they have turned back the stone on the mouth of the well to its place.)
And all the flocks would come together there, and when the stone had been rolled away, they would give the sheep water, and put the stone back again in its place on the mouth of the water-hole.
4 And Jacob says to them, “My brothers, where [are] you from?” And they say, “We [are] from Haran.”
Then Jacob said to the herdmen, My brothers, where do you come from? And they said, From Haran.
5 And he says to them, “Have you known Laban, son of Nahor?” And they say, “We have known.”
And he said to them, Have you any knowledge of Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, We have.
6 And he says to them, “Does he have peace?” And they say, “Peace; and behold, his daughter Rachel is coming with the flock.”
And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.
7 And he says, “Behold, the day [is] still great, [it is] not time for the livestock to be gathered; water the flock, and go, delight yourselves.”
Then Jacob said, The sun is still high and it is not time to get the cattle together: get water for the sheep and go and give them their food.
8 And they say, “We are not able, until all the droves be gathered together, and they have rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and we have watered the flock.”
And they said, We are not able to do so till all the flocks have come together and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the water-hole; then we will get water for the sheep.
9 He is yet speaking with them, and Rachel has come with the flock which her father has, for she [is] shepherdess;
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she took care of them.
10 and it comes to pass, when Jacob has seen Rachel, daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the flock of his mother’s brother Laban, that Jacob comes near and rolls the stone from off the mouth of the well, and waters the flock of his mother’s brother Laban.
Then when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, coming with Laban's sheep, he came near, and rolling the stone away from the mouth of the hole, he got water for Laban's flock.
11 And Jacob kisses Rachel, and lifts up his voice, and weeps,
And weeping for joy, Jacob gave Rachel a kiss.
12 and Jacob declares to Rachel that he [is] her father’s brother, and that he [is] Rebekah’s son, and she runs and declares [it] to her father.
And Rachel, hearing from Jacob that he was her father's relation and that he was the son of Rebekah, went running to give her father news of it.
13 And it comes to pass, when Laban hears the report of his sister’s son Jacob, that he runs to meet him, and embraces him, and kisses him, and brings him into his house; and he recounts to Laban all these things,
And Laban, hearing news of Jacob, his sister's son, came running, and took Jacob in his arms, and kissing him, made him come into his house. And Jacob gave him news of everything.
14 and Laban says to him, “You [are] surely my bone and my flesh”; and he dwells with him a month of days.
And Laban said to him, Truly, you are my bone and my flesh. And he kept Jacob with him for the space of a month.
15 And Laban says to Jacob, “Is it because you [are] my brother that you have served me for nothing? Declare to me what your hire [is].”
Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my brother are you to be my servant for nothing? say now, what is your payment to be?
16 And Laban has two daughters, the name of the older [is] Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel,
Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
17 and the eyes of Leah [are] tender, and Rachel has been beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance.
And Leah's eyes were clouded, but Rachel was fair in face and form.
18 And Jacob loves Rachel and says, “I serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter”:
And Jacob was in love with Rachel; and he said, I will be your servant seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.
19 and Laban says, “It is better for me to give her to you than to give her to another man; dwell with me”;
And Laban said, It is better for you to have her than another man: go on living here with me.
20 and Jacob serves for Rachel seven years; and they are in his eyes as some days, because of his loving her.
And Jacob did seven years' work for Rachel; and because of his love for her it seemed to him only a very little time.
21 And Jacob says to Laban, “Give up my wife, for my days have been fulfilled, and I go in to her”;
Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife so that I may have her, for the days are ended.
22 and Laban gathers all the men of the place, and makes a banquet.
And Laban got together all the men of the place and gave a feast.
23 And it comes to pass in the evening, that he takes his daughter Leah, and brings her to him, and he goes in to her;
And in the evening he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him, and he went in to her.
24 and Laban gives his maidservant Zilpah to her, to his daughter Leah, [for] a maidservant.
And Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her waiting-woman.
25 And it comes to pass in the morning, that behold, it [is] Leah; and he says to Laban, “What [is] this you have done to me? Have I not served with you for Rachel? And why have you deceived me?”
And in the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What have you done to me? was I not working for you so that I might have Rachel? why have you been false to me?
26 And Laban says, “It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn;
And Laban said, In our country we do not let the younger daughter be married before the older.
27 fulfill the period of seven [for] this one, and we also give to you this one, for the service which you serve with me yet seven other years.”
Let the week of the bride-feast come to its end and then we will give you the other in addition, if you will be my servant for another seven years.
28 And Jacob does so, and fulfills the period of seven [for] this one, and he gives his daughter Rachel to him for a wife for him;
And Jacob did so; and when the week was ended, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel for his wife.
29 and Laban gives his maidservant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel for a maidservant for her.
And Laban gave Rachel his servant-girl Bilhah to be her waiting-woman.
30 And he also goes in to Rachel, and he also loves Rachel more than Leah; and he serves with him yet seven other years.
Then Jacob took Rachel as his wife, and his love for her was greater than his love for Leah; and he went on working for Laban for another seven years.
31 And YHWH sees that Leah [is] the hated one, and He opens her womb, and Rachel [is] barren;
Now the Lord, seeing that Leah was not loved, gave her a child; while Rachel had no children.
32 and Leah conceives, and bears a son, and calls his name Reuben, for she said, “Because YHWH has looked on my affliction; because now does my husband love me.”
And Leah was with child, and gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name Reuben: for she said, The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me.
33 And she conceives again, and bears a son, and says, “Because YHWH has heard that I [am] the hated one, He also gives to me even this [one]”; and she calls his name Simeon.
Then she became with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Because it has come to the Lord's ears that I am not loved, he has given me this son in addition: and she gave him the name Simeon.
34 And she conceives again and bears a son, and says, “Now [is] the time, my husband is joined to me, because I have born to him three sons,” therefore has [one] called his name Levi.
And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Now at last my husband will be united to me, because I have given him three sons: so he was named Levi.
35 And she conceives again and bears a son, and this time says, “I praise YHWH”; therefore has she called his name Judah; and she ceases from bearing.
And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son: and she said, This time I will give praise to the Lord: so he was named Judah; after this she had no more children for a time.
