Genesis 30

1 And Rachel sees that she has not borne to Jacob, and Rachel is envious of her sister, and says to Jacob, “Give me sons, and if there is none—I die.”

When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.

2 And Jacob’s anger burns against Rachel, and he says, “Am I in stead of God who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”

3 And she says, “Behold, my handmaid Bilhah, go in to her, and she bears on my knees, and I am built up, even I, from her”;

Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”

4 and she gives Bilhah her maidservant to him for a wife, and Jacob goes in to her;

So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,

5 and Bilhah conceives, and bears a son to Jacob,

and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.

6 and Rachel says, “God has decided for me, and has also listened to my voice, and gives a son to me”; therefore she has called his name Dan.

Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.

7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, conceives again, and bears a second son to Jacob,

And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8 and Rachel says, “With wrestlings of God I have wrestled with my sister, indeed, I have prevailed”; and she calls his name Napthali.

Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.

9 And Leah sees that she has ceased from bearing, and she takes Zilpah her maidservant, and gives her to Jacob for a wife;

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

10 and Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bears a son to Jacob,

And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11 and Leah says, “A troop is coming”; and she calls his name Gad.

Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

12 And Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bears a second son to Jacob,

When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,

13 and Leah says, “Because of my happiness, for daughters have pronounced me blessed”; and she calls his name Asher.

Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

14 And Reuben goes in the days of wheat-harvest, and finds love-apples in the field, and brings them to his mother Leah, and Rachel says to Leah, “Please give to me of the love-apples of your son.”

Now during the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 And she says to her, “Is your taking my husband a little thing, that you have also taken the love-apples of my son?” And Rachel says, “He therefore lies with you tonight, for your son’s love-apples.”

But Leah replied, “Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son’s mandrakes as well?” “Very well,” said Rachel, “he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 And Jacob comes in from the field at evening; and Leah goes to meet him and says, “You come in to me, for [in] hiring I have hired you with my son’s love-apples”; and he lies with her during that night.

When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.

17 And God listens to Leah, and she conceives, and bears a son to Jacob, a fifth,

And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

18 and Leah says, “God has given my hire, because I have given my maidservant to my husband”; and she calls his name Issachar.

Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

19 And Leah conceives again, and she bears a sixth son to Jacob,

Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

20 and Leah says, “God has endowed me—a good dowry; this time my husband dwells with me, for I have borne six sons to him”; and she calls his name Zebulun;

“God has given me a good gift,” she said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun.

21 and afterward she has borne a daughter, and calls her name Dinah.

After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 And God remembers Rachel, and God listens to her, and opens her womb,

Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,

23 and she conceives and bears a son, and says, “God has gathered up my reproach”;

and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.

24 and she calls his name Joseph, saying, “YHWH is adding to me another son.”

She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”

25 And it comes to pass, when Rachel has borne Joseph, that Jacob says to Laban, “Send me away, and I go to my place, and to my land;

Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.

26 give up my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and I go; for you have known my service which I have served you.”

Give me my wives and children for whom I have served you, that I may go on my way. You know how hard I have worked for you.”

27 And Laban says to him, “Now if I have found grace in your eyes—I have observed diligently that YHWH blesses me for your sake.”

But Laban replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”

28 He also says, “Define your hire to me, and I give.”

And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

29 And he says to him, “You have known that which I have served you [in], and that which your substance was with me;

Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care.

30 for [it is] little which you have had at my appearance, and it breaks forth into a multitude, and YHWH blesses you at my coming; and now, when do I make, I also, for my own house?”

Indeed, you had very little before my arrival, but now your wealth has increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I set foot. But now, when may I also provide for my own household?”

31 And he says, “What do I give to you?” And Jacob says, “You do not give me anything; if you do this thing for me, I turn back; I have delight; I watch your flock;

“What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks.

32 I pass through all your flock today to turn aside every speckled and spotted sheep from there, and every brown sheep among the lambs, and speckled and spotted among the goats—and it has been my hire;

Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages.

33 and my righteousness has answered for me in the day to come, when it comes in for my hire before your face—everyone which is not speckled and spotted among [my] goats, and brown among [my] lambs—it is stolen with me.”

So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.”

34 And Laban says, “Behold, O that it were according to your word”;

“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

35 and he turns aside during that day the striped and the spotted male goats, and all the speckled and the spotted female goats, everyone that [has] white in it, and every brown one among the lambs, and he gives into the hand of his sons,

That very day Laban removed all the streaked or spotted male goats and every speckled or spotted female goat—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored lamb, and he placed them under the care of his sons.

36 and sets a journey of three days between himself and Jacob; and Jacob is feeding the rest of the flock of Laban.

Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 And Jacob takes to himself a rod of fresh poplar and almond and plane-tree, and peels in them white peelings, making bare the white that [is] on the rods,

Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

38 and sets up the rods which he has peeled in the gutters in the watering troughs (where the flock comes to drink), in front of the flock, that they may conceive in their coming to drink;

Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink,

39 and the flocks conceive at the rods, and the flock bears striped, speckled, and spotted ones.

they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.

40 And Jacob has parted the lambs, and he puts the face of the flock toward the striped, also all the brown in the flock of Laban, and he sets his own droves by themselves, and has not set them near Laban’s flock.

Jacob set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laban’s animals.

41 And it has come to pass, whenever the strong ones of the flock conceive, that Jacob sets the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, to cause them to conceive by the rods,

Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches.

42 and when the flock is feeble, he does not set [them]; and the feeble ones have been Laban’s, and the strong ones Jacob’s.

But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.

43 And the man increases very exceedingly, and has many flocks, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and donkeys.

Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.