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.”

And Rachel having perceived that she bore Jacob no children, was jealous of her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children; and if not, I shall die.

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?”

And Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said to her, Am I in the place of God, who has deprived thee of the fruit of the womb?

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”;

And Rachel said to Jacob, Behold my handmaid Balla, go in to her, and she shall bear upon my knees, and I also shall have children by her.

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

And she gave him Balla her maid, for a wife to him; and Jacob went in to her.

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

And Balla, Rachel's maid, conceived, and bore Jacob 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.

And Rachel said, God has given judgment for me, and hearkened to my voice, and has given me a son; therefore she called his name, Dan.

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

And Balla, Rachel's maid, conceived yet again, and bore a second son to Jacob.

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

And Rachel said, God has helped me, and I contended with my sister and prevailed; and she called his name, Nephthalim.

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

And Lea saw that she ceased from bearing, and she took Zelpha her maid, and gave her to Jacob for a wife; and he went in to her.

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

And Zelpha the maid of Lea conceived, and bore Jacob a son.

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

And Lea said, [It is] happily: and she called his name, Gad.

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

And Zelpha the maid of Lea conceived yet again, and 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.

And Lea said, I am blessed, for the women will pronounce me blessed; and she called his name, Aser.

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.”

And Ruben went in the day of barley-harvest, and found apples of mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Lea; and Rachel said to Lea her sister, Give me of thy 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.”

And Lea said, [Is it] not enough for thee that thou hast taken my husband, wilt thou also take my son's mandrakes? And Rachel said, Not so: let him lie with thee to-night for thy 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.

And Jacob came in out of the field at even; and Lea went forth to meet him, and said, Thou shalt come in to me this day, for I have hired thee for my son's mandrakes; and he lay with her that night.

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

And God hearkened to Lea, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son.

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

And Lea said, God has given me my reward, because I gave my maid to my husband; and she called his name Issachar, which is, Reward.

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

And Lea conceived again, and bore Jacob a sixth son.

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;

And Lea said, God has given me a good gift in this time; my husband will choose me, for I have born him six sons: and she called his name, Zabulon.

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

And after this she bore a daughter; and she called her name, Dina.

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

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

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

And she conceived, and bore Jacob a son; and Rachel said, God has taken away my reproach.

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

And she called his name Joseph, saying, Let God 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;

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

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.”

Restore my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart, for thou knowest the service wherewith I have served thee.

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.”

And Laban said to him, If I have found grace in thy sight, I would augur [well], for the Lord has blessed me at thy coming in.

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

Appoint me thy wages, and I will give [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;

And Jacob said, Thou knowest in what things I have served thee, and how many cattle of thine are with me.

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?”

For it was little thou hadst before my time, and it is increased to a multitude, and the Lord God has blessed thee since my coming; now then, when shall I set up also my own house?

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;

And Laban said to him, What shall I give thee? and Jacob said to him, Thou shalt not give me anything; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again tend thy flocks and keep them.

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 all thy sheep pass by to-day, and separate thence every grey sheep among the rams, and every one that is speckled and spotted among the goats—[this] shall be my reward.

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.”

And my righteousness shall answer for me on the morrow, for it is my reward before thee: whatever shall not be spotted and speckled among the goats, and grey among the rams, shall be stolen with me.

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

And Laban said to him, Let it be according to thy word.

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,

And he separated in that day the spotted and speckled he-goats, and all the spotted and speckled she-goats, and all that was grey among the rams, and every one that was white among them, and he gave them into the hand 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.

And he set a distance of a three days' journey between them and Jacob. And Jacob tended the cattle of Laban that were left behind.

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,

And Jacob took to himself green rods of storax tree and walnut and plane-tree; and Jacob peeled in them white stripes; and as he drew off the green, the white stripe which he had made appeared alternate on the rods.

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;

And he laid the rods which he had peeled, in the hollows of the watering-troughs, that whensoever the cattle should come to drink, as they should have come to drink before the rods, the cattle might conceive at the rods.

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

So the cattle conceived at the rods, and the cattle brought forth [young] speckled, and streaked and spotted with ash-coloured [spots].

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.

And Jacob separated the lambs, and set before the sheep a speckled ram, and every variegated one among the lambs, and he separated flocks for himself alone, and did not mingle them with the sheep of Laban.

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,

And it came to pass in the time wherein the cattle became pregnant, conceiving in the belly, Jacob put the rods before the cattle in the troughs, that they might conceive by the rods.

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 he did not put them in [indiscriminately] whenever the cattle happened to bring forth, but the unmarked ones were Laban's, and the marked ones were Jacob's.

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

And the man became very rich, and he had many cattle, and oxen, and servants, and maid-servants, and camels, and asses.