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 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 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 told her, “Am I God? Do you think I'm the one stopping you having children?”
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”;
“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 gives Bilhah her maidservant to him for a wife, and Jacob goes in to her;
She gave her personal maid Bilhah to him as a wife and Jacob slept with her.
5 and Bilhah conceives, and bears a son to Jacob,
Bilhah became pregnant and had a son for Jacob.
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.
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 maidservant, conceives again, and bears a second son to Jacob,
Rachel's personal maid Bilhah became pregnant again and had second son for 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.
Rachel said, “I've had a hard struggle with my sister, but I've 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;
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 maidservant, bears a son to Jacob,
Zilpah had a son for Jacob.
11 and Leah says, “A troop is coming”; and she calls his name Gad.
Leah said, “I'm really fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
12 And Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bears a second son to Jacob,
Leah's personal maid Zilpah became pregnant again and had a second son for Jacob.
13 and Leah says, “Because of my happiness, for daughters have pronounced me blessed”; and she calls 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 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.”
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 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.”
“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 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 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 listens to Leah, and she conceives, and bears a son to Jacob, a fifth,
God heard Leah's request, and she became pregnant and had a fifth son for 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.
Leah said, “The Lord has rewarded me for giving my personal maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19 And Leah conceives again, and she bears a sixth son to Jacob,
Then Leah became pregnant again and had a sixth son for 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;
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 afterward she has borne a daughter, and calls her name Dinah.
Later she had a daughter she named Dinah.
22 And God remembers Rachel, and God listens to her, and opens her womb,
Then God paid attention to Rachel and listened to her appeals, and helped her to have children.
23 and she conceives and bears a son, and says, “God has gathered up my reproach”;
She became pregnant and had a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said.
24 and she calls his name Joseph, saying, “YHWH is adding to me another son.”
She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me an additional 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;
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 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 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 says to him, “Now if I have found grace in your eyes—I have observed diligently that YHWH blesses 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 He also says, “Define your hire to me, and I give.”
Then Laban continued, “Tell me how much to pay you and I'll give it to you.”
29 And he says to him, “You have known that which I have served you [in], and that which your substance 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 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?”
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 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;
“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 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 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 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.”
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 says, “Behold, O that it were according to your word”;
“Very good,” Laban agreed. “We'll do as you say.”
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,
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 sets a journey of three days between himself and Jacob; and Jacob is feeding the rest of the flock of Laban.
a three day journey between them and Jacob, while Jacob was looking after 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,
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 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;
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 conceive at the rods, and the flock bears striped, speckled, and spotted ones.
The flocks mated in front of the sticks and gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and 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 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 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,
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 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.
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 increases very exceedingly, and has many flocks, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and donkeys.
In this way Jacob became an extremely rich man with large flocks, and many male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.
