< 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 when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob: 'Give me children, or else I 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'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?'
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 she said: 'Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may bear upon my knees, and I also may be builded up through her.'
4 and she gives Bilhah her maidservant to him for a wife, and Jacob goes in to her;
And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife; and Jacob went in unto her.
5 and Bilhah conceives, and bears a son to Jacob,
And Bilhah 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 hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son.' Therefore called she his name Dan.
7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, conceives again, and bears a second son to Jacob,
And Bilhah Rachel's handmaid 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.
And Rachel said: 'With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed.' And she called his name 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 left off bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife.
10 and Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bears a son to Jacob,
And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bore Jacob a son.
11 and Leah says, “A troop is coming”; and she calls his name Gad.
And Leah said: 'Fortune is come!' And she called his name Gad.
12 And Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bears a second son to Jacob,
And Zilpah Leah's handmaid 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 Leah said: 'Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy.' And she called his name 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.”
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.'
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 she said unto her: 'Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away 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.'
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 from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said: 'Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with 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 unto Leah, 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 Leah said: 'God hath given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.
19 And Leah conceives again, and she bears a sixth son to Jacob,
And Leah conceived again, 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;
And Leah said: 'God hath endowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.' And she called his name Zebulun.
21 and afterward she has borne a daughter, and calls her name Dinah.
And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
22 And God remembers Rachel, and God listens to her, and opens her womb,
And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened 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 bore a son, and said: 'God hath 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: '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;
And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban: 'Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my 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 my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go; for thou knowest my 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 unto him: 'If now I have found favour in thine eyes — I have observed the signs, and the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.'
28 He also says, “Define your hire to me, and I give.”
And he said: 'Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.'
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 he said unto him: 'Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle have fared 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 which thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased abundantly; and the LORD hath blessed thee whithersoever I turned. And now when shall I provide for mine own house also?'
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 he said: 'What shall I give thee?' And Jacob said: 'Thou shalt not give me aught; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it.
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;
I will pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence every speckled and spotted one, and every dark one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and of such shall be my hire.
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 shall my righteousness witness against me hereafter, when thou shalt come to look over my hire that is before thee: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and dark among the sheep, that if found with me shall be counted stolen.'
34 And Laban says, “Behold, O that it were according to your word”;
And Laban said: 'Behold, would it might 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 removed that day the he-goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the dark ones among the sheep, and 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 three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob. And Jacob fed 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,
And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane-tree; and peeled white streaks in them, making the white appear which was in 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 set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.
39 and the flocks conceive at the rods, and the flock bears striped, speckled, and spotted ones.
And the flocks conceived at the sight of the rods, and the flocks brought forth 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.
And Jacob separated the lambs — he also set the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the dark in the flock of Laban — and put his own droves apart, and put them not unto 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,
And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might conceive among 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 when the flock were feeble, he put them not in; so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
43 And the man increases very exceedingly, and has many flocks, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and donkeys.
And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and asses.

< Genesis 30 >