< 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 bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and 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 position, who has withheld from you 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; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also 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 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 bare 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 judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has 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 maid conceived again, and bare 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 great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I 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 bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
10 and Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bears a son to Jacob,
And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
11 and Leah says, “A troop is coming”; and she calls his name Gad.
And Leah said, A troop comes: and she called his name Gad.
12 And Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bears a second son to Jacob,
And Zilpah Leah's maid bare 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 blessed: 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 you, 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.”
And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? and would you take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with you to night 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.
And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, You must come in unto me; for surely I have hired you 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 bare Jacob the 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 has given me my hire, because I have given my maiden 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 bare Jacob the 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 Leah said, God has imbued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born 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 bare 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 bare a son; and 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; and said, The LORD shall 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, 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 you, and let me go: for you know my service which I have done 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.”
And Laban said unto him, I pray you, if I have found favour in your eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.
28 He also says, “Define your hire to me, and I give.”
And he said, Appoint me your 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, You know how I have served you, and how your cattle was 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 you had before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD has blessed you since my coming: 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 you? And Jacob said, You shall not give me any thing: if you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flock.
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 your flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle 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 answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before your face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
34 And Laban says, “Behold, O that it were according to your word”;
And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to your 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 striped with bands and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown 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 between 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 green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and stripped white strakes in them, and made 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 stripped before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive 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 before the rods, and brought forth cattle striped with bands, 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 did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped with bands, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.
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, whenever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle 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 cattle 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 much cattle, and maidservants, and male servants, and camels, and asses.

< Genesis 30 >