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 Jacob any children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I will 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?”

Then Jacob became very angry with Rachel, and he said, "Am I in God's place, 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”;

She said, "Look, my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her, so that she will bear children for me, that I too may have children through her."

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

So she gave him Bilhah her servant as a wife, and Jacob slept with her.

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

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.

Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard 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,

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.

Rachel said, "I have wrestled mightily with my sister, and have prevailed." 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 bearing, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

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

Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, bore Jacob a son.

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

Leah said, "How fortunate." So she named him Gad.

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

Zilpah, Leah's servant, 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, "Happy am I, for the women will 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.”

Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother, Leah. Then Rachel said to 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.”

She said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes, also?" Rachel said, "Therefore he may sleep with you tonight 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.

Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, "You must sleep with me; for I have surely 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,

God listened to 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.

Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I gave my servant to my husband." So she named him Issachar.

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

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;

Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will live with me, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.

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

Afterwards, she bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.

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

God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and made her fertile.

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

She conceived, bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my shame."

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

So she named him Joseph, saying, "May God add another son to me."

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;

It happened, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my 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 the service I have given 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.”

Laban said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have learned by divination that God has blessed me for your sake."

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

He said, "Name your wages, and I will pay 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;

He said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how well your livestock have done 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 you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly. And God has blessed you wherever I worked. Now when will 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;

He said, "What should I give you?" Jacob said, "You do not need to give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture your flock and take care of 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 your flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. This 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 later on, when the subject of my wages comes before you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep that I have in my possession, will be counted as stolen."

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

Laban said, "Look, 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 day, he removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and put them in 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.

He set three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured 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 took fresh branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white streaks by peeling them, exposing white stripes on 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;

He set up the peeled branches which he had peeled opposite the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

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

the flocks bred in front of the branches, and the flocks brought bore 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 the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the black in the flock of Laban. So he kept his own flocks separate, and did not put them into 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,

It happened, whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, that Jacob would set up the branches in front of the flock in the troughs, so that they would breed near 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 for the weaker of the flock, he did not put them there. So the weaker would be 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.

Thus the man became very rich, and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.