Genesis 30

1 And Rachel saw she had borne no children unto Jacob, so Rachel became envious of her sister, —and said unto Jacob, Come! give me children, or else, I die.

And Rachel, seeing herself without children, envied her sister, and said to her husband: Give me children, otherwise I shall die.

2 Then kindled the anger of Jacob with Rachel, —and he said, Am I, in the place of God, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

And Jacob being angry with her, answered: Am I as God, who hath deprived thee of the fruit of thy womb?

3 And she said, Lo! my handmaid, Bilhah. Go in unto her, —that she may bear upon my knees, so that, I also, may be builded up by her!

But she said: I have here my servant Bala: go in unto her, that she may bear upon my knees, and I may have children by her.

4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid, to wife, —and Jacob went in unto her;

And she gave him Bala in marriage: who,

5 and Bilhah conceived, and bare unto Jacob a son;

When her husband had gone in unto her, conceived and bore a son.

6 and Rachel said God hath vindicated me. Moreover also he hath hearkened unto my voice, and hath given me a son. For this cause, called she his name Dan.

And Rachel said: The Lord hath judged for me, and hath heard my voice, giving me a son, and therefore she called his name Dan.

7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid conceived again, and bare a second son to Jacob.

And again Bala conceived and bore another,

8 Then said Rachel With wrestlings of God, have I wrestled with my sister Yea I have prevailed. So she called his name, Naphtali.

For whom Rachel said: God hath compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called him Nephtali.

9 Then saw Leah, that she had left off bearing, —so she took Zilpah, her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife.

Lia, perceiving that she had left off bearing, gave Zelpha her handmaid to her husband.

10 And Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, bare to Jacob a son:

And when she had conceived and brought forth a son,

11 and Leah said, Victory hath come! So she called his name Gad.

She said: Happily. And therefore called his name Gad.

12 And Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid bare a second son to Jacob;

Zelpha also bore another.

13 and Leah said, For my happiness, surely happy have daughters pronounced me. So she called his name, Asher.

And Lia said: This is for my happiness: for women will call me blessed. Therefore she called him Aser.

14 Then went Reuben, in the days of the wheat harvest, and found mandrakes, in the field, and brought them in unto Leah his mother, and Rachel said unto Leah, Pray give me, some of the mandrakes of thy son

And Ruben, going out in the time of the wheat harvest into the field, found mandrakes: which he brought to his mother Lia. And Rachel said: Give me part of thy son’s mandrakes.

15 And she said to her, Is it, a small thing, that thou hast taken away my husband? And wouldst thou take away, even the mandrakes of my son? Then said Rachel, Therefore, shall he lie with thee to-night, for the mandrakes of thy son.

She answered: Dost thou think it a small matter, that thou hast taken my husband from me, unless thou take also my son’s mandrakes? Rachel said: He shall sleep with thee this night, for thy son’s mandrakes.

16 And Jacob came in from the field, in the evening, so Leah went out to meet him and said: Unto me, shalt thou come in, for I have hired, thee, even with the mandrakes of my son. And he lay with her that night,

And when Jacob returned at even from the field, Lia went out to meet him, and said: Thou shalt come in unto me, because I have hired thee for my son’s mandrakes. And he slept with her that night.

17 And God hearkened unto Leah, —and she conceived and bare to Jacob a fifth son.

And God heard her prayers: and she conceived and bore the fifth son,

18 Then said Leah. God hath given my hire, in that I gave my handmaid to my husband. So she called his name, Issachar.

And said: God hath given me a reward, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issachar.

19 And Leah conceived again and bare a sixth son to Jacob.

And Lia conceived again, and bore the sixth son,

20 Then said Leah, God hath dowered me even me with a hand-some dowry, Now! will my husband dwell with me, for I have borne him six sons. So she called his name, Zebulon.

And said: God hath endowed me with a good dowry: this turn also my husband will be with me, because I have borne him six sons: and therefore she called his name Zabulon.

21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, —so she called her name, Dinah.

After whom she bore a daughter, named Dina.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, —and God hearkened unto her, and granted her to bear.

The Lord also remembering Rachel, heard her, and opened her womb.

23 So she conceived and bare a son, —and said, God hath taken away my reproach;

And she conceived, and bore a son, saying: God hath taken away my reproach.

24 So she called his name Joseph, saying, Yahweh is adding unto me another son.

And she called his name Joseph, saying: The Lord give me also another son.

25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Let me go that I may take my journey, unto my place, and to my land.

And when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father in law: Send me away that I may return into my country, and to my land.

26 Come, give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee and let me take my journey, —for, thou, knowest my service wherewith I have served thee.

Give me my wives, and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may depart: thou knowest the service that I have rendered thee.

27 And Laban said unto him, If, I pray thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, …I have divined that Yahweh hath blessed me for thy sake.

Laban said to him: Let me find favour in thy sight: I have learned by experience, that God hath blessed me for thy sake.

28 And he said, —Come, fix thy wages for me, that I may give it!

Appoint thy wages which I shall give thee.

29 And he said unto him, Thou, knowest how I have served thee, —and how thy cattle have fared, with me.

But he answered: Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession hath been in my hands.

30 For it was, little, that thou hadst—before I came and then it brake forth into multitude, and Yahweh blessed thee at my every step. Now, therefore, when am, I, also to do something for my own house?

Thou hadst but little before I came to thee, and now thou art become rich: and the Lord hath blessed thee at my coming. It is reasonable therefore that I should now provide also for my own house.

31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said: Thou shall give me, nothing at all, If thou wilt do for me this thing, I will return, I will shepherd thy flock I will keep it:

And Laban said: What shall I give thee? But he said: I require nothing: but if thou wilt do what I demand, I will feed, and keep thy sheep again.

32 Let me pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence every young one that is speckled and spotted and every young one that is dark-coloured among the young sheep, and spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages.

Go round through all thy flocks, and separate all the sheep of divers colours, and speckled: and all that is brown and spotted, and of divers colours, as well among the sheep, as among the goats, shall be my wages.

33 And my righteousness shall answer for me on a future day, when thou shall come in respecting my hire that is before thee, Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and dark-coloured among the young sheep, stolen, shall it be accounted, if found with me.

And my justice shall answer for me tomorrow before thee when the time of the bargain shall come: and all that is not of divers colours, and spotted, and brown, as well among the sheep as among the goats, shall accuse me of theft.

34 Then said Laban, Lo! would it might be according to thy word!

And Laban said: I like well what thou demandest.

35 So he removed, on that day, the he-goats that were striped and spotted and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and every dark-coloured one among the young sheep, —and delivered them into the hand of his sons;

And he separated the same day the she goats, and the sheep, and the he goats, and the rams of divers colours, and spotted: and all the flock of one colour, that is, of white and black fleece, he delivered into the hands of his sons.

36 then put he a journey of three days between himself and Jacob, —but, Jacob himself, continued tending the flocks of Laban that were left.

And he set the space of three days’ journey betwixt himself and his son in law, who fed the rest of his flock.

37 So then Jacob took him rods of young storax, and hazel and maple, —and peeled in them white stripes, laying bare the white which was on the rods.

And Jacob took green rods of poplar, and of almond, and of plane trees, and pilled them in part: so when the bark was taken off, in the parts that were pilled, there appeared whiteness: but the parts that were whole remained green: and by this means the colour was divers.

38 And he set the rods which he had peeled, in the channels in the troughs of water, —where the flocks came in to drink straight before the flocks, and the females of the flock used to be in heat when they came in to drink;

And he put them in the troughs, where the water was poured out: that when the flocks should come to drink, they might have the rods before their eyes, and in the sight of them might conceive.

39 and the males of the flock were in heat before the rods, —so the flocks brought forth ring-straked, speckled, and spotted.

And it came to pass that in the very heat of coition, the sheep beheld the rods, and brought forth spotted, and of divers colours, and speckled.

40 The rams also, did Jacob separate, and then set the faces of the flocks towards the ring-straked and all the dark-coloured, among the flocks of Laban, —and he put his own droves by themselves, and put them not with the flocks of Laban.

And Jacob separated the flock, and put the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the rams: and all the white and the black were Laban’s: and the rest were Jacob’s, when the flocks were separated one from the other.

41 So it came to pass whensoever the stronger of the flocks were in heat, that Jacob set the rods before the eyes of the flocks in the channels, —that the females might be in heat among the rods;

So when the ewes went first to ram, Jacob put the rods in the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams, and of the ewes, that they might conceive while they were looking upon them:

42 but, when the flocks were late in bearing, he did not set them, —and so the late-born were Laban’s, but the strong ones Jacob’s.

But when the latter coming was, and the last conceiving, he did not put them. And those that were lateward, became Laban’s: and they of the first time, Jacob’s.

43 Thus did the man break forth, exceedingly, —thus came he to have flocks in abundance, and maid-servants, and men-servants and camels and asses.

And the man was enriched exceedingly, and he had many flocks, maid servants and men servants, camels and asses.