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.
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 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?
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 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!
“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 gave him Bilhah her handmaid, to wife, —and Jacob went in unto her;
She gave her personal maid Bilhah to him as a wife and Jacob slept with her.
5 and Bilhah conceived, and bare unto Jacob a son;
Bilhah became pregnant and had a son for Jacob.
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.
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 handmaid conceived again, and bare a second son to Jacob.
Rachel's personal maid Bilhah became pregnant again and had second son for Jacob.
8 Then said Rachel With wrestlings of God, have I wrestled with my sister Yea I have prevailed. So she called his name, Naphtali.
Rachel said, “I've had a hard struggle with my sister, but I've won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 Then saw Leah, that she had left off bearing, —so she took Zilpah, her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to 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 handmaid, bare to Jacob a son:
Zilpah had a son for Jacob.
11 and Leah said, Victory hath come! So she called his name Gad.
Leah said, “I'm really fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
12 And Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid bare a second son to Jacob;
Leah's personal maid Zilpah became pregnant again and had a second son for Jacob.
13 and Leah said, For my happiness, surely happy have daughters pronounced me. So she called 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 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
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 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.
“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 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,
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 hearkened unto Leah, —and she conceived and bare to Jacob a fifth son.
God heard Leah's request, and she became pregnant and had a fifth son for Jacob.
18 Then said Leah. God hath given my hire, in that I gave my handmaid to my husband. So she called 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 conceived again and bare a sixth son to Jacob.
Then Leah became pregnant again and had a sixth son for Jacob.
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.
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 afterwards she bare a daughter, —so she called her name, Dinah.
Later she had a daughter she named Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel, —and God hearkened unto her, and granted her to bear.
Then God paid attention to Rachel and listened to her appeals, and helped her to have children.
23 So she conceived and bare a son, —and said, God hath taken away my reproach;
She became pregnant and had a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said.
24 So she called his name Joseph, saying, Yahweh is adding unto me another son.
She named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me an additional 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.
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 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 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 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.
“Please be so kind as to stay,” Laban replied, “because I have discovered that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”
28 And he said, —Come, fix thy wages for me, that I may give it!
Then Laban continued, “Tell me how much to pay you and I'll give it to you.”
29 And he said unto him, Thou, knowest how I have served thee, —and how thy cattle have fared, 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 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?
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 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:
“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 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.
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 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.
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 Then said Laban, Lo! would it might be according to thy word!
“Very good,” Laban agreed. “We'll do as you say.”
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;
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 then put he a journey of three days between himself and Jacob, —but, Jacob himself, continued tending the flocks of Laban that were left.
a three day journey between them and Jacob, while Jacob was looking after the rest of Laban's flocks.
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.
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 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;
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 males of the flock were in heat before the rods, —so the flocks brought forth ring-straked, speckled, and spotted.
The flocks mated in front of the sticks and gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.
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.
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 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;
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 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.
He didn't do this for the weaker females. The weaker ones went to Laban, and the strong ones went to Jacob.
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.
In this way Jacob became an extremely rich man with large flocks, and many male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.
