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.

Rachel realized that she was not becoming pregnant and giving birth to any children for Jacob. So she became jealous of her older sister, Leah, because Leah had given birth to four sons. She said to Jacob, “Enable me to become pregnant and give birth to children. If you do not do that, I [think I will]!”

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 said, “(I am not God!/Am I God?) [RHQ] He is the one who has prevented you from becoming pregnant!”

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!

Then she said, “Look, here is my female slave, Bilhah. (Sleep with/Have sex with) [EUP] her, so that she may become pregnant and give birth to children for me. In that way it will be as though (I have children/her children are mine).”

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

So she gave him her slave, Bilhah, to be another wife for him, and Jacob had sex [EUP] with her.

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

She became pregnant and bore Jacob 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.

Rachel said, “God has (vindicated me/judged my case and has decided that what I have done is right). He has also heard my requests and has given me a son.” So she named him Dan, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘he judged’].

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

Later, Rachel’s slave Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to another 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.

Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle to have children like my older sister, but truly I have a son.” So she named him Naphtali, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘struggle’].

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

When Leah realized that she was not becoming pregnant and giving birth to any more children, she took her female slave, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob to be another wife for him.

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

Zilpah soon became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob.

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

Leah said, “I am truly fortunate!” So she named him Gad, [which means ‘fortunate’].

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

Later Leah’s slave, Zilpah, gave birth to another son for Jacob.

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

Leah said, “Now I am very happy, and people will call me happy.” So she named him Asher, [which means ‘happy].’

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

When it was time to harvest wheat, Reuben went out into the fields and saw some (mandrakes/plants that women eat to help them to become pregnant). He brought some of them to his mother Leah. But Rachel saw them and said to Leah, “Please give me some of those plants that your son brought to you!”

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.

But Leah said to her, “No! (It was bad that you stole my husband!/Is it not bad enough that you stole my husband?) [RHQ] Now (are you going to take my son’s mandrake plants?/You want to take my son’s mandrake plants also, [so that you can become pregnant]!)” [RHQ] So Rachel said, “All right, Jacob can sleep with you tonight, if you give me some of your son’s mandrake plants.” [So Leah (agreed/gave her some)].

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 returned from the wheat fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. She said, “You must sleep with me tonight, because I gave Rachel some of my son’s mandrakes [that enable women to become pregnant], to pay her for allowing us to do that.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

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

God answered Leah’s prayers, and she became pregnant and bore a fifth son to 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, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband to be another wife for him.” So she named him Issachar, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘reward’].

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

Leah became pregnant again and bore 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 precious gift. (This time/Now) my husband will honor/respect me, because I have given birth to six sons for him.” So she named him Zebulon, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘accepted gift’].

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

Later she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.

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

Then God thought about what Rachel wanted. He heard her prayers and enabled her to become pregnant.

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

She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “God has caused that no longer will I be ashamed [for not having children].”

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

She named him Joseph, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘may he give another’] and she said, ‘want Yahweh to give me 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.

After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Now allow me to quit working for you and let me return to my own 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.

You know the work that I have done for you [for a long time to get my wives]. So let me take my wives and my children, and leave.”

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.

But Laban said to him, “If you are pleased with me, stay here, because I have found out by performing a magic ritual that Yahweh has blessed me because of what you have done for me.

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

Tell me what you want me to pay you for continuing to work for me, and that is what I will pay you.”

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

Jacob replied, “You know how I have worked for you, and you know that your livestock have increased greatly as I have taken care of them.

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 had only a few animals before I came here. But now you have very many, and Yahweh has caused them to increase greatly in number wherever I have taken them. But now I need to start taking care of the needs of 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:

Laban replied, “What do you want me to give you?” Jacob replied, “I do not want you to pay me anything. But if you will do this one thing for me, I will continue to take care of your flocks and protect them.

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.

Allow me to go and look at all of your flocks today and remove from them all the speckled sheep, all the spotted sheep, and every dark-colored lamb, all the goats that are speckled, and all the goats that are spotted, [and keep them for myself]. They will 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 that way, in the future, you will be able to know whether I have been honest regarding what you have paid me. If any of my goats are neither speckled or spotted, or if any of my lambs are not dark-colored, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

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

Laban agreed and said, “Okay, we will do as you have said.”

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;

But that same day Laban removed all the male goats that had black and white stripes on them or were spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled or spotted, all the goats that were partly white, and all the dark-colored lambs. He separated them and told his sons to take care of them.

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.

Then he took these flocks and walked a distance of three days, in order that he could be that far from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of 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 branches of (poplar, almond, and plane trees/three kinds of trees that had white wood). He peeled strips of bark from the branches, so that where the bark had been peeled off, the branches were light in color.

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;

Then he placed the peeled branches in the troughs where they put the water for the animals to drink, so that the branches would be in front of the flocks when they came to drink.

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

The animals also mated in front of the branches, and eventually they gave birth to animals that were speckled, or to animals that were spotted, or to animals that had black and white stripes on them.

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.

Furthermore, Jacob separated the female sheep in his flock from the other sheep and goats in Laban’s flock. And when his female sheep mated, he made them look toward the animals that belonged to Laban that had black and white stripes on them, and the dark-colored animals. He did that so that the female sheep would give birth to animals that were striped or dark-colored. By doing that, he made bigger flocks for himself, and he kept them separate from Laban’s flocks.

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;

In addition, whenever the stronger female sheep were ready to mate, Jacob put some of those peeled branches in the troughs in front of them, so that they would mate in front of the branches.

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 weak animals were ready to mate, he did not put the branches in their troughs. So the weak ones became part of Laban’s flock, and the strong ones became part of Jacob’s flock.

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.

As a result, Jacob became very rich. He owned many large flocks of sheep and goats, and many male and female slaves, and many camels and donkeys.