Genesis 30

1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will 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 Jacob's anger burned against Rachel. He said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”

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 She said, “See, there is my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her, so she might give birth to children on my knees, and I will have children 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 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob slept with her.

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

5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

She became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.

6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and he has heard my voice and given me a son.” For this reason she called 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 Bilhah, Rachel's servant, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

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

8 Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” 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 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah, her servant, and gave her to Jacob as a 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 Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a son.

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

11 Leah said, “This is fortunate!” so she called his name Gad.

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

12 Then Zilpah, Leah's servant, bore Jacob a second son.

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

13 Leah said, “I am happy! For the daughters will call me happy.” 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 Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field. He brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son's mandrakes.”

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 Leah said to her, “Is it a small matter to you, that you have taken away my husband? Do you now want to take away my son's mandrakes, too?” Rachel said, “Then he will sleep with you tonight, in exchange for your son's mandrakes.”

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 Jacob came from the field in the evening. Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me tonight, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with Leah 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 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

God answered Leah’s prayers, and she became pregnant and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I gave my servant woman to my husband.” 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 Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

Leah became pregnant again and bore a sixth son for Jacob.

20 Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” She called his name Zebulun.

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 Afterwards she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

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

22 God called Rachel to mind and listened to her. He caused her to become pregnant.

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

23 She conceived and bore a son. She said, “God has taken away my shame.”

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 She called his name Joseph, saying, “Yahweh has added to 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 After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, so that I may go to my own home and to my country.

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 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.”

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 Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, wait, because I have learned by using divination that Yahweh has blessed me for your 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 Then he said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

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

29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you, and how your livestock 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 you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly. Yahweh has blessed you wherever I worked. Now when will I provide for my own household also?”

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 So Laban said, “What will I pay you?” Jacob said, “You will not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and 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 walk through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. These will 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 My integrity will testify for me later on, when you come to check on my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, if any are found with me, will be considered to be stolen.”

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 Laban said, “Agreed. Let it be according to your word.”

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

35 That day Laban removed the male goats that were striped 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 gave 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 Laban also put three days' journey between himself and Jacob. So Jacob kept tending the rest of Laban's flocks.

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 Jacob took fresh cut branches of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane tree, and peeled white streaks in them, and made the white inner wood appear that was in the sticks.

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 Then he set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks, in front of the watering troughs where they came to drink. They conceived when they came 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 The flocks bred in front of the sticks; and the flocks produced striped, speckled, and spotted young.

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 Jacob separated out these lambs, but made the rest of them face toward the striped animals and all the black sheep in the flock of Laban. Then he separated out his flocks for himself alone and did not put them together with Laban's flocks.

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 Whenever the stronger sheep in the flock were breeding, then Jacob would lay the sticks in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flock, so that they might conceive among the sticks.

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 feebler animals in the flock came, he did not put the sticks in front of them. So the feebler animals were Laban's, and the stronger were 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 The man became very prosperous. He had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

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.