Genesis 29
1 And Jacob lifteth up his feet, and goeth towards the land of the sons of the east;
And so Jacob, setting out, arrived in the eastern land.
2 and he looketh, and lo, a well in the field, and lo, there three droves of a flock crouching by it, for from that well they water the droves, and the great stone [is] on the mouth of the well.
And he saw a well in a field, and also three flocks of sheep reclining near it. For the animals were watered from it, and its mouth was closed with a great stone.
3 (When thither have all the droves been gathered, and they have rolled the stone from off the mouth of the well, and have watered the flock, then they have turned back the stone on the mouth of the well to its place.)
And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered together, to roll away the stone. And when the flocks had been refreshed, they placed it over the mouth of the well again.
4 And Jacob saith to them, 'My brethren, from whence [are] ye?' and they say, 'We [are] from Haran.'
And he said to the shepherds, “Brothers, where are you from?” And they answered. “From Haran.”
5 And he saith to them, 'Have ye known Laban, son of Nahor?' and they say, 'We have known.'
And questioning them, he said, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.”
6 And he saith to them, 'Hath he peace?' and they say, 'Peace; and lo, Rachel his daughter is coming with the flock.'
He said, “Is he well?” “He is very well,” they said. “And behold, his daughter Rachel approaches with his flock.”
7 And he saith, 'Lo, the day [is] still great, [it is] not time for the cattle to be gathered; water ye the flock, and go, delight yourselves.'
And Jacob said, “There is still much daylight remaining, and it is not time to return the flocks to the sheepfold. Give the sheep to drink first, and then lead them back to pasture.”
8 And they say, 'We are not able, till that all the droves be gathered together, and they have rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and we have watered the flock.'
They responded, “We cannot, until all the animals are gathered together and we remove the stone from the mouth of the well, so that we may water the flocks.”
9 He is yet speaking with them, and Rachel hath come with the flock which her father hath, for she [is] shepherdess;
They were still speaking, and behold, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep; for she pastured the flock.
10 and it cometh to pass when Jacob hath seen Rachel, daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the flock of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob cometh nigh and rolleth the stone from off the mouth of the well, and watereth the flock of Laban his mother's brother.
When Jacob had seen her, and he realized that she was his maternal first cousin, and that these were the sheep of his uncle Laban, he removed the stone which closed the well.
11 And Jacob kisseth Rachel, and lifteth up his voice, and weepeth,
And having watered the flock, he kissed her. And lifting up his voice, he wept.
12 and Jacob declareth to Rachel that he [is] her father's brother, and that he [is] Rebekah's son, and she runneth and declareth to her father.
And he revealed to her that he was a brother of her father, and the son of Rebekah. And so, hurrying, she announced it to her father.
13 And it cometh to pass, when Laban heareth the report of Jacob his sister's son, that he runneth to meet him, and embraceth him, and kisseth him, and bringeth him in unto his house; and he recounteth to Laban all these things,
And when he had heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, had arrived, he ran to meet him. And embracing him, and kissing him heartily, he brought him into his house. But when he had heard the reasons for his journey,
14 and Laban saith to him, 'Only my bone and my flesh [art] thou;' and he dwelleth with him a month of days.
he responded, “You are my bone and my flesh.” And after the days of one month were completed,
15 And Laban saith to Jacob, 'Is it because thou [art] my brother that thou hast served me for nought? declare to me what [is] thy hire.'
he said to him: “Though you are my brother, will you serve me for nothing? Tell me what wages you would accept.”
16 And Laban hath two daughters, the name of the elder [is] Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel,
In truth, he had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah; and truly the younger was called Rachel.
17 and the eyes of Leah [are] tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance.
But while Leah was bleary-eyed, Rachel had an elegant appearance and was attractive to behold.
18 And Jacob loveth Rachel, and saith, 'I serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter:'
And Jacob, loving her, said, “I will serve you for seven years, for your younger daughter Rachel.”
19 and Laban saith, 'It is better for me to give her to thee than to give her to another man; dwell with me;'
Laban responded, “It is better that I give her to you than to another man; remain with me.”
20 and Jacob serveth for Rachel seven years; and they are in his eyes as some days, because of his loving her.
Therefore, Jacob served for seven years for Rachel. And these seemed like only a few days, because of the greatness of love.
21 And Jacob saith unto Laban, 'Give up my wife, for my days have been fulfilled, and I go in unto her;'
And he said to Laban, “Give my wife to me. For now the time has been fulfilled, so that I may go in to her.”
22 and Laban gathereth all the men of the place, and maketh a banquet.
And he, having called a great crowd of his friends to the feast, agreed to the marriage.
23 And it cometh to pass in the evening, that he taketh Leah, his daughter, and bringeth her in unto him, and he goeth in unto her;
And at night, he brought in his daughter Leah to him,
24 and Laban giveth to her Zilpah, his maid-servant, to Leah his daughter, a maid-servant.
giving his daughter a handmaid named Zilpah. After Jacob had gone in to her, according to custom, when morning had arrived, he saw Leah.
25 And it cometh to pass in the morning, that lo, it [is] Leah; and he saith unto Laban, 'What [is] this thou hast done to me? for Rachel have I not served with thee? and why hast thou deceived me?'
And he said to his father-in-law, “What is it that you intended to do? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?”
26 And Laban saith, 'It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the first-born;
Laban responded, “It is not the practice in this place to give the younger in marriage first.
27 fulfil the week of this one, and we give to thee also this one, for the service which thou dost serve with me yet seven other years.'
Complete a week of days with this mating. And then I will give this one to you also, for the service that you will provide to me for another seven years.”
28 And Jacob doth so, and fulfilleth the week of this one, and he giveth to him Rachel his daughter, to him for a wife;
He agreed to his pleading. And after the week had passed, he took Rachel as a wife.
29 and Laban giveth to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his maid-servant, for a maid-servant to her.
To her, the father had given Bilhah as her servant.
30 And he goeth in also unto Rachel, and he also loveth Rachel more than Leah; and he serveth with him yet seven other years.
And, having at last obtained the marriage he desired, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and he served with him another seven years.
31 And Jehovah seeth that Leah [is] the hated one, and He openeth her womb, and Rachel [is] barren;
But the Lord, seeing that he despised Leah, opened her womb, but her sister remained barren.
32 and Leah conceiveth, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Reuben, for she said, 'Because Jehovah hath looked on mine affliction; because now doth my husband love me.'
Having conceived, she gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, saying: “The Lord saw my humiliation; now my husband will love me.”
33 And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith, 'Because Jehovah hath heard that I [am] the hated one, He also giveth to me even this [one];' and she calleth his name Simeon.
And again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “Because the Lord heard that I was treated with contempt, he has also given this one to me.” And she called his name Simeon.
34 And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith, 'Now [is] the time, my husband is joined unto me, because I have born to him three sons,' therefore hath [one] called his name Levi.
And she conceived a third time, and she gave birth to another son, and she said: “Now likewise my husband will unite with me, because I have borne him three sons.” And because of this, she called his name Levi.
35 And she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and saith this time, 'I praise Jehovah;' therefore hath she called his name Judah; and she ceaseth from bearing.
A fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “Only now will I confess to the Lord.” And for this reason, she called him Judah. And she ceased from child-bearing.
