Genesis 29
1 And Jacob lifteth up his feet, and goeth towards the land of the sons of the east;
Jacob continued on the road [MTY], and he arrived at the land that was east of Canaan.
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.
There he [was surprised to] see a well in a field, and three flocks of sheep were lying near the well. It was the well from which shepherds habitually got water for their sheep. There was a large stone covering the top of the well.
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.)
When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would work together to roll the stone away from the top of the well and get water for the sheep. When they finished doing that, they would put the stone back in its place over the top of the well.
4 And Jacob saith to them, 'My brethren, from whence [are] ye?' and they say, 'We [are] from Haran.'
[On that day], Jacob asked the shepherds who were sitting there, “Where are you from?” They replied, “We are from Haran.”
5 And he saith to them, 'Have ye known Laban, son of Nahor?' and they say, 'We have known.'
He asked them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” They replied, “Yes, 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.'
Jacob asked them, “Is Laban well?” They replied, “Yes, he is well. Look! Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!”
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.'
Jacob said, “Hey! The sun is still high in the sky. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered for nighttime. Give the sheep some water and then take them back to (graze/eat grass) in the pastures!”
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 replied, “No, we cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered here and the stone is removed from the top of the well. After that, we will give water to the sheep.”
9 He is yet speaking with them, and Rachel hath come with the flock which her father hath, for she [is] shepherdess;
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. She was the one who took care of her father’s sheep.
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 saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, who was his mother’s brother, [Jacob was so excited that] he went over and [by himself] rolled away the stone that covered the top of the well, and he got water for his uncle’s sheep.
11 And Jacob kisseth Rachel, and lifteth up his voice, and weepeth,
Then Jacob kissed Rachel [on the cheek], and he cried loudly [because he was so happy].
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.
Jacob told Rachel that he was one of her father’s relatives, the son of her aunt Rebekah. So she ran and told that 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,
As soon as Laban heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, was there, he ran to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him [on the cheek]. Then he brought him to his home, and Jacob told him all that had happened to him.
14 and Laban saith to him, 'Only my bone and my flesh [art] thou;' and he dwelleth with him a month of days.
Then Laban said to him, “Truly, you are part of my family!” After Jacob had stayed there and worked for Laban for a month,
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.'
Laban said to him “(You should not work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine!/Why should you work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine?) [RHQ] Tell me how much you want me to pay you.”
16 And Laban hath two daughters, the name of the elder [is] Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel,
Well, Laban had two daughters. The older one was named Leah, and the younger one was named Rachel.
17 and the eyes of Leah [are] tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance.
Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel had a very attractive figure and was beautiful.
18 And Jacob loveth Rachel, and saith, 'I serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter:'
Jacob (was in love with/wanted very much to be married to) Rachel, and he said, “I will work for you for seven years. That will be my payment for your letting me marry 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 replied, “It is better for me to let you marry her than for her to marry some other man!”
20 and Jacob serveth for Rachel seven years; and they are in his eyes as some days, because of his loving her.
So Jacob worked for Laban for seven years to get Rachel, but to him it seemed like it was only a few days, because he loved her so much.
21 And Jacob saith unto Laban, 'Give up my wife, for my days have been fulfilled, and I go in unto her;'
After the seven years were ended, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me marry Rachel now, because the time we agreed upon for me to work for you is ended, and I want to marry her. [EUP]”
22 and Laban gathereth all the men of the place, and maketh a banquet.
So Laban gathered together all the people who lived in that area and made a feast.
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;
But that evening, instead of taking Rachel to Jacob, Laban took his older daughter, Leah, to him. But because it was already dark, he could not see that it was Leah and not Rachel, and he had sex [EUP] with her.
24 and Laban giveth to her Zilpah, his maid-servant, to Leah his daughter, a maid-servant.
(Laban had already given his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid/servant.)
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?'
The next morning, Jacob was shocked to see that it was Leah who was with him! So he went to Laban [and told him] very angrily, “(What you have done to me is disgusting!/What is this that you have done to me?) [RHQ] I worked for you to get Rachel, did I not? So why did you deceive me?”
26 And Laban saith, 'It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the first-born;
Laban replied, “In this land, it is not our custom to give a younger daughter to be married before we let someone marry our firstborn daughter.
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.'
After we finish this week of celebration, we will let you marry the younger one also. But in return, you must pay for Rachel by working for 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;
So that is what Jacob did. After the week of celebration was ended, Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel, to be his wife.
29 and Laban giveth to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his maid-servant, for a maid-servant to her.
Laban gave his slave girl, Bilhah, to Rachel to be her maid/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.
Jacob had sex [EUP] with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
31 And Jehovah seeth that Leah [is] the hated one, and He openeth her womb, and Rachel [is] barren;
When Yahweh saw that Jacob did not love Leah [very much], he enabled her to become pregnant. But Rachel was not able to become pregnant.
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.'
Leah gave birth to a son, whom she named Reuben, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘Look, a son]!’ She said, “Yahweh has seen that I was miserable, and because of that he has given me a son. Now, surely my husband will love me for giving birth to a son for him.”
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.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Because Yahweh has heard that my husband doesn’t love me, he has given me this son, too.” So she named him Simeon, [which means ‘someone who hears’].
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.
Later she became pregnant again, and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now, finally, my husband will hold me close to him.” So she named him Levi, [which means ‘hold close’].
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.
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “(This time/Now) I will praise Yahweh.” So she called his name Judah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘praise’]. After that, she did not give birth to any more children [for several years].
