Genesis 30

1And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. 2And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? 3And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. 4And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. 5And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. 6And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.#30.6 That is, Judging. 7And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. 8And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naph´tali.#30.8 That is, My wrestling.

9When Le´ah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. 10And Zilpah Le´ah's maid bare Jacob a son. 11And Le´ah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad. 12And Zilpah Le´ah's maid bare Jacob a second son. 13And Le´ah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.#30.13 That is, Happy.

14And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Le´ah. Then Rachel said to Le´ah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. 15And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes. 16And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Le´ah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. 17And God hearkened unto Le´ah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. 18And Le´ah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Is´sachar.#30.18 That is, An hire. 19And Le´ah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. 20And Le´ah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zeb´ulun.#30.20 That is, Dwelling. 21And afterward she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. 22And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. 23And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: 24and she called his name Joseph;#30.24 That is, Adding. and said, The Lord shall add to me another son.

The Trickery of Laban and Jacob

25And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. 26Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. 27And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. 28And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. 29And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. 30For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now, when shall I provide for mine own house also? 31And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock. 32I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. 33So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. 34And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. 35And he removed that day the he goats that were ring-streaked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

37And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pilled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. 38And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. 39And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ring-streaked, speckled, and spotted. 40And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ring-streaked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle. 41And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. 42But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. 43And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

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Genesis 30

CHAPTER 30

1Forsooth Rachel saw, that she was unfruitful, and she had envy to her sister, and said to her husband, Give thou free children to me, else I shall die.

2To whom Jacob was wroth, and answered, Whether I am for God, which have deprived thee from the fruit of thy womb?

3And she said, I have an handmaid Bilhah; enter thou [in] to her that she child on my knees, and that I have sons of her.

4And she gave to him Bilhah into matrimony; and when her husband had entered [in] to her,

5she conceived, and childed a son.

6And Rachel said, The Lord hath deemed to me, and hath heard my prayer, and gave a son to me; and therefore she called his name Dan.

7And again Bilhah conceived, and childed another son,

8for whom Rachel said, The Lord hath made me like my sister, and I [have] waxed strong; and she called him Naphtali.

9Leah feeled that she ceased to bear child, and she gave Zilpah, her handmaid, to her husband.

10And when Zilpah, after conceiving, childed a son,

11Leah said, Blessedly; and therefore she called his name Gad.

12Also Zilpah childed another son,

13and Leah said, This is for my bliss, for all women shall say me blessed; therefore she called him Asher.

14Forsooth Reuben went out into the field in the time of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes, which he brought to Leah, his mother. And Rachel said, Give thou to me a part of the mandrakes of thy son.

15Leah answered, Whether it seemeth little to thee, that thou hast ravished my husband from me, no but thou take also the mandrakes of my son? Rachel said, The husband sleep with thee in this night for the mandrakes of thy son.

16And when Jacob came again from the field at the eventide, Leah went out into his meeting, and said, Thou shalt enter [in] to me, for I have hired thee with hire for the mandrakes of my son. He slept with her in that night;

17and God heard her prayers, and she conceived, and childed the fifth son;

18and said, God hath given meed to me, for I gave mine handmaid to mine husband; and she called his name Issachar.

19Again Leah conceived, and childed the sixth son,

20and said, The Lord hath made me rich with a good dower; also in this time mine husband shall be with me, for I have engendered six sons to him; and therefore she called his name Zebulun.

21After whom she childed a daughter, Dinah by name.

22Also the Lord had mind on Rachel, and he heard her, and opened her womb.

23And she conceived, and childed a son, and said, God hath taken away my shame;

24and she called his name Joseph, and said, The Lord give to me another son.

25Soothly when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his wife’s father, Deliver thou me, that I turn again to my country, and to my land.

26Give thou to me my wives, and my free children, for which I have served thee, that I go; forsooth thou knowest the service by which I have served thee.

27Laban said to him, Find I grace in thy sight; I have learned by experience, that God hath blessed me for thee;

28ordain thou the meed which I shall give to thee.

29And Jacob answered, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how great thy possession was in mine hands;

30thou haddest little before that I came to thee, and now thou art made rich, and the Lord [hath] blessed thee at mine entering; therefore it is just that I purvey sometime also for mine house.

31And Laban said, What shall I give to thee? And Jacob said, I will or desire nothing, that is, of thy gift, but if thou doest that that I ask, again I shall feed and keep thy sheep.

32Go about all thy flocks, and separate thou all diversely-coloured sheep, and of spotted fleeces, and whatever thing shall be of dun hue, and spotted, and diverse of colour, as well in sheep as in goats; that shall be my meed.

33And my rightfulness [or rightwise-ness] shall answer to me tomorrow, when the time of covenant shall come before thee; and all that be not diverse, and spotted, and dunned, as well in sheep as in goats, be found at me thou shalt reprove me of theft.

34And Laban said, I have it acceptable that that thou askest.

35And Laban separated in that day [the] goats, and sheep, goat bucks, and rams, diverse and spotted. Soothly he betook all the flock of one colour, that is, of white, and of black fleece, into the hands of his sons;

36and he set the space of a way of three days betwixt his sons, and the husband of his daughters, that fed his other flocks.

37Therefore Jacob took green rods of poplars, and of almonds, and of planes, and in part he did away the rind of them; and when the rinds were drawn away, either shaved, whiteness appeared in these that were made bare; soothly those that were whole dwelled green, and by this manner the colour was made diverse.

38And Jacob put those rods in the troughs, where the water was poured out, that when the flocks should come to drink,

39they should have the rods before their eyes, and they should conceive in [the] sight of the rods. And it was done that in that heat of riding, or engendering, the sheep should behold those rods, and that they should bring forth spotted beasts, and diverse, and besprinkled with diverse colour.

40And Jacob separated the flock, and put the rods in the [water] troughs, before the eyes of the rams. Soothly all the white and [the] black were Laban’s; soothly all the others were Jacob’s; for the flocks were separated betwixt themselves.

41Therefore when the sheep were ridden in the first time, Jacob put the rods in the water troughs before the eyes of rams, and of ewe sheep, that they should conceive in the sight of the rods.

42Forsooth when the late mixing, or engendering, and the last conceivings were, Jacob put not those rods; and those that were late engendered, were made Laban’s, and those that were of the first time engendered, were Jacob’s.

43And Jacob was made full rich, and had many flocks, handmaids, and menservants, camels, and asses.

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