Genesis 29
29
1Then Jacob went on in his journey, and came into the east country.
2And he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying by it: for the beasts were watered out of it, and the mouth thereof was closed with a great stone.
3And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered together, to roll away the stone, and after the sheep were watered, to put it on the mouth of the well again.
4And he said to the shepherds: Brethren, whence are you? They answered: Of Haran.
5And he asked them, saying: Know you Laban the son of Nachor? They said: We know him.
6He said: Is he in health? He is in health, say they: and behold Rachel his daughter cometh with his flock.
7And Jacob said: There is yet much day remaining, neither is it time to bring the flocks into the folds again. First give the sheep drink, and so lead them back to feed.
8They answered: We cannot, till all the cattle be gathered together, and we remove the stone from the well's mouth, that we may water the flocks.
9They were yet speaking, and behold Rachel came with her father's sheep: for she fed the flock.
10And when Jacob saw her, and knew her to be his cousin-german, and that they were the sheep of Laban, his uncle: he removed the stone wherewith the well was closed.
11And having watered the flock, he kissed her: and lifting up his voice, wept.
12And he told her that he was her father's brother, and the son of Rebecca. But she went in haste and told her father.
13Who, when he heard that Jacob his sister's son was come, ran forth to meet him; and embracing him, and heartily kissing him, brought him into his house. And when he had heard the causes of his journey,
14He answered: Thou art my bone and my flesh. And after the days of one month were expired,
15He said to him: Because thou art my brother, shalt thou serve me without wages? Tell me what wages thou wilt have.
16Now he had two daughters, the name of the elder was Lia: and the younger was called Rachel.
17But Lia was blear eyed: Rachel was well favoured, and of a beautiful countenance.
18And Jacob being in love with her said: I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
19Lahan answered: It is better that I give her to thee than to another man; stay with me.
20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel: and they seemed but a few days, because of the greatness of his love.
21And he said to Laban: Give me my wife; for now the time is fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
22And he, having invited a great number of his friends to the feast, made the marriage.
23And at night he brought in Lia, his daughter, to him,
24Giving his daughter a handmaid, named Zalpha. Now when Jacob had gone in to her according to custom, when morning was come he saw it was Lia:
25And he said to his father-in-law: What is it that thou didst mean to do? did not I serve thee for Rachel? Why hast thou deceived me?
26Laban answered: It is not the custom in this plac, to give the younger in marriage first.
27Make up the week of days of this match: and I will give thee her also, for the service that thou shalt render me other seven years.
28He yielded to his pleasure: and after the week was past, he married Rachel.
29To whom her father gave Bala for her servant.
30And having at length obtained the marriage he wished for, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and served with him other seven years.
31And the Lord seeing that he despised Lia, opened her womb, but her sister remained barren.
32And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Ruben, saying: The Lord saw my affliction, now my husband will love me.
33And again she conceived and bore a son, and said: Because the Lord heard that I was despised, he hath given this also to me. And she called his name Simeon.
34And she conceived the third time, and bore another son: and said: Now also my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons. And therefore she called his name Levi.
35The fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and said: Now will I praise the Lord. And for this she called him Juda. And she left bearing.
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Genesis 29: DRC1752
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An historical text. In 1955 the Douay-Rheims Challoner Bible received the Imprimatur ✠ of the English Catholic Church from the Archbishop of Westminster.
Genesis 29
29
Jacob went to Haran
1Then Jacob left that place, and he kept on walking towards the east, until he got to Paddan Aram country. 2-3Then Jacob looked at the land that was in front of him, and he saw a water-hole with a really big flat stone over the top, like a lid. And he saw 3 mobs of sheep lying next to that water-hole. There were some work-men there that looked after those sheep. Every day, those work-men used to meet together at that water-hole with their sheep, and then they worked together to move that big stone that was on top of the water-hole, and they got water for their sheep to drink. Then every day they put that big stone on top of the water-hole again.
4Jacob went and talked to those work-men. He said, “Hello. Where do you mob come from?”
The work-men said, “We are from Haran.”
5Then Jacob said, “Do you know Laban? His grand-father’s name is Nahor.”
The work-men said, “Yes, we know him.”
6Jacob said, “How is he?”
The work-men said, “He is good.” Then they said, “Look over there. Laban’s daughter Rachel is coming here with some sheep.”
7Then Jacob talked to the work-men again. He said, “Why are you mob waiting here, next to the water-hole? It’s only the middle of the day. It’s too early to bring your animals together to take them home. You should get water from the water-hole for your sheep to drink, and then take your sheep away and find grass for them to eat.”
8But the work-men said, “No, we can’t do that yet. We always wait until all the other work-men come here with their sheep. After that, we will move that big stone that is on top of the water-hole, and then we will get water for our sheep to drink.”
9While Jacob and the work-men were still talking to each other, Laban’s daughter Rachel came to the water-hole with some sheep. Those sheep belonged to Rachel’s father Laban, and Rachel looked after those sheep for her father.
10As soon as Jacob saw Rachel and those sheep, he felt really happy, because Rachel was his relative. Her father Laban was the brother of Jacob’s mother. So Jacob quickly went to the water-hole, and he moved that big stone that was on top of the water-hole, and he got water for Laban’s sheep to drink. 11Then he kissed Rachel on the cheek, and he started to cry out loud because he was so happy. 12Jacob said to Rachel, “I am your father’s relative. My mother’s name is Rebekah, and she is your father’s sister.”
Then Rachel ran home and told her father Laban what happened.
13As soon as Laban heard that his sister’s son Jacob came to Haran, he ran to meet Jacob. Then Laban hugged Jacob and kissed him on the cheek, and he took Jacob to his house. And Jacob told Laban about the things that happened to him. 14Then Laban talked to Jacob, and he said, “You and me, we are both from the same family.” After that, Jacob stayed at Laban’s house for one month, and he worked for Laban.
Jacob married Leah and Rachel
15-18Jacob’s uncle Laban had 2 daughters. His older daughter was called Leah, and his younger daughter was called Rachel. Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel was really beautiful. So Jacob loved Rachel, and he wanted to marry her.
After one month, Laban talked to Jacob. Laban said, “You are working for me, but I am not paying you anything, because you are my relative. Is that fair? No way. I want to start paying you for the work that you do for me. Tell me, how much do you want me to pay you?”
Jacob said, “You don’t have to pay me anything. I just want to marry Rachel, your younger daughter. If I work for you for 7 years, will you give her to me to marry?”
19Then Laban said, “All right. You are our relative, so it’s best for Rachel to marry you, not another man. Stay here and work for me for 7 years, and then I will give her to you to marry.”
20So Jacob worked for Laban for 7 years, so that he could marry Rachel. Jacob really loved Rachel, and he felt really happy that he was going to marry her. He was so happy that those 7 years only felt like a few days.
21At the end of those 7 years, Jacob said to Laban, “I worked for you for 7 years, just like you said. So now, let me marry your daughter Rachel.”
22Then Laban made a wedding party. He got all the people that lived in that place to come to that wedding party, and he gave them lots of good food.
23But then, that night, Laban tricked Jacob. Laban took his daughter Leah to Jacob’s room, instead of his daughter Rachel. Then Jacob slept with Leah, like a man sleeps with his wife. But Jacob didn’t know that he slept with Leah. He thought that he slept with Rachel.
24-30The next morning, Jacob saw that Leah was in his room, instead of Rachel. So Jacob was angry, and he went and talked to Laban. Jacob said, “You told me that I have to work for you for 7 years, and then I can marry Rachel. So I worked those 7 years, just like you said, but then you tricked me. You gave me Leah to be my wife, instead of Rachel. Why did you do that bad thing to me?”
Laban said, “Leah is my older daughter, and Rachel is my younger daughter. In our culture, the older daughter always gets married first. That’s the reason why I gave you Leah to be your wife, instead of Rachel.”
Then Laban said, “Listen, your wedding party will finish in one week. So spend this week with Leah, and after that, I will give you Rachel to marry as well. But after you marry Rachel, you have to work for me for 7 more years.”
Jacob agreed to do what Laban said. After one week, Jacob and Leah’s wedding party finished. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to Jacob, and Jacob married Rachel as well. And Jacob slept with Rachel, like a man sleeps with his wife. So then Jacob had 2 wives, but he loved Rachel more than Leah.
Laban had some women that worked for him. And Laban gave one of those women to his daughter Leah, to work for her, and he gave another of those women to his daughter Rachel, to work for her. The woman that worked for Leah was called Zilpah, and the woman that worked for Rachel was called Bilhah.
Then Jacob worked for Laban for 7 more years.
Leah had 4 sons
31Jacob didn’t love his wife Leah. He only loved his wife Rachel. And God saw that Jacob didn’t love Leah. So God felt sorry for Leah, and he let her have kids. But Rachel couldn’t have any kids.
32This is the story about Leah and her kids.
A baby started to grow inside Leah, and she had a baby boy. Leah named that baby Reuben. That name means this is my son. And Leah said, “God saw that I was sad, so he gave me a son. Now I reckon my husband will love me.”
33Later on, Leah had another baby boy. And Leah said, “God heard that my husband doesn’t love me, so he gave me another son.” And Leah named that baby Simeon. That name means he heard.
34Later on, Leah had another baby boy. And Leah said, “Now I reckon my husband will love me and stay close to me, because I gave him 3 sons.” And Leah named that baby Levi. That name means stay close.
35Later on, Leah had another baby boy. And Leah said, “Now I will say thank you to God, and I will tell everybody that God is really great.” And Leah named that baby Judah. That name means thank you.
After that, Leah stopped having babies for a while.
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