Genesis 29
29
1And Jacob lifteth up his feet, and goeth towards the land of the sons of the east;
2and 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.
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.)
4And Jacob saith to them, ‘My brethren, from whence [are] ye?’ and they say, ‘We [are] from Haran.’
5And he saith to them, ‘Have ye known Laban, son of Nahor?’ and they say, ‘We have known.’
6And he saith to them, ‘Hath he peace?’ and they say, ‘Peace; and lo, Rachel his daughter is coming with the flock.’
7And 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.’
8And 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.’
9He is yet speaking with them, and Rachel hath come with the flock which her father hath, for she [is] shepherdess;
10and 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.
11And Jacob kisseth Rachel, and lifteth up his voice, and weepeth,
12and 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.
13And 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,
14and Laban saith to him, ‘Only my bone and my flesh [art] thou;’ and he dwelleth with him a month of days.
15And 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.’
16And Laban hath two daughters, the name of the elder [is] Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel,
17and the eyes of Leah [are] tender, and Rachel hath been fair of form and fair of appearance.
18And Jacob loveth Rachel, and saith, ‘I serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter:’
19and Laban saith, ‘It is better for me to give her to thee than to give her to another man; dwell with me;’
20and Jacob serveth for Rachel seven years; and they are in his eyes as some days, because of his loving her.
21And Jacob saith unto Laban, ‘Give up my wife, for my days have been fulfilled, and I go in unto her;’
22and Laban gathereth all the men of the place, and maketh a banquet.
23And 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;
24and Laban giveth to her Zilpah, his maid-servant, to Leah his daughter, a maidservant.
25And 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?’
26And Laban saith, ‘It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn;
27fulfil 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.’
28And Jacob doth so, and fulfilleth the week of this one, and he giveth to him Rachel his daughter, to him for a wife;
29and Laban giveth to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his maid-servant, for a maid-servant to her.
30And he goeth in also unto Rachel, and he also loveth Rachel more than Leah; and he serveth with him yet seven other years.
31And Jehovah seeth that Leah [is] the hated one, and He openeth her womb, and Rachel [is] barren;
32and 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.’
33And 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.
34And 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.
35And 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.
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 29
29
Jacob Arrives in Northwest Mesopotamia
1Then Jacob continued his journey and came to the land of the people of the East. 2He looked and saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying nearby, because they drank water from this well. A large stone covered the mouth of the well. 3When all the flocks would gather there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place.
4Jacob said to the shepherds there, “My brothers, where are you from?”
They answered, “We are from Haran.”
5Then Jacob asked, “Do you know Laban, grandson of Nahor?”
They answered, “We know him.”
6Then Jacob asked, “How is he?”
They answered, “He is well. Look, his daughter Rachel is coming now with his sheep.”
7Jacob said, “But look, it is still the middle of the day. It is not time for the sheep to be gathered for the night, so give them water and let them go back into the pasture.”
8But they said, “We cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered. Then we will roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep.”
9While Jacob was talking with the shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, because it was her job to care for the sheep. 10When Jacob saw Laban’s daughter Rachel and Laban’s sheep, he went to the well and rolled the stone from its mouth and watered Laban’s sheep. Now Laban was the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s mother. 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and cried. 12He told her that he was from her father’s family and that he was the son of Rebekah. So Rachel ran home and told her father.
13When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. Laban hugged him and kissed him and brought him to his house, where Jacob told Laban everything that had happened.
14Then Laban said, “You are my own flesh and blood.”
Jacob Is Tricked
Jacob stayed there a month. 15Then Laban said to Jacob, “You are my relative, but it is not right for you to work for me without pay. What would you like me to pay you?”
16Now Laban had two daughters. The older was Leah, and the younger was Rachel. 17Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was very beautiful. 18Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, “Let me marry your younger daughter Rachel. If you will, I will work seven years for you.”
19Laban said, “It would be better for her to marry you than someone else, so stay here with me.” 20So Jacob worked for Laban seven years so he could marry Rachel. But they seemed like just a few days to him because he loved Rachel very much.
21After seven years Jacob said to Laban, “Give me Rachel so that I may marry her. The time I promised to work for you is over.”
22So Laban gave a feast for all the people there. 23That evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and they had sexual relations. 24(Laban gave his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter to be her servant.) 25In the morning when Jacob saw that he had had sexual relations with Leah, he said to Laban, “What have you done to me? I worked hard for you so that I could marry Rachel! Why did you trick me?”
26Laban said, “In our country we do not allow the younger daughter to marry before the older daughter. 27But complete the full week of the marriage ceremony with Leah, and I will give you Rachel to marry also. But you must serve me another seven years.”
28So Jacob did this, and when he had completed the week with Leah, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife. 29(Laban gave his slave girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30So Jacob had sexual relations with Rachel also, and Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
Jacob’s Family Grows
31When the Lord saw that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, he made it possible for Leah to have children, but not Rachel. 32Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, because she said, “The Lord has seen my troubles. Surely now my husband will love me.”
33Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon and said, “The Lord has heard that I am not loved, so he has given me this son.”
34Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Levi and said, “Now, surely my husband will be close to me, because I have given him three sons.”
35Then Leah gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, because she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Then Leah stopped having children.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.