Genesis 30

1And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.

1When Rachel saw that she was not having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I will 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?

2Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, 'Am I in the place of God? He is the one who has kept you from having children.'

3And she said, Behold, my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may bear upon my knees, and I also may obtain children by her.

3Then she said, 'Here is my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her so she can have a child for me, and I can build a family through her.'

4And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.

4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob slept with her.

5And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.

5Bilhah became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob.

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.

6Rachel said, 'God has vindicated me; he has heard my plea and given me a son.' So she named him Dan.

7And Bilhah Rachel’s handmaid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.

7Rachel’s servant Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.

8And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

8Then Rachel said, 'I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.' So she named him Naphtali.

9When Leah saw that she had left off bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife.

9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

10And Zilpah Leah’s handmaid bare Jacob a son.

10Leah’s servant Zilpah gave birth to a son for Jacob.

11And Leah said, Fortunate! and she called his name Gad.

11Leah said, 'How fortunate!' and she named him Gad.

12And Zilpah Leah’s handmaid bare Jacob a second son.

12Leah’s servant Zilpah gave birth to a second son for Jacob.

13And Leah said, Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy: and she called his name Asher.

13Leah said, 'How happy I am! Women will call me happy.' So she named him Asher.

14And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

14During the wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, 'Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.'

15And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes.

15But Leah answered, 'Wasn't it enough that you took my husband? Now you want to take my son's mandrakes too?' Rachel said, 'Alright, Jacob can sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.'

16And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

16When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. 'You must sleep with me tonight,' she said, 'because I have hired you with my son's mandrakes.' So he slept with her that night.

17And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth son.

17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.

18And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.

18Leah said, 'God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.' So she named him Issachar.

19And Leah conceived again, and bare a sixth son to Jacob.

19Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.

20And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.

20Then Leah said, 'God has given me a wonderful gift. Now my husband will truly honor me, because I have given him six sons.' So she named him Zebulun.

21And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

21Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.

22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to have children.

23And she conceived, and bare a son: and said, God hath taken away my reproach:

23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, 'God has taken away my shame.'

24and she called his name Joseph, saying, Jehovah add to me another son.

24She named him Joseph, saying, 'May the LORD add another son to me.'

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.

25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, 'Send me on my way so I can go back to my own home and country.'

26Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service wherewith I have served thee.

26'Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and let me go. You know how well I have worked for you.'

27And Laban said unto him, If now I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have divined that Jehovah hath blessed me for thy sake.

27But Laban said to him, 'If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.'

28And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

28He added, 'Tell me what your wages should be, and I will pay them.'

29And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle have fared with me.

29Jacob said to him, 'You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has done under my care.'

30For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a multitude; and Jehovah hath blessed thee whithersoever I turned: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?

30'You had very little before I came, but now it has grown into a huge amount. The LORD has blessed you everywhere I went. But now, when can I start providing for my own family?'

31And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me aught: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it.

31Laban asked, 'What should I give you?' Jacob replied, 'Don't give me anything fixed. Just do this one thing for me, and I will continue to take care of your flocks.'

32I will pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.

32'Let me go through all your flocks today and take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages.'

33So shall my righteousness answer for me hereafter, when thou shalt come concerning my hire that is before thee: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.

33'In the future, my honesty will speak for itself when you come to check on my wages. If you find any goat that isn't speckled or spotted, or any lamb that isn't black, you can consider it stolen.'

34And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.

34Laban said, 'Agreed. Let it be as you say.'

35And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstreaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons;

35But that same day, Laban went out and removed all the male goats that were striped or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted or had white on them, and all the black lambs. He put them in the care of his own sons.

36and he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

36Then he put a three-day journey's distance between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane-tree; and peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

37Jacob took fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He peeled off strips of bark to reveal the white wood inside, making them look striped.

38And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.

38He placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. When the animals came to drink, they mated in front of the branches.

39And the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstreaked, speckled, and spotted.

39The flocks mated in front of the branches and gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, or spotted.

40And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstreaked and all the black in the flock of Laban: and he put his own droves apart, and put them not unto Laban’s flock.

40Jacob set these lambs apart. He made the rest of the flock face the striped and black animals belonging to Laban. He kept his own animals separate and did not let them mix with Laban’s flock.

41And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods;

41Whenever the stronger animals were mating, Jacob would put the branches in the troughs in front of them, so they would mate near the branches.

42but when the flock were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

42But if the animals were weak, he did not put the branches there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones went to Jacob.

43And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and asses.

43In this way, the man became very wealthy and owned large flocks, as well as female and male servants, camels, and donkeys.