Genesis 30
1 Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, and she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die.”
2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld the fruit of the womb from you?”
3 She said, “Here is my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her, so she may give birth on my knees, and I too may have children through her.”
4 She gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob slept with her.
5 Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son.
6 Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he heard my voice and gave me a son.” So she named him Dan.
7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 Rachel said, “I have wrestled hard with my sister, with struggles from God, and I have prevailed.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 Zilpah, Leah’s servant, bore Jacob a son.
11 Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” So she named him Gad.
12 Zilpah, Leah’s servant, bore Jacob a second son.
13 Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
14 During the wheat harvest, Reuben went out, found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 Leah answered her, “Is it not enough that you took my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?” Rachel said, “Then he can sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me, because I have hired you—with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.
18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19 Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a sixth son.
20 Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. This time my husband will live with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
21 Afterward she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 God acted on Rachel’s behalf. He listened to her and opened her womb.
23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”
24 She named him Joseph, saying, “May the LORD add another son to me.”
25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me go, so I can return to my own place and land.
26 Give me my wives and children, whom I served you for, and I will go. You know the work I did for you.”
27 Laban answered him, “If I have found favor in your eyes—I have learned through divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”
28 He added, “Set your wages, and I will pay them.”
29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have fared with me.
30 For the little you had before I came has grown greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I went. Now, when will I work for my own household too?”
31 Laban asked, “What should I give you?” Jacob answered, “Give me nothing. If you will do this for me, I will return to pasture and care for your flock.
32 Today I will go through your whole flock and remove every speckled or spotted sheep, and every dark lamb among the sheep, and every spotted or speckled goat. These will be my wages.
33 “My integrity will speak for me tomorrow, when you come to check my wages. Any goat that is not speckled or spotted, or any sheep that is not dark, if found with me, will be stolen.”
34 Laban said, “Good. Let it be as you have said.”
35 That same day, Laban removed the striped and spotted male goats, all the spotted and speckled female goats, everything with any white on it, and all the dark sheep, and put them in the hands of his sons.
36 Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock.
37 Jacob took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white beneath the bark.
38 He placed the peeled branches in the troughs and watering channels where the flock came to drink, right in front of them. The females came into heat when they came to drink.
39 The flock came into heat in front of the branches, and the females gave birth to striped, speckled, and spotted young.
40 Jacob separated the sheep and turned the flock toward the striped and all the dark animals in Laban’s flock. He formed flocks for himself alone and did not mix them with Laban’s flock.
41 Whenever the stronger females came into heat, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would come into heat in front of the branches.
42 But when the animals were weak, he did not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban, and the strong ones to Jacob.
43 So the man became exceedingly wealthy, and came to have large flocks, female and male servants, camels, and donkeys.
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