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Jacob Arrives at Paddan-Aram
Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east.
Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east.
Jacob Arrives in Paddan Aram
Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.
Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.
He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well.
There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large.
It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well.
When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?”
“We are from Haran,” they answered.
“We are from Haran,” they answered.
Jacob asked the shepherds, “My brothers, where are you from?”
“We’re from Harran,” they replied.
“We’re from Harran,” they replied.
“Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked.
“Yes, we do,” they replied.
“Yes, we do,” they replied.
He said to them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”
“Yes, we know him,” they answered.
“Yes, we know him,” they answered.
“Is he doing well?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”
“Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.”
Then Jacob asked them, “Is he well?”
“Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”
“Yes, he is,” they said, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”
Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight — too early to round up the animals. Why don’t you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?”
“Look,” he said, “the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.”
“We can’t water the animals until all the flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.”
“We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.”
Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd.
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd.
And because Rachel was his cousin — the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother — and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock.
When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud.
Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud.
He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side — the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban.
He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.
As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story,
As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things.
Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!”
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month,
Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month,
Then Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel
After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month,
After Jacob had stayed with him for a whole month,
Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.”
Laban said to him, “Just because you are a relative of mine, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.”
Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel.
Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.”
Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”
“Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.”
Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.”
So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days.
So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.”
Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife. My time is completed, and I want to make love to her.”
So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast.
So Laban brought together all the people of the place and gave a feast.
But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.
But when evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob made love to her.
(Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)
And Laban gave his servant Zilpah to his daughter as her attendant.
But when Jacob woke up in the morning — it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?”
When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me?”
“It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied.
Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.
“But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too — provided you promise to work another seven years for me.”
Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.”
So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too.
And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
(Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.)
Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant.
So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years.
Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Jacob’s Many Children
When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.
Jacob’s Children
When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.
When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.