New Living Translation

New King James Version

When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

1

Jacob’s Children

Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!”

2

Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”

2

And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

3

Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me,a and through her I can have a family, too.”

3

So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may [a]have children by her.”

4

So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.

4

Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.

5

Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son.

5

And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

6

Rachel named him Dan,b for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.”

6

Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name [b]Dan.

7

Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.

7

And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8

Rachel named him Naphtali,c for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”

8

Then Rachel said, “With [c]great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name [d]Naphtali.

9

Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

9

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife.

10

Soon Zilpah presented him with a son.

10

And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

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Leah named him Gad,d for she said, “How fortunate I am!”

11

Then Leah said, [e]“A troop comes!” So she called his name [f]Gad.

12

Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.

12

And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

13

And Leah named him Asher,e for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”

13

Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name [g]Asher.

14

One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

14

Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15

But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?”
Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.”

15

But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?”
And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”

16

So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah.

16

When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.

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And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.

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And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

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She named him Issachar,f for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.”

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Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name [h]Issachar.

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

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Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

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She named him Zebulun,g for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.”

20

And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name [i]Zebulun.

21

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

21

Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name [j]Dinah.

22

Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children.

22

Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

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She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said.

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And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

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And she named him Joseph,h for she said, “May the LORD add yet another son to my family.”

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So she called his name [k]Joseph, and said, “The Lord shall add to me another son.”

25

Jacob’s Wealth Increases

Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country.

25

Jacob’s Agreement with Laban

And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country.

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Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.”

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Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.”

27

“Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, fori the LORD has blessed me because of you.

27

And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.”

28

Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”

28

Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”

29

Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care.

29

So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.

30

You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?”

30

For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the Lord has blessed you [l]since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?”

31

“What wages do you want?” Laban asked again.
Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks.

31

So he said, “What shall I give you?”
And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks:

32

Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages.

32

Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages.

33

In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

33

So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.”

34

“All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.”

34

And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!”

35

But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons,

35

So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

36

who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.

36

Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37

Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them.

37

Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods.

38

Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated.

38

And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39

And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

39

So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.

40

Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.

40

Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s flock.

41

Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches.

41

And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42

But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s.

42

But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s.

43

As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys.

43

Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Parallel

New Living Translation

New King James Version

Genesis 30

Genesis 30