Genesis 29:16-30:24

New American Standard Bible

¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was ^(A)beautiful in figure and appearance. ¹⁸ Now Jacob ^(B)loved Rachel, so he said, “^(C)I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” ¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him like only a few days ^(D)because of his love for her.

Laban’s Treachery

²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my ^[a]time is completed, that I may ^(E)have relations with her.” ²² So Laban gathered all the people of the place and held a feast. ²³ Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and Jacob had relations with her. ²⁴ Laban also gave his female slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a slave. ²⁵ So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “^(F)What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you ^(G)deceived me?” ²⁶ But Laban said, “It is not ^[b]the practice in our place to ^[c]marry off the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷ Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which ^(H)you shall serve with me, for another seven years.” ²⁸ Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. ²⁹ Laban also gave his female slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave. ³⁰ So Jacob had relations with Rachel also, and indeed ^(I)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with ^[d]Laban for ^(J)another seven years.

³¹ Now the Lord saw that Leah was ^[e]unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was unable to have children. ³² Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and named him ^[f]Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has ^[g](K)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “^(L)Because the Lord has ^[h]heard that I am ^[i]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon. ³⁴ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become ^[j]attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named ^(M)Levi. ³⁵ And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will ^[k]praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him ^[l](N)Judah. Then she stopped having children.

The Sons of Jacob

30 Now when Rachel saw that ^(O)she had not borne Jacob any children, ^[m]she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “^(P)Give me children, or else I am going to die.” ² Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has ^(Q)withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” ³ Then she said, “^(R)Here is my female slave Bilhah: have relations with her that she may ^(S)give birth ^[n]on my knees, so that ^[o](T)by her I too may obtain a child.” ⁴ So ^(U)she gave him her slave Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has ^[p](V)vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him ^[q]Dan. ⁷ And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ So Rachel said, “With ^[r]mighty wrestling I have ^[s]wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ¹⁰ And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “^[t]How fortunate!” So she named him ^[u]Gad. ¹² And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “^[v]Happy am I! For women ^(W)will call me happy.” So she named him ^[w]Asher.

¹⁴ Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found ^(X)mandrake fruits 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 she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must have relations with me, for I have indeed hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. ¹⁷ God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has given me my ^[x]reward, because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. ¹⁹ And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; finally my husband ^[y]will acknowledge me as his wife, 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 Then ^(Y)God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and ^(Z)opened her womb. ²³ So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, “God has ^(AA)taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴ And she named him Joseph, saying, “^(AB)May the Lord ^[z]give me another son.”