Genesis 29:20-35
King James Version
20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.
25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?
26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
31 And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
33 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.
34 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.
35 And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing.
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Genesis 29:20-35
New King James Version
20 So Jacob (A)served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may (B)go in to her.” 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and (C)made a feast. 23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave his maid (D)Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you (E)deceived me?”
26 And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our [a]country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 (F)Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”
28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. 29 And Laban gave his maid (G)Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also (H)loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban (I)still another seven years.
The Children of Jacob
31 When the Lord (J)saw that Leah was [b]unloved, He (K)opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name [c]Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely (L)looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am [d]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name [e]Simeon. 34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called [f]Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name (M)Judah.[g] Then she stopped bearing.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 29:26 Lit. place
- Genesis 29:31 Lit. hated
- Genesis 29:32 Lit. See, a Son
- Genesis 29:33 Lit. hated
- Genesis 29:33 Lit. Heard
- Genesis 29:34 Lit. Attached
- Genesis 29:35 Lit. Praise
Genesis 29:20-35
New American Standard Bible
20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him like only a few days (A)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 (B)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, “(C)What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you (D)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 (E)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 (F)he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with [d]Laban for (G)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](H)seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.” 33 Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “(I)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 (J)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](K)Judah. Then she stopped having children.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 29:21 Lit days are
- Genesis 29:26 Lit done thus in
- Genesis 29:26 Lit give
- Genesis 29:30 Lit him
- Genesis 29:31 Lit hated
- Genesis 29:32 I.e., see, a son
- Genesis 29:32 Lit looked at
- Genesis 29:33 Heb shama, related to Simeon
- Genesis 29:33 Lit hated
- Genesis 29:34 Heb lavah, related to Levi
- Genesis 29:35 Heb Jadah, related to Judah
- Genesis 29:35 Heb Jehudah
Genesis 29:20-35
English Standard Version
20 So Jacob (A)served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and (B)made a feast. 23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her. 24 (Laban gave[a] (C)his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” 26 Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 (D)Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” 28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 29 (Laban gave (E)his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban (F)for another seven years.
Jacob's Children
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was (G)hated, (H)he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben,[b] for she said, “Because the Lord (I)has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” 33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.[c] 34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be (J)attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi.[d] 35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name (K)Judah.[e] Then she ceased bearing.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 29:24 Or had given; also verse 29
- Genesis 29:32 Reuben means See, a son
- Genesis 29:33 Simeon sounds like the Hebrew for heard
- Genesis 29:34 Levi sounds like the Hebrew for attached
- Genesis 29:35 Judah sounds like the Hebrew for praise
Genesis 29:20-35
New Living Translation
20 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.
21 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.”
22 So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. 23 But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. 24 (Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.)
25 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?”
26 “It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. 27 “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.”
28 So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. 29 (Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) 30 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’s Many Children
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. 32 So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben,[a] for she said, “The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.”
33 She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon,[b] for she said, “The Lord heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.”
34 Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi,[c] for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!”
35 Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah,[d] for she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” And then she stopped having children.
Read full chapterScripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
