Genesis 29:14-30

Evangelical Heritage Version

¹⁴ Laban said to him, “Certainly you are my own flesh and blood.”^[a]

Jacob lived with him for a month. ¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, is that any reason you should serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”

¹⁶ Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah had attractive eyes,^[b] but Rachel had a beautiful face and figure. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. He said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.”

¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better for me to give her to you than to give her to another man. Stay with me.”

²⁰ Jacob served seven years for Rachel. They seemed to him like a few days, because of the love he had for her.

²¹ Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is finished, so that I may go to her.”

²² Laban gathered together all the local people and made a feast. ²³ When evening had arrived, he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob went to her. ²⁴ (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.) ²⁵ When morning came, Jacob realized it was Leah. So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Didn’t I serve you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?”

²⁶ Laban said, “That is not the way we do it here. We do not give the younger before the firstborn. ²⁷ Fulfill the marriage week for this one, and we will give you the other one too—for seven more years of service.”

²⁸ So that is what Jacob did. When he fulfilled the marriage week, Laban gave him Rachel his daughter as his wife. ²⁹ (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid.) ³⁰ Jacob also went to Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He served Laban seven more years.