Jacob’s Love for Rachel

29 Then Jacob ^[a]took up his journey and came to the land of ^(A)the sons of the east. ² And he looked, and behold, ^(B)a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they gave water to the flocks to drink. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large. ³ And all the flocks would be gathered there, and they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and give water to the sheep to drink and return the stone back to its place on the mouth of the well.

⁴ And Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from ^(C)Haran.” ⁵ Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the ^(D)son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.” ⁶ And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is ^(E)Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.” ⁷ And he said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Give water to the sheep to drink, and go, pasture them.” ⁸ But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we give water to the sheep to drink.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ Now it happened, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and gave water to the flock of Laban his mother’s brother to drink. ¹¹ Then Jacob ^(F)kissed Rachel and lifted his voice and wept. ¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was a ^[b](G)relative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and ^(H)she ran and told her father.

¹³ So it happened that when ^(I)Laban heard the report of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and he ^(J)embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he recounted to Laban all these things. ¹⁴ And Laban said to him, “Surely you are ^(K)my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him one month.