Genesis 30:35-43

New Catholic Bible

³⁵ That day he removed the speckled and spotted he-goats and the speckled and spotted she-goats, all of those that had some white on them, and every sheep that was a dark color. He placed the flock in the care of his sons, ³⁶ and he determined that there should be a distance of a three days’ journey by camel from Jacob’s flock. Jacob cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.

³⁷ But Jacob took fresh shoots of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and he made white^[a] stripes in them by peeling the bark back down to the white core of the shoots. ³⁸ He then took the shoots from which he had peeled the bark and he placed them in the channels, that is, in the watering troughs where the animals came to drink. They were placed where the animals could see them, and the animals mated when they came to drink. ³⁹ Thus, the animals mated in the sight of the shoots, and the goats had kids that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.^[b]

⁴⁰ As for the sheep, Jacob separated them and had them face the animals that were streaked or fully dark of the flock of Laban. He put his own flock in a separate place; he did not put them together with Laban’s flock. ⁴¹ Every once in a while, the healthier animals mated, and Jacob would put the shoots in the trough where the animals could see them, so that they would mate in the sight of the shoots. ⁴² When the animals were weak, he did not put them there. Thus, the weak animals belonged to Laban, and those that were healthy belonged to Jacob. ⁴³ He grew rich beyond measure and possessed great numbers of flocks, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.