Genesis 30
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
30 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister; and she said to Jacob, ‘Give me children, or I shall die!’ 2 Jacob became very angry with Rachel and said, ‘Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?’ 3 Then she said, ‘Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, that she may bear upon my knees and that I too may have children through her.’ 4 So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife; and Jacob went in to her. 5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, ‘God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son’; therefore she named him Dan.[a] 7 Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, ‘With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled[b] with my sister, and have prevailed’; so she named him Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, ‘Good fortune!’ so she named him Gad.[c] 12 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 And Leah said, ‘Happy am I! For the women will call me happy’; so she named him Asher.[d]
14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes 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 that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?’ Rachel said, ‘Then he may lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.’ 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and said, ‘You must come in to me; for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.’ So he lay with her that night. 17 And God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, ‘God has given me my hire[e] because I gave my maid to my husband’; so she named him Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, ‘God has endowed me with a good dowry; now my husband will honour[f] me, because I have borne him six sons’; so she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterwards she bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God heeded her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘God has taken away my reproach’; 24 and she named him Joseph,[g] saying, ‘May the Lord add to me another son!’
Jacob Prospers at Laban’s Expense
25 When Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, ‘Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know very well the service I have given you.’ 27 But Laban said to him, ‘If you will allow me to say so, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you; 28 name your wages, and I will give them.’ 29 Jacob said to him, ‘You yourself know how I have served you, and how your cattle have fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly; and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?’ 31 He said, ‘What shall I give you?’ Jacob said, ‘You shall not give me anything; if you will do this for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it: 32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages. 33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.’ 34 Laban said, ‘Good! Let it be as you have said.’ 35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in charge of his sons; 36 and he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban’s flock.
37 Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the rods. 38 He set the rods that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering-places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, 39 the flocks bred in front of the rods, and so the flocks produced young that were striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and the completely black animals in the flock of Laban; and he put his own droves apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob laid the rods in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the rods, 42 but for the feebler of the flock he did not lay them there; so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 Thus the man grew exceedingly rich, and had large flocks, and male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys.
Footnotes
- Genesis 30:6 That is He judged
- Genesis 30:8 Heb niphtal
- Genesis 30:11 That is Fortune
- Genesis 30:13 That is Happy
- Genesis 30:18 Heb sakar
- Genesis 30:20 Heb zabal
- Genesis 30:24 That is He adds
Genesis 30
Revised Geneva Translation
30 And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.”
2 Then Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in God’s place, Who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
3 And she said, “Behold my maid, Bilhah. Go into her; and she shall bear upon my knees. And I, also, shall have children by her.”
4 Then she gave him Bilhah, her maid, to wife; and Jacob went into her.
5 So Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.
6 Then Rachel said, “God has given sentence on my side, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son.” Therefore, she called his name, Dan.
7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have gotten the upper hand.” And she called his name, Naphtali.
9 And when Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah, her maid, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 And Zilpah, Leah’s maid, bore Jacob a son.
11 Then Leah said, “A company comes.” And she called his name, Gad.
12 Again Zilpah, Leah’s maid, bore Jacob another son.
13 Then Leah said, “Ah, blessed am I. For the daughters will bless me.” And she called his name, Asher.
14 Now, Reuben went in the days of the wheat harvest and found mandrakes 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 answered her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” Then Rachel said, “Therefore, he shall sleep with you tonight, for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 And Jacob came from the field in the evening. And Leah went out to meet him, and said, “Come into me, for I have bought and paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night.
17 And God heard Leah, and she conceived, and bore to Jacob a fifth son.
18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my reward, because I gave my maid to my husband.” And she called his name, Issachar.
19 After, Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.
20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good dowry. Now my husband will dwell with me because I have borne him six sons.” And she called his name, Zebulun.
21 After that, she bore a daughter; and she called her name, Dinah.
22 And God remembered Rachel; and God heard her and opened her womb.
23 So she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my rebuke.”
24 And she called his name, Joseph, saying, “The LORD will give me yet another son.”
25 And as soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away so that I may go to my place and to my country.
26 “Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go. For you know what service I have done you.”
27 To whom Laban answered, “If I have now found favor in your sight. I have perceived that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.”
28 Also, he said, “Name your wages and I will give it to you.”
29 But he said to him, “You know what service I have done you, and in what state your cattle has been under me.
30 “For the little that you had before I came has increased into a multitude. And the LORD has blessed you by my coming. But now, when shall I work for my own house also?”
31 Then he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob answered, “You shall give me nothing at all. If you will do this thing for me, I will return, feed, and keep your sheep.
32 “I will pass through all your flocks today, separate from them all the sheep with little spots and great spots and all black lambs among the sheep, and the great spotted, and little spotted among the goats. And that shall be my wages.
33 “So shall my righteousness answer for me hereafter, when my reward comes before your face. Every one that has no little or great spots among the goats, or is black among the sheep, the same shall be considered stolen if with me.
34 Then Laban said, “Go to! Would that it might be according to your saying.”
35 Therefore, the same day, he took out the male goats that were parti-colored and with great spots, and all the female goats with little and great spots, and all that had white in them, and all the black among the sheep, and put them in the keeping of his sons.
36 And he set three days journey between himself and Jacob. And Jacob kept the rest of Laban’s sheep.
37 Then Jacob took rods of green poplar, and of hazel, and of the chestnut tree, and peeled white strips in them, and made the white appear in the rods.
38 Then he put the rods which he had peeled in the gutters and watering troughs where the sheep came to drink, so they could conceive (for they were in heat, when they came to drink).
39 And the sheep were in heat before the rods; and they brought forth young of parti-color and with small and great spots.
40 And Jacob parted these lambs and turned the faces of the flock toward the parti-colored and all manner of black among the sheep of Laban. So, he put his own flock by themselves, and did not put them with Laban’s flock.
41 And in every ramming time of the stronger sheep, Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the sheep in the gutters, so that they might conceive before the rods.
42 But when the sheep were feeble, he did not put them in. And so, the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
43 So the man increased exceedingly, and had many flocks, and maid servants, and men servants, and camels, and donkeys.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
© 2019, 2024 by Five Talents Audio. All rights reserved.