Add parallel Print Page Options

30 ¶ And when Rachel saw that she gave Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister and said unto Jacob, Give me sons, or else I will die.

And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel; and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who has withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?

And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife; and Jacob went in unto her.

And Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son unto Jacob.

And Rachel said, God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son. Therefore she called his name Dan.

And Bilhah Rachel’s maid conceived again and gave birth to a second son unto Jacob.

And Rachel said, With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali.

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took Zilpah, her maid and gave her Jacob to wife.

10 And Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave birth to a son unto Jacob.

11 And Leah said, Good venture has come; and she called his name Gad.

12 And Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave birth to a second son unto Jacob.

13 And Leah said, Blessed am I, for the daughters will call me blessed; and she called his name Asher.

14 ¶ And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes.

15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband and would thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.

16 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son unto Jacob.

18 And Leah said, God has given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband; and she called his name Issachar.

19 And Leah conceived again and gave birth to the sixth son unto Jacob.

20 And Leah said, God has endued me with a good dowry; now my husband will dwell with me because I have born him six sons; and she called his name Zebulun.

21 And afterwards she gave birth to a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22 And God remembered Rachel and God hearkened to her and opened her womb.

23 And she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, God has taken away my reproach;

24 and she called his name Joseph, saying, Let the LORD add unto me another son.

25 ¶ And it came to pass when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, and I shall go unto my place and to my land.

26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go, for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.

27 And Laban said unto him, Let me now find grace in thine eyes, I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for thy sake.

28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.

29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee and how many livestock thou hast with me.

30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude, and the LORD has blessed thee since my coming; and now when shall I provide for my own house also?

31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me anything; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.

32 I will pass through all thy flock today, setting apart all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown rams among the rams, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and of such shall be my hire.

33 So shall my righteousness answer for me tomorrow, when my hire shall come before thy face; each one that is not speckled and spotted among my goats and brown among my sheep shall be counted stolen with me.

34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.

35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep and gave them into the hand of his sons.

36 And he set three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 ¶ And Jacob took rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut tree and peeled white strakes in them and made the white appear which was in the rods.

38 And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39 And the flocks conceived before the rods and brought forth ringstraked, speckled, and spotted sheep.

40 And Jacob separated the lambs, and put with his flock the ringstraked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them together with Laban’s sheep.

41 And it came to pass, whenever the stronger sheep conceived, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the sheep in the gutters that they might conceive among the rods.

42 But when the sheep were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.

43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had many sheep, and maidslaves and menslaves, and camels, and asses.

30 But Rachel had not borne Jacob any children, and so she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “I can't take the place of God. He is the one who keeps you from having children.”

She said, “Here is my slave Bilhah; sleep with her, so that she can have a child for me. In this way I can become a mother through her.” So she gave Bilhah to her husband, and he had intercourse with her. Bilhah became pregnant and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, “God has judged in my favor. He has heard my prayer and has given me a son”; so she named him Dan.[a] Bilhah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a second son. Rachel said, “I have fought a hard fight with my sister, but I have won”; so she named him Naphtali.[b]

When Leah realized that she had stopped having children, she gave her slave Zilpah to Jacob as his wife. 10 Then Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Leah said, “I have been lucky”; so she named him Gad.[c] 12 Zilpah bore Jacob another son, 13 and Leah said, “How happy I am! Now women will call me happy”; so she named him Asher.[d]

14 During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the fields and found mandrakes,[e] which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son's mandrakes.”

15 Leah answered, “Isn't it enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you are even trying to take away my son's mandrakes.”

Rachel said, “If you will give me your son's mandrakes, you can sleep with Jacob tonight.”

16 When Jacob came in from the fields in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You are going to sleep with me tonight, because I have paid for you with my son's mandrakes.” So he had intercourse with her that night.

17 God answered Leah's prayer, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my reward, because I gave my slave to my husband”; so she named her son Issachar.[f] 19 Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now my husband will accept me, because I have borne him six sons”; so she named him Zebulun.[g] 21 Later she bore a daughter, whom she named Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel; he answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “God has taken away my disgrace by giving me a son. 24 May the Lord give me another son”; so she named him Joseph.[h]

Jacob's Bargain with Laban

25 After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me go, so that I can return home. 26 Give me my wives and children that I have earned by working for you, and I will leave. You know how well I have served you.”

27 Laban said to him, “Let me say this: I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

29 Jacob answered, “You know how I have worked for you and how your flocks have prospered under my care. 30 The little you had before I came has grown enormously, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I went.[i] Now it is time for me to look out for my own interests.”

31 “What shall I pay you?” Laban asked.

Jacob answered, “I don't want any wages. I will continue to take care of your flocks if you agree to this suggestion: 32 Let me go through all your flocks today and take every black lamb[j] and every spotted or speckled young goat. That is all the wages I want. 33 In the future you can easily find out if I have been honest. When you come to check up on my wages, if I have any goat that isn't speckled or spotted or any sheep that isn't black, you will know that it has been stolen.”

34 Laban answered, “Agreed. We will do as you suggest.” 35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that had stripes or spots and all the females that were speckled and spotted or which had white on them; he also removed all the black sheep. He put his sons in charge of them, 36 and then went away from Jacob with this flock as far as he could travel in three days. Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flocks.

37 Jacob got green branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. 38 He placed these branches in front of the flocks at their drinking troughs. He put them there, because the animals mated when they came to drink. 39 So when the goats bred in front of the branches, they produced young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

40 Jacob kept the sheep separate from the goats and made them face in the direction of the streaked and black animals of Laban's flock. In this way he built up his own flock and kept it apart from Laban's.

41 When the healthy animals were mating, Jacob put the branches in front of them at the drinking troughs, so that they would breed among the branches. 42 But he did not put the branches in front of the weak animals. Soon Laban had all the weak animals, and Jacob all the healthy ones. 43 In this way Jacob became very wealthy. He had many flocks, slaves, camels, and donkeys.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 30:6 This name sounds like the Hebrew for “judge in favor.”
  2. Genesis 30:8 This name sounds like the Hebrew for “fight.”
  3. Genesis 30:11 This name in Hebrew means “luck.”
  4. Genesis 30:13 This name in Hebrew means “happy.”
  5. Genesis 30:14 Plants which were believed to produce fertility and were used as love charms.
  6. Genesis 30:18 This name sounds like the Hebrew for “a man is hired” and “there is reward.”
  7. Genesis 30:20 This name sounds like the Hebrew for “accept” and “gift.”
  8. Genesis 30:24 This name sounds like the Hebrew for “may he give another” and “he has taken away.”
  9. Genesis 30:30 wherever I went; or because of me.
  10. Genesis 30:32 One ancient translation every black lamb; Hebrew every spotted and speckled lamb, and every black lamb.

30 Si Raquel ay hindi pa rin nagbubuntis, kaya nainggit siya kay Lea. Sinabi niya kay Jacob, “Bigyan mo ako ng anak dahil kung hindi, mamamatay talaga ako!”

Nagalit si Jacob sa kanya at sinabi, “Bakit, Dios ba ako? Siya ang nagpasya na hindi ka magkaanak.”

Sinabi ni Raquel, “Kung ganoon, sumiping ka kay Bilha na alipin ko para kahit sa pamamagitan niya magkaroon din ako ng anak.”

Kaya ibinigay niya si Bilha kay Jacob bilang asawa, at sumiping si Jacob kay Bilha.

Dumating ang panahon, nabuntis si Bilha at nanganak ng lalaki. Sinabi ni Raquel, “Kinuha na ng Dios ang aking kahihiyan. Tinugon niya ang panalangin ko dahil binigyan niya ako ng isang anak na lalaki.” Kaya pinangalanan niya ang sanggol na Dan.[a]

Muling nagbuntis si Bilha na alipin ni Raquel at nanganak ng lalaki na pangalawang anak nila ni Jacob. Sinabi ni Raquel, “Napakahigpit ng labanan namin bilang magkapatid, at nagtagumpay ako.” Kaya pinangalanan niya ang sanggol na Naftali.[b]

Nang hindi na magkaanak si Lea, pinasipingan niya kay Jacob ang alipin niyang si Zilpa. 10 Nabuntis si Zilpa at nanganak ng lalaki. 11 Sinabi ni Lea, “Parang pinalad ako.” Kaya pinangalanan niya ang sanggol na Gad.[c]

12 Muling nanganak si Zilpa ng lalaki na pangalawang anak nila ni Jacob. 13 Sinabi ni Lea, “Lubha akong nasisiyahan! Ngayon tatawagin ako ng mga babae na masiyahin.” Kaya pinangalanan niya ang sanggol na Asher.[d]

14 Anihan ng trigo noon, pumunta si Reuben sa bukid at may nakita siyang tanim na mandragora. Kumuha siya ng bunga nito at dinala sa ina niyang si Lea. Pagkakita noon ni Raquel ay sinabi niya kay Lea, “Bigyan mo rin ako ng mandragora na dinala ng anak mo.”

15 Pero sumagot si Lea, “Hindi ka pa ba kontento na kinuha mo ang asawa ko? Ngayon, kukunin mo pa ang mandragora ng anak ko?”

Sinabi ni Raquel, “Kung bibigyan mo ako ng mandragora pasisipingin ko si Jacob sa iyo ngayong gabi.”

16 Mag-aagaw dilim na nang dumating si Jacob mula sa bukid, sinalubong siya ni Lea at sinabi, “Kailangang sa akin ka sumiping ngayong gabi, dahil binayaran na kita kay Raquel ng mandragora na dala ng anak ko.” Kaya sumiping si Jacob kay Lea nang gabing iyon.

17 Sinagot ng Dios ang panalangin ni Lea at siyaʼy nabuntis. Nanganak siya ng lalaki na ikalimang anak nila ni Jacob. 18 Sinabi ni Lea, “Ginantimpalaan ako ng Dios dahil ibinigay ko ang alipin ko sa aking asawa.” Kaya pinangalanan niya ang kanyang anak na Isacar.[e]

19 Muling nabuntis si Lea at nanganak ng lalaki na ikaanim nilang anak ni Jacob. 20 Sinabi niya, “Binigyan ako ng Dios ng mabuting regalo. Pararangalan na ako nito ngayon ng asawa ko dahil nabigyan ko na siya ng anim na anak na puro lalaki.” Kaya pinangalanan niya ang sanggol na Zebulun.[f]

21 Hindi nagtagal nanganak si Lea ng babae at pinangalanan niyang Dina.

22 Hindi rin kinalimutan ng Dios si Raquel. Sinagot niya ang kanyang panalangin na magkaanak din siya. 23 Nagbuntis siya at nanganak ng lalaki. Sinabi niya, “Inalis ng Dios ang aking kahihiyan.” Kaya pinangalanan niya ang sanggol na Jose[g] dahil sinabi niya, 24 “Nawaʼy bigyan ako ng Panginoon ng isa pang anak.”

Ang Kasunduan ni Jacob at ni Laban

25 Pagkatapos na ipanganak ni Raquel si Jose, sinabi ni Jacob kay Laban, “Pahintulutan nʼyo akong makauwi sa lugar namin. 26 Ibigay nʼyo sa akin ang mga asawa ko, na ipinaglingkod ko sa inyo, at ang mga anak ko, dahil babalik na ako sa amin. Nalalaman nʼyo kung paano ako naglingkod sa inyo.”

27 Sumagot si Laban, “Kung maaari huwag muna. Ayon sa pagpapahula ko, nalaman ko na pinagpala ako ng Panginoon dahil sa iyo. 28 Sabihin mo lang kung magkano ang ibabayad ko sa iyo at babayaran kita.”

29 Sinabi ni Jacob, “Alam mo kung paano ako naglingkod sa inyo at kung paano dumami ang mga hayop ninyo dahil sa pag-aalaga ko. 30 Nang dumating ako rito, kakaunti pa lang ang mga hayop nʼyo, pero ngayon ay napakarami na, dahil pinagpala kayo ng Panginoon dahil sa akin. Ngayon, dapat na sigurong magsumikap ako para sa sarili kong sambahayan.”

31 Nagtanong si Laban, “Ano ba ang gusto mong ibayad ko sa iyo?”

Sumagot si Jacob, “Huwag nʼyo na lang po akong bayaran. Ipagpapatuloy ko ang pag-aalaga sa mga hayop ninyo kung papayag kayo sa kundisyon ko: 32 Titingnan ko ngayon ang mga hayop nʼyo at kukunin ko ang itim na mga tupa at batik-batik na mga kambing. Iyon na lang ang pinakabayad nʼyo sa akin. 33 Darating ang araw, malalaman nʼyo kung maaasahan ako o hindi kung susuriin nʼyo ang mga hayop na ibinayad sa akin. Kung may makita po kayong kambing na hindi batik-batik o tupa na hindi itim, ituring nʼyo na ninakaw ko ito.”

34 Sumagot si Laban, “Kung ganyan ang gusto mo, payag ako.”

35 Pero nang araw ding iyon, ibinukod ni Laban ang mga batik-batik na kambing na lalaki at babae, pati ang mga itim na tupa. Pinaalagaan niya ito sa mga anak niyang lalaki. 36 Ibinukod niya ito kay Jacob sa layo na tatlong araw kung lalakarin. Ang naiwang mga hayop ay ang binabantayan ni Jacob.

37 Kumuha si Jacob ng mga sanga ng almendro, abilyano, at kastanyo, at binalat-balatan niya ito. Pero hindi niya lubos na binalatan, kaya may batik-batik na puti kapag tiningnan ang mga sanga. 38-39 Inilagay niya ang mga sangang iyon sa harapan ng painuman ng mga hayop para makita ng mga ito kapag iinom sila. Doon sa harapan ng mga sanga nagkakastahan[h] ang mga kambing kapag umiinom sila. Batik-batik ang mga anak nila kapag nanganganak sila. 40 Pero iba ang ginawa ni Jacob sa mga tupa: Habang nagkakastahan ang mga hayop na ito, pinapaharap niya sila sa mga batik-batik na kambing niya at sa itim na mga kambing ni Laban. Kaya nakaipon din si Jacob ng sarili niyang mga hayop at hindi niya ito isinama sa mga hayop ni Laban. 41 Kapag nagkakastahan na ang mga hayop na maganda ang katawan doon sa pinag-iinuman, inilalagay agad ni Jacob ang mga sangang iyon sa harapan ng mga ito. 42 Pero kapag ang mga hayop na matatamlay ang nagkakastahan, hindi niya inilalagay ang mga sanga, kaya ang mga matatamlay ay kay Laban at ang mga masisigla ang katawan ay kay Jacob. 43 Sa ganitong paraan, labis na yumaman si Jacob. Dumami ang hayop niya pati na ang mga kamelyo at asno. Dumami rin ang alipin niyang lalaki at babae.

Footnotes

  1. 30:6 Dan: Ang ibig sabihin, kinuha niya ang aking kahihiyan.
  2. 30:8 Naftali: Ang ibig sabihin, mahigpit ang labanan.
  3. 30:11 Gad: Ang ibig sabihin, pinalad.
  4. 30:13 Asher: Ang ibig sabihin, masiyahin.
  5. 30:18 Isacar: Maaaring ang ibig sabihin, gantimpala.
  6. 30:20 Zebulun: Maaaring ang ibig sabihin, karangalan.
  7. 30:23 Jose: Maaaring ang ibig sabihin, inalis niya; o, binigyan pa ng isa.
  8. 30:38-39 nagkakastahan: sa Ingles, “mating season.”

30 Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children by Jacob. So she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

Jacob became angry with her. He said, “Do you think I’m God? He’s the one who has kept you from having children.”

Then she said, “Here’s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her so that she can have children for me. Then I too can have a family through her.”

So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her. And Bilhah became pregnant. She had a son by him. Then Rachel said, “God has stood up for my rights. He has listened to my prayer and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.

Rachel’s servant Bilhah became pregnant again. She had a second son by Jacob. Then Rachel said, “I’ve had a great struggle with my sister. Now I’ve won.” So she named him Naphtali.

Leah saw that she had stopped having children. So she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah had a son by Jacob. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.

12 Leah’s servant Zilpah had a second son by Jacob. 13 Then Leah said, “I’m so happy! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

14 While the wheat harvest was being gathered, Reuben went out into the fields. He found some mandrake plants. He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But Leah said to her, “Isn’t it enough that you took my husband away? Are you going to take my son’s mandrakes too?”

Rachel said, “All right. Jacob can sleep with you tonight if you give me your son’s mandrakes.”

16 Jacob came in from the fields that evening. Leah went out to meet him. “You have to sleep with me tonight,” she said. “I’ve traded my son’s mandrakes for that time with you.” So he slept with her that night.

17 God listened to Leah. She became pregnant and had a fifth son by Jacob. 18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me because I gave my female servant to my husband.” So she named the boy Issachar.

19 Leah became pregnant again. She had a sixth son by Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a priceless gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor. I’ve had six sons by him.” So she named the boy Zebulun.

21 Some time later she had a daughter. She named her Dinah.

22 Then God listened to Rachel. He showed concern for her. He made it possible for her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and had a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 24 She said, “May the Lord give me another son.” So she named him Joseph.

Jacob Becomes the Owner of Large Flocks

25 After Rachel had Joseph, Jacob spoke to Laban. He said, “Send me on my way. I want to go back to my own home and country. 26 Give me my wives and children. I worked for you to get them. So I’ll be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

27 But Laban said to him, “If you are pleased with me, stay here. I’ve discovered that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28 He continued, “Name your pay. I’ll give it to you.”

29 Jacob said to him, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you. You know that your livestock has done better under my care. 30 You had only a little before I came. But that little has become a lot. The Lord has blessed you everywhere I’ve been. But when can I do something for my own family?”

31 “What should I give you?” Laban asked.

“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “Just do one thing for me. Then I’ll go on taking care of your flocks and watching over them. 32 Let me go through all your flocks today. Let me remove every speckled or spotted sheep. Let me remove every dark-colored lamb. Let me remove every speckled or spotted goat. They will be my pay. 33 My honesty will be a witness about me in days to come. It will be a witness every time you check on what you have paid me. Suppose I have a goat that doesn’t have speckles or spots. Or suppose I have a lamb that isn’t dark colored. Then it will be considered stolen.”

34 “I agree,” said Laban. “Let’s do what you have said.” 35 That same day Laban removed all the male goats that had stripes or spots. He removed all the female goats that had speckles or spots. They were the ones that had white on them. He also removed all the dark-colored lambs. He had his sons take care of them. 36 Then he put a journey of three days between himself and Jacob. But Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Jacob took freshly cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees. He made white stripes on the branches by peeling off their bark. 38 Then he placed the peeled branches in all the stone tubs where the animals drank water. He placed them there so they would be right in front of the flocks when they came to drink. The flocks were ready to mate when they came to drink. 39 So they mated in front of the branches. And the flocks gave birth to striped, speckled or spotted little ones. 40 Jacob put the little ones of the flock to one side by themselves. But he made the older ones face the striped and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. In that way, he made separate flocks for himself. He didn’t put them with Laban’s animals. 41 Every time the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the branches in the stone tubs. He would place them in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches. 42 But if the animals were weak, he wouldn’t place the branches there. So the weak animals went to Laban. And the strong ones went to Jacob. 43 That’s how Jacob became very rich. He became the owner of large flocks. He also had many male and female servants. And he had many camels and donkeys.