30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” (A) she said to Jacob.

Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God? He has withheld offspring[a] from you!”

Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she’ll bear children for me[b](B) so that through her I too can build a family.” So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; yes, he has heard me and given me a son,” so she named him Dan.[c]

Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Rachel said, “In my wrestlings with God,[d] I have wrestled with my sister and won,” and she named him Naphtali.[e]

When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” [f] and she named him Gad.[g]

12 When Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, 13 Leah said, “I am happy that the women call me happy,”(C) so she named him Asher.[h]

14 Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field.(D) When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But Leah replied to her, “Isn’t it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son’s mandrakes?”

“Well then,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So Jacob slept with her that night.

17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband,” and she named him Issachar.[i]

19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 “God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.[j] 21 Later, Leah bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb.(E) 23 She conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”(F) 24 She named him Joseph[k] and said, “May the Lord add another son to me.”(G)

Jacob’s Flocks Multiply

25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland. 26 Give me my wives and my children that I have worked for, and let me go.(H) You know how hard I have worked for you.”

27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor with you, stay. I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” 28 Then Laban said, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”(I)

29 So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me.(J) 30 For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The Lord has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something for my own family?”

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

And Jacob said, “You don’t need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. 32 Let me go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be my wages. 33 In the future when you come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen.”

34 “Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

35 That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them. 36 He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flock.

37 Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. 38 He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep—in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. 39 The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young.(K) 40 Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked sheep and the completely dark sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn’t put them with Laban’s sheep.

41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed in front of the branches. 42 As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. 43 And the man became very rich.[l] He had many flocks, female and male slaves, and camels and donkeys.(L)

Footnotes

  1. 30:2 Lit the fruit of the womb
  2. 30:3 Lit bear on my knees
  3. 30:6 In Hb, the name Dan sounds like “has vindicated,” or “has judged.”
  4. 30:8 Or “With mighty wrestlings
  5. 30:8 In Hb, the name Naphtali sounds like “my wrestling.”
  6. 30:11 Alt Hb tradition, LXX, Vg read “Good fortune has come!”
  7. 30:11 = Good Fortune
  8. 30:13 = Happy
  9. 30:18 In Hb, the name Issachar sounds like “reward.”
  10. 30:20 In Hb, the name Zebulun sounds like “honored.”
  11. 30:24 = He Adds
  12. 30:43 Lit The man spread out very much, very much

30 拉结见自己没有给雅各生孩子,就嫉妒姐姐。她对雅各说:“你给我孩子,不然我还不如死了!” 雅各气愤地说:“使你不能生育的是上帝,难道我能代替上帝吗?” 拉结说:“你去跟我的婢女辟拉同房吧,这样她可以为我生孩子,我也可以留下后代。” 于是拉结把婢女辟拉给丈夫做妾,雅各和辟拉同房。 辟拉怀了孕,为雅各生下一个儿子。 拉结说:“上帝为我申了冤,也听了我的恳求,赐给我一个儿子。”拉结就给孩子取名叫但[a] 拉结的婢女辟拉又怀孕,为雅各生了第二个儿子。 拉结说:“我跟姐姐相争,我得胜了。”她就给这孩子取名叫拿弗他利[b]

利亚见自己不再生育,就把婢女悉帕给雅各做妾。 10 悉帕给雅各生了一个儿子。 11 利亚说:“真幸运!”她便给孩子取名叫迦得[c] 12 悉帕又给雅各生了第二个儿子, 13 利亚说:“我真有福啊!妇女们会说我有福!”她就为孩子取名亚设[d]

14 在收麦子的季节,吕便在田间找到一些风茄,拿回家给母亲利亚。拉结知道后,对利亚说:“请给我一些你儿子找到的风茄。” 15 利亚说:“你抢了我丈夫还不够吗?现在还要抢我儿子的风茄吗?”拉结回答说:“你给我风茄,今夜雅各就跟你同房。” 16 那天晚上,雅各从田间回来,利亚就出来迎接他说:“你要来跟我同房,因为我已经用儿子的风茄把你雇下来了。”于是,那天晚上雅各便跟利亚同房。 17 上帝答应利亚的祈求,使她怀孕,为雅各生了第五个儿子。 18 利亚说:“我把婢女送给丈夫做妾,现在上帝给我报酬了。”因此,她就为孩子取名叫以萨迦[e]

19 后来,利亚又怀孕,给雅各生下第六个儿子。 20 她说:“上帝赐给我珍贵的礼物,现在我丈夫会尊重我,因为我给他生了六个儿子。”于是,她就给这个儿子取名叫西布伦[f] 21 后来,利亚又生了一个女儿,给她取名叫底娜。

22 上帝眷顾拉结,听了她的祷告,使她可以生育。 23 她就怀孕,生了一个儿子,说:“上帝除去了我的羞辱。” 24 她给孩子取名叫约瑟[g],又说:“愿上帝再给我添一个儿子!”

雅各与拉班的协议

25 拉结生约瑟以后,雅各对拉班说:“请让我走吧!我想回故乡, 26 请你让我和妻儿一同回去吧!她们都是我替你工作得来的,你知道我怎样努力为你工作。”

27 拉班却挽留他,说:“如果你肯赏光,请你留下来!因为我占卜得知上帝为了你的缘故才赐福给我。 28 你要多少酬劳,只管说出来,我一定会给你。”

29 雅各回答说:“你知道我怎样努力地服侍你,照顾你的牲畜。 30 我来以前,你的财产很少。上帝因为我的到来而赐福给你,使你财产大增。但我自己什么时候才能兴家立业呢?”

31 拉班问:“我该给你什么呢?”雅各说:“你不用给我什么,只要你答应一件事,我就继续照料你的羊群。 32 今天让我从你的羊群中挑出黑色或有斑点的绵羊,以及有斑点的山羊作为我的薪酬。 33 以后,如果你在给我作薪酬的羊群中发现白色的绵羊或没有斑点的山羊,就算是我偷的。这样你可以知道我是否诚实。”

34 拉班说:“好,就照你的话做!” 35 当天,拉班把有条纹或斑点的公山羊以及有斑点或夹杂白纹的母山羊,连同黑色的绵羊都挑出来,交给自己的儿子们看管。 36 然后,他离开雅各,彼此相隔三天的路程。雅各继续为他照料其余的羊。

37 雅各折下一些杨树、杏树和枫树的嫩枝,削掉部分树皮,露出白色的条纹, 38 然后把这些嫩枝插在羊喝水的水槽和水沟里。羊群来喝水时互相交配。 39 它们对着这些树枝交配,就生下有条纹和有斑点的羊羔。 40 雅各把这些羊羔分出来,使它们与拉班的羊各在一处。他把自己的羊安置在一处,不与拉班的羊搀杂在一起。 41 每当肥壮的羊交配时,雅各就把有条纹的枝子插在水沟里,使羊对着树枝交配。 42 但如果交配的羊是瘦弱的,他就不插枝子。这样,瘦弱的羊归拉班,肥壮的羊归雅各。 43 因此,雅各变得极其富有,拥有很多羊、骆驼、驴和仆婢。

Footnotes

  1. 30:6 ”意思是“申冤”。
  2. 30:8 拿弗他利”意思是“相争”。
  3. 30:11 迦得”意思是“幸运”。
  4. 30:13 亚设”意思是“有福”。
  5. 30:18 以萨迦”意思是“报酬”。
  6. 30:20 西布伦”意思是“尊重”。
  7. 30:24 约瑟”意思是“增添”。