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Jacob Names His Wages

25 Now it happened when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “(A)Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own land. 26 Give me my wives and my children (B)for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you yourself know my service which I have [a]rendered you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, stay with me; I have interpreted an omen (C)that Yahweh has blessed me on your account.” 28 And he continued to say, “(D)Name me your wages, and I will give it.” 29 But he said to him, “(E)You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have [b]fared with me. 30 For you had little before [c]I came, but it has (F)spread out to a multitude, and Yahweh has blessed you [d]at every step of mine. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock: 32 let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every (G)speckled and spotted sheep and every black [e]one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages. 33 So my righteousness will answer for me later, when you come concerning my [f]wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.” 34 And Laban said, “Behold, [g]let it be according to your word.” 35 So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the [h]care of his sons. 36 And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37 Then Jacob [i]took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and he peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was [j]in the rods. 38 And he set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the trough, that is, in the watering channels, where the flocks came to drink; and they [k]mated when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks [l]mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 And Jacob separated the lambs, and he [m]made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he set his own herds apart and did not set them with Laban’s flock. 41 Now it would be that, whenever the [n]stronger of the flock [o]were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the trough, so that they might [p]mate by the rods; 42 but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the [q]stronger Jacob’s. 43 So (H)the man (I)spread out exceedingly and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 30:26 Lit served
  2. Genesis 30:29 Lit been
  3. Genesis 30:30 Lit me
  4. Genesis 30:30 Lit at my foot
  5. Genesis 30:32 Lit sheep
  6. Genesis 30:33 Lit wages which are before you
  7. Genesis 30:34 Lit would that it might be
  8. Genesis 30:35 Lit hand
  9. Genesis 30:37 Lit took to himself
  10. Genesis 30:37 Lit on
  11. Genesis 30:38 Or conceived
  12. Genesis 30:39 Or conceived
  13. Genesis 30:40 Lit set the faces
  14. Genesis 30:41 Firm and compact; lit bound ones
  15. Genesis 30:41 Or conceived
  16. Genesis 30:41 Or conceive
  17. Genesis 30:42 Firm and compact; lit bound ones

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.(A) 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.”(B)

29 So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your herds have fared with me.(C) 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.(D) 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.[a] He had many flocks, female and male slaves, and camels and donkeys.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 30:43 Lit The man spread out very much, very much