Jacob Agrees to Work in Order to Marry Rachel

¹⁵ Later, Laban asked Jacob, “Should you serve me for free, just because you’re my nephew?^[a] Let’s talk about what your wages should be.”

¹⁶ Now Laban happened to have two daughters. The older one was named Leah and the younger was named Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah looked rather plain,^[b] but Rachel was lovely in form and appearance. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel, so he made this offer to Laban: “I’ll serve you for seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.”

¹⁹ “It’s better that I give her to you than to another man,” Laban replied, “so stay with me.” ²⁰ Jacob served seven years for Rachel, but it seemed like only a few days because of his love for her.

²¹ Eventually, Jacob told Laban, “Bring me my wife, now that my time of service^[c] has been completed, so I can go be with her.” ²² So Laban gathered all the men who lived in that place and held a wedding festival.

Laban Deceives Jacob

²³ That night Laban took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob.^[d] He had marital relations with her. ²⁴ Laban also gave his servant woman Zilpah to Leah to be her maidservant. ²⁵ The next morning, Jacob^[e] realized that it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” he demanded of Laban. “Didn’t I serve you for seven years in order to marry Rachel? Why did you deceive me?”

²⁶ But Laban responded, “It’s not the practice of our place to give the younger one in marriage^[f] before the firstborn. ²⁷ Fulfill the week for this daughter,^[g] then we’ll give you the other one in exchange for serving me another seven years.”

²⁸ So Jacob completed another seven years’ work, and then Laban^[h] gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. ²⁹ Laban also gave his woman servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maidservant. ³⁰ Jacob^[i] also married Rachel, since he loved her. He served Laban another full seven years’ work for Rachel.