| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1So Jacob moved on and came to the land of the eastern people. | 1Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east. |
| 2He saw in the field a well with three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now a large stone covered the mouth of the well. | 2He saw a well in the distance. Three flocks of sheep and goats lay in an open field beside it, waiting to be watered. But a heavy stone covered the mouth of the well. |
| 3When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well's mouth. | 3It was the custom there to wait for all the flocks to arrive before removing the stone and watering the animals. Afterward the stone would be placed back over the mouth of the well. |
| 4Jacob asked them, "My brothers, where are you from?" They replied, "We're from Haran." | 4Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered. |
| 5So he said to them, "Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?" "We know him," they said. | 5“Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked. “Yes, we do,” they replied. |
| 6"Is he well?" Jacob asked. They replied, "He is well. Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep." | 6“Is he doing well?” Jacob asked. “Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.” |
| 7Then Jacob said, "Since it is still the middle of the day, it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more." | 7Jacob said, “Look, it’s still broad daylight—too early to round up the animals. Why don’t you water the sheep and goats so they can get back out to pasture?” |
| 8"We can't," they said, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water the sheep." | 8“We can’t water the animals until all the flocks have arrived,” they replied. “Then the shepherds move the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water all the sheep and goats.” |
| 9While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father's sheep, for she was tending them. | 9Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd. |
| 10When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he went over and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. | 10And because Rachel was his cousin—the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother—and because the sheep and goats belonged to his uncle Laban, Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncle’s flock. |
| 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. | 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. |
| 12When Jacob explained to Rachel that he was a relative of her father and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. | 12He explained to Rachel that he was her cousin on her father’s side—the son of her aunt Rebekah. So Rachel quickly ran and told her father, Laban. |
| 13When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister's son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban how he was related to him. | 13As soon as Laban heard that his nephew Jacob had arrived, he ran out to meet him. He embraced and kissed him and brought him home. When Jacob had told him his story, |
| 14Then Laban said to him, "You are indeed my own flesh and blood." So Jacob stayed with him for a month. | 14Laban exclaimed, “You really are my own flesh and blood!” Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel After Jacob had stayed with Laban for about a month, |
| 15Then Laban said to Jacob, "Should you work for me for nothing because you are my relative? Tell me what your wages should be." | 15Laban said to him, “You shouldn’t work for me without pay just because we are relatives. Tell me how much your wages should be.” |
| 16(Now Laban had two daughters; the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. | 16Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. |
| 17Leah's eyes were tender, but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) | 17There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. |
| 18Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he said, "I'll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel." | 18Since Jacob was in love with Rachel, he told her father, “I’ll work for you for seven years if you’ll give me Rachel, your younger daughter, as my wife.” |
| 19Laban replied, "I'd rather give her to you than to another man. Stay with me." | 19“Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” |
| 20So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. But they seemed like only a few days to him because his love for her was so great. | 20So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. |
| 21Finally Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. I want to have marital relations with her." | 21Finally, the time came for him to marry her. “I have fulfilled my agreement,” Jacob said to Laban. “Now give me my wife so I can sleep with her.” |
| 22So Laban invited all the people of that place and prepared a feast. | 22So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. |
| 23In the evening he brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and Jacob had marital relations with her. | 23But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. |
| 24(Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) | 24(Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.) |
| 25In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, "What in the world have you done to me! Didn't I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked me?" | 25But when Jacob woke up in the morning—it was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob raged at Laban. “I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” |
| 26"It is not our custom here," Laban replied, "to give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn. | 26“It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. |
| 27Complete my older daughter's bridal week. Then we will give you the younger one too, in exchange for seven more years of work." | 27“But wait until the bridal week is over; then we’ll give you Rachel, too—provided you promise to work another seven years for me.” |
| 28Jacob did as Laban said. When Jacob completed Leah's bridal week, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. | 28So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. |
| 29(Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) | 29(Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) |
| 30Jacob had marital relations with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban for seven more years. | 30So Jacob slept with Rachel, too, and he loved her much more than Leah. He then stayed and worked for Laban the additional seven years. Jacob’s Many Children |
| 31When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to become pregnant while Rachel remained childless. | 31When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. |
| 32So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The LORD has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. Surely my husband will love me now." | 32So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me.” |
| 33She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, "Because the LORD heard that I was unloved, he gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. | 33She soon became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She named him Simeon, for she said, “The LORD heard that I was unloved and has given me another son.” |
| 34She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, "Now this time my husband will show me affection, because I have given birth to three sons for him." That is why he was named Levi. | 34Then she became pregnant a third time and gave birth to another son. He was named Levi, for she said, “Surely this time my husband will feel affection for me, since I have given him three sons!” |
| 35She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, "This time I will praise the LORD." That is why she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children. | 35Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the LORD!” And then she stopped having children. |
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