Genesis 30 NIV NLT Parallel

◄ Genesis 30 ►

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1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!"

1When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

2Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?"

2Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”

3Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her."

3Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.”

4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,

4So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.

5and she became pregnant and bore him a son.

5Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son.

6Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan.

6Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.”

7Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

7Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.

8Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali.

8Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”

9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

9Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

10Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

10Soon Zilpah presented him with a son.

11Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad.

11Leah named him Gad, for she said, “How fortunate I am!”

12Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

12Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.

13Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher.

13And Leah named him Asher, for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”

14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."

14One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."

15But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?” Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.”

16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night.

16So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah.

17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.

17And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.

18Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband." So she named him Issachar.

18She named him Issachar, for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.”

19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

19Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.

20Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.

20She named him Zebulun, for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.”

21Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

21Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.

22Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children.

23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace."

23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said.

24She named him Joseph, and said, "May the LORD add to me another son."

24And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the LORD add yet another son to my family.” Jacob’s Wealth Increases

25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland.

25Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country.

26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you."

26Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.”

27But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you."

27“Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for the LORD has blessed me because of you.

28He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them."

28Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”

29Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.

29Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care.

30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?"

30You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?”

31"What shall I give you?" he asked. "Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them:

31“What wages do you want?” Laban asked again. Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks.

32Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.

32Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages.

33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen."

33In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

34"Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said."

34“All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.”

35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons.

35But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons,

36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks.

36who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.

37Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

37Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them.

38Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink,

38Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated.

39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.

39And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

40Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals.

40Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.

41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches,

41Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches.

42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob.

42But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s.

43In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

43As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys.

New International Version (NIV)

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