| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” | 1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob. |
| 2And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” | 2Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?” |
| 3So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.” | 3Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.” |
| 4Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. | 4So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her, |
| 5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. | 5and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son. |
| 6Then Rachel said, “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. | 6Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan. |
| 7And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. | 7And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. |
| 8Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. | 8Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali. |
| 9When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. | 9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. |
| 10And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. | 10And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. |
| 11Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad. | 11Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad. |
| 12And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. | 12When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, |
| 13Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher. | 13Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher. |
| 14Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” | 14Now during the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” |
| 15But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.” | 15But Leah replied, “Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son’s mandrakes as well?” “Very well,” said Rachel, “he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” |
| 16When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night. | 16When 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 he slept with her that night. |
| 17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. | 17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob. |
| 18Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. | 18Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. |
| 19Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. | 19Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob. |
| 20And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. | 20“God has given me a good gift,” she said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” And she named him Zebulun. |
| 21Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. | 21After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. |
| 22Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. | 22Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb, |
| 23And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” | 23and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said. |
| 24So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The LORD shall add to me another son.” | 24She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.” |
| 25And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country. | 25Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland. |
| 26Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service which I have done for you.” | 26Give me my wives and children for whom I have served you, that I may go on my way. You know how hard I have worked for you.” |
| 27And Laban said to him, “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.” | 27But Laban replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.” |
| 28Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.” | 28And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.” |
| 29So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. | 29Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care. |
| 30For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the LORD has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?” | 30Indeed, you had very little before my arrival, but now your wealth has increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I set foot. But now, when may I also provide for my own household?” |
| 31So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: | 31“What can I give you?” Laban asked. “You do not need to give me anything,” Jacob replied. “If you do this one thing for me, I will keep on shepherding and keeping your flocks. |
| 32Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages. | 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. These will be my wages. |
| 33So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.” | 33So my honesty will testify for me when you come to check on my wages in the future. If I have any goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not dark-colored, they will be considered stolen.” |
| 34And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” | 34“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” |
| 35So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. | 35That very day Laban removed all the streaked or spotted male goats and every speckled or spotted female goat—every one that had any white on it—and every dark-colored lamb, and he placed them under the care of his sons. |
| 36Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. | 36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks. |
| 37Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees, peeled white strips in them, and exposed the white which was in the rods. | 37Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches. |
| 38And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink. | 38Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink, |
| 39So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. | 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. |
| 40Then Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban; but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s flock. | 40Jacob set apart the young, but made the rest face the streaked dark-colored sheep in Laban’s flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and did not put them with Laban’s animals. |
| 41And it came to pass, whenever the stronger livestock conceived, that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. | 41Whenever the stronger females of the flock were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs, in full view of the animals, so that they would breed in front of the branches. |
| 42But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. | 42But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. |
| 43Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. | 43Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys. |
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