| New King James Version | NET 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 could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children or I'll die!" |
| 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 furious with Rachel and exclaimed, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" |
| 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.” | 3She replied, "Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with her so that she can bear children for me and I can have a family through her." |
| 4Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. | 4So Rachel gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with her. |
| 5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. | 5Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob 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 responded to my prayer and given me a son." That is why she named him Dan. |
| 7And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. | 7Bilhah, Rachel's servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another 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, "I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have 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. | 10Soon Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. |
| 11Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad. | 11Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad. |
| 12And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. | 12Then Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob another 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 women will 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.” | 14At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "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, "Wasn't it enough that you've taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes too?" "All right," Rachel said, "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 fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must sleep with me because I have paid for your services with my son's mandrakes." So he had marital relations with her that night. |
| 17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. | 17God paid attention to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. |
| 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 granted me a reward because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife." So she named him Issachar. |
| 19Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. | 19Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. |
| 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. | 20Then Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. |
| 21Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. | 21After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. |
| 22Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. | 22Then God took note of Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. |
| 23And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” | 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, "God has taken away my shame." |
| 24So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The LORD shall add to me another son.” | 24She named him Joseph, saying, "May the LORD give me yet 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. | 25After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so that I can go home to my own country. |
| 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.” | 26Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. Then I'll depart, because you know how hard I've 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 said to him, "If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, for I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me on account of you." |
| 28Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.” | 28He added, "Just name your wages--I'll pay whatever you want." |
| 29So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. | 29"You know how I have worked for you," Jacob replied, "and how well your livestock have fared 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 little before I arrived, but now your possessions have increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I worked. But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?" |
| 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: | 31So Laban asked, "What should I give you?" "You don't need to give me a thing," Jacob replied, "but if you agree to this one condition, I will continue to care for your flocks and protect them: |
| 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 walk among all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and the spotted or speckled goats. These animals 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.” | 33My integrity will testify for me later on. When you come to verify that I've taken only the wages we agreed on, if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen." |
| 34And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” | 34"Agreed!" said Laban, "It will be as you say." |
| 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. | 35So that day Laban removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in 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 separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, while Jacob was taking care of 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. | 37But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. |
| 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 up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. |
| 39So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. | 39When the sheep mated in front of the branches, they gave birth to 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 removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban's flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban's flocks. |
| 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. | 41When the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near 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 weaker, he did not set the branches there. So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban and the stronger animals to Jacob. |
| 43Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. | 43In this way Jacob became extremely prosperous. He owned large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys. |
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