| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Then Jacob hurried on, finally arriving in the land of the east. | 1Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. |
| 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. | 2He looked and saw a well in the field, and near it lay three flocks of sheep, because the sheep were watered from this well. And a large stone covered the mouth of the well. |
| 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. | 3When all the flocks had been gathered there, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. |
| 4Jacob went over to the shepherds and asked, “Where are you from, my friends?” “We are from Haran,” they answered. | 4“My brothers,” Jacob asked the shepherds, “where are you from?” “We are from Haran,” they answered. |
| 5“Do you know a man there named Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” he asked. “Yes, we do,” they replied. | 5“Do you know Laban the grandson of Nahor?” Jacob asked. “We know him,” they replied. |
| 6“Is he doing well?” Jacob asked. “Yes, he’s well,” they answered. “Look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the flock now.” | 6“Is he well?” Jacob inquired. “Yes,” they answered, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with his sheep.” |
| 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?” | 7“Look,” said Jacob, “it is still broad daylight; it is not yet time to gather the livestock. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.” |
| 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.” | 8But they replied, “We cannot, until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.” |
| 9Jacob was still talking with them when Rachel arrived with her father’s flock, for she was a shepherd. | 9While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. |
| 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. | 10As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. |
| 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and he wept aloud. | 11Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. |
| 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. | 12He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father. |
| 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, | 13When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, where Jacob told him all that had happened. |
| 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, | 14Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month, |
| 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.” | 15Laban said to him, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for nothing? Tell me what your wages should be.” |
| 16Now Laban had two daughters. The older daughter was named Leah, and the younger one was Rachel. | 16Now Laban had two daughters; the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel. |
| 17There was no sparkle in Leah’s eyes, but Rachel had a beautiful figure and a lovely face. | 17Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful. |
| 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.” | 18Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” |
| 19“Agreed!” Laban replied. “I’d rather give her to you than to anyone else. Stay and work with me.” | 19Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.” |
| 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. | 20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for 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.” | 21Finally Jacob said to Laban, “Grant me my wife, for my time is complete, and I want to sleep with her.” |
| 22So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast. | 22So Laban invited all the men of that place and prepared a feast. |
| 23But that night, when it was dark, Laban took Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her. | 23But when evening came, Laban took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob, and he slept with her. |
| 24(Laban had given Leah a servant, Zilpah, to be her maid.) | 24And Laban gave his servant girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maidservant. |
| 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?” | 25When morning came, there was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?” |
| 26“It’s not our custom here to marry off a younger daughter ahead of the firstborn,” Laban replied. | 26Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older. |
| 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.” | 27Finish this week’s celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.” |
| 28So Jacob agreed to work seven more years. A week after Jacob had married Leah, Laban gave him Rachel, too. | 28And Jacob did just that. He finished the week’s celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. |
| 29(Laban gave Rachel a servant, Bilhah, to be her maid.) | 29Laban also gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant. |
| 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 | 30Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years. |
| 31When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive. | 31When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. |
| 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.” | 32And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.” |
| 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.” | 33Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon. |
| 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!” | 34Once again Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi. |
| 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. | 35And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children. |
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