Dan and Naphtali 1 UDB Rachel realized that she was not becoming pregnant at all. So she became jealous of her older sister Leah, because Leah had given birth to four sons. She said to Jacob, "Make me pregnant so I can have children. If you do not do that, I will die!" BSB BSB: When 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.
2 UDB Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "I am not God! He is the one who has prevented you from becoming pregnant!" BSB BSB: Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
3 UDB Then she said, "Look, here is my slave Bilhah. Sleep with her so that she will have children in my place. In that way I will have legal children." BSB BSB: Then 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.”
4 UDB So she gave him her slave Bilhah to be another wife for him, and Jacob slept with her. BSB BSB: So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,
5 UDB She became pregnant and bore Jacob a son. BSB BSB: and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.
6 UDB Rachel said, "God gave me justice. He has heard me when I prayed to him, and his justice was to give me a son." She named him Dan, which sounds like the Hebrew word that means "he gives me justice." BSB BSB: Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.
7 UDB Later, Rachel's slave Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to another son for Jacob. BSB BSB: And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 UDB Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle to have children like my older sister, but truly I have a son." So she named him Naphtali, which sounds like the Hebrew word that means "struggle." BSB BSB: Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.
Gad and Asher 9 UDB When Leah realized that she was not having any more children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob to be another wife for him. BSB BSB: When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.
10 UDB Zilpah soon became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob. BSB BSB: And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
11 UDB Leah said, "I am truly fortunate!" So she named him Gad, which means "fortunate." BSB BSB: Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
12 UDB Later Leah's slave Zilpah gave birth to another son for Jacob. BSB BSB: When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,
13 UDB Leah said, "Now I am very happy, and people will call me happy." So she named him Asher, which means "happy." BSB BSB: Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
14 UDB During the time when they were harvesting wheat, Reuben went out into the fields and saw some mandrakes. He brought some of them to his mother Leah. But Rachel saw them and said to Leah, "Please give me some of those plants that your son brought to you!" BSB BSB: Now 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.”
15 UDB But Leah said to her, "No! It was bad that you stole my husband! Now are you going to take my son's mandrake plants?" So Rachel said, "All right, Jacob can sleep with you tonight, if you give me some of your son's mandrake plants." So Leah agreed with Rachel. BSB BSB: But 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.”
16 UDB When Jacob returned from the wheat fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. She said, "You must sleep with me tonight because I gave Rachel some mandrake plants to pay her for allowing us to do that." So Jacob slept with her that night. BSB BSB: When 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.
Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah 17 UDB God answered Leah's prayers, and she became pregnant and bore a fifth son to Jacob. BSB BSB: And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.
18 UDB Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband to be another wife for him." So she named him Issachar, which sounds like the Hebrew word that means "reward." BSB BSB: Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19 UDB Leah became pregnant again and bore a sixth son for Jacob. BSB BSB: Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
20 UDB Leah said, "God has given me a precious gift. This time my husband will honor me because I have given birth to six sons for him." So she named him Zebulun. BSB BSB: “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.
21 UDB Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. BSB BSB: After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
Joseph 22 UDB Then God thought about what Rachel wanted. He heard her pray and enabled her to become pregnant. BSB BSB: Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,
23 UDB She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, "God has caused me to be ashamed no longer for not having children." BSB BSB: and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.
24 UDB She named him Joseph, which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean, "Yahweh gave me another son." BSB BSB: She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
Jacob Prospers 25 UDB After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Now allow me to stop working for you and let me return to my own land. BSB BSB: Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.
26 UDB You know the work that I have done for you. So let me take my wives and my children for whom I worked for you to get them, and leave." BSB BSB: Give 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.”
27 UDB But Laban said to him, "If you are pleased with me, stay here because I have found out by performing a magic ritual that Yahweh has blessed me because of what you have done for me. BSB BSB: But 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.”
28 UDB Tell me what you want me to pay you for continuing to work for me, and that is what I will pay you." BSB BSB: And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29 UDB Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you, and you know that your livestock have increased greatly as I have taken care of them. BSB BSB: Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care.
30 UDB You had only a few animals before I came here. But now you have a large number of animals and Yahweh has caused them to increase into an even larger number everywhere I have taken them. But now I need to start taking care of the needs of my own family." BSB BSB: Indeed, 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?”
31 UDB Laban replied, "What do you want me to pay you?" Jacob replied, "I do not want you to pay me anything. But if you will do this one thing for me, I will continue to take care of your flocks and protect them. BSB BSB: “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.
32 UDB Allow me to go and look at all of your flocks today and remove from them all the speckled sheep, all the spotted sheep, and every dark-colored lamb, all the goats that are speckled, and all the goats that are spotted. I want to keep them for myself. They will be my wages. BSB BSB: Let 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.
33 UDB In that way, in the future, you will be able to know whether I have been honest regarding what you have paid me. If any of my goats have no speckles or spots, and if any of my lambs are not dark-colored, you will know that I have stolen them from you." BSB BSB: So 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.”
34 UDB Laban agreed and said, "Yes, we will do as you have said." BSB BSB: “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”
35 UDB But on that same day, Laban removed all the male goats that had black and white stripes on them or were spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled or spotted, all the goats that were partly white, and all the dark-colored lambs. He separated them from the other animals and put his sons in charge of them. BSB BSB: That 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.
36 UDB Then Laban and his sons took these animals and journeyed for three days from where Jacob was. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban's flocks. BSB BSB: Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 UDB Then Jacob cut some branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees. He peeled strips of bark from the branches. In this way, where he peeled the bark off, the branches were light in color. BSB BSB: Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.
38 UDB Then he placed the peeled branches in the troughs where they put the water for the animals to drink, so that the flocks saw them when they were drinking water. BSB BSB: Then 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,
39 UDB The animals also mated in front of the branches, and later they gave birth to animals that were speckled, or to animals that were spotted, or to animals that had black and white stripes on them. BSB BSB: they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
40 UDB During the several years following, Jacob often separated the female sheep in Laban's flock from the other sheep and goats. When they mated, he made them look toward the animals that had black and white stripes, and toward the dark-colored animals. So they gave birth to animals with similar markings. Then he would separate these animals from Laban's flocks and keep them for his own. BSB BSB: Jacob 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.
41 UDB In addition, whenever the stronger female sheep were ready to mate, Jacob put some of those peeled branches in the troughs in front of them, so that they would mate in front of the branches. BSB BSB: Whenever 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.
42 UDB But when weak animals were ready to mate, he did not put the branches in their troughs. So they gave birth to weak lambs, which remained in Laban's flock, but the strong ones became part of Jacob's flock. BSB BSB: But 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.
43 UDB As a result, Jacob became very rich. He owned many large flocks. He also owned many male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys. BSB BSB: Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.