Genesis 30 (GNV)

1And when Rahel saw that she bare Iaakob no children, Rahel enuied her sister, and said vnto Iaakob, Giue me children, or els I dye.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.

2Then Iaakobs anger was kindled against Rahel, and he sayde, Am I in Gods steade, which hath withholden from thee the fruite of the wombe?Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”

3And she said, Behold my maide Bilhah, goe in to her, and she shall beare vpon my knees, and I shall haue children also by her.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.”

4Then shee gaue him Bilhah her mayde to wife, and Iaakob went in to her.So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,

5So Bilhah conceiued and bare Iaakob a sonne.and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.

6Then said Rahel, God hath giuen sentence on my side, and hath also heard my voyce, and hath giuen mee a sonne: therefore called shee his name, Dan.Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.

7And Bilhah Rahels maide coceiued againe, and bare Iaakob the second sonne.And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8Then Rahel said, with excellent wrestlings haue I wrestled with my sister, and haue gotten the vpper hande: and shee called his name, Naphtali.Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.

9And when Leah saw that she had left bearing, shee tooke Zilpah her mayde, and gaue her Iaakob to wife.When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

10And Zilpah Leahs mayde bare Iaakob a sonne.And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11Then sayd Leah, A companie commeth: and she called his name, Gad.Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

12Againe Zilpah Leahs mayde bare Iaakob another sonne.When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,

13Then sayde Leah, Ah, blessed am I, for the daughters will blesse me. and she called his name, Asher.Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.

14Nowe Reuben went in the dayes of the wheateharuest, and founde mandrakes in the fielde and brought them vnto his mother Leah. Then sayde Rahel to Leah, Giue me, I pray thee, of thy sonnes mandrakes.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.”

15But shee answered her, Is it a small matter for thee to take mine husband, except thou take my sonnes mandrakes also? Then sayde Rahel, Therefore he shall sleepe with thee this night for thy sonnes mandrakes.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.”

16And Iaakob came from the fielde in the euening, and Leah went out to meete him, and sayde, Come in to mee, for I haue bought and payed for thee with my sonnes mandrakes: and he slept with her that night.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.

17And God heard Leah and shee conceiued, and bare vnto Iaakob the fift sonne.And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

18Then said Leah, God hath giuen me my reward, because I gaue my mayde to my husband, and she called his name Issachar.Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

19After, Leah conceiued againe, and bare Iaakob the sixt sonne.Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

20Then Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowrie: nowe will mine husband dwell with me, because I haue borne him sixe sonnes: and she called his name Zebulun.“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.

21After that, shee bare a daughter, and shee called her name Dinah.After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

22And God remembred Rahel, and God heard her, and opened her wombe.Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,

23So she conceiued and bare a sonne, and said, God hath taken away my rebuke.and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.

24And shee called his name Ioseph, saying, The Lord wil giue me yet another sonne.She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”

25And assoone as Rahel had borne Ioseph, Iaakob said to Laban, Sende me away that I may go vnto my place and to my countrey.Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.

26Giue me my wiues and my children, for whom I haue serued thee, and let me go: for thou knowest what seruice I haue done thee.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.”

27To whom Laban answered, If I haue nowe found fauour in thy sight tarie: I haue perceiued that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.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.”

28Also he said, Appoynt vnto me thy wages, and I will giue it thee.And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

29But he sayd vnto him, Thou knowest, what seruice I haue done thee, and in what taking thy cattell hath bene vnder me.Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care.

30For the litle, that thou haddest before I came, is increased into a multitude: and the Lord hath blessed thee by my comming: but nowe when shall I trauell for mine owne house also?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?”

31Then he saide, What shall I giue thee? And Iaakob answered, Thou shalt giue mee nothing at all: if thou wilt doe this thing for mee, I will returne, feede, and keepe thy sheepe.“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.

32I wil passe through all thy flockes this day, and separate from them all the sheepe with litle spots and great spots, and al blacke lambes among the sheepe, and the great spotted, and litle spotted among the goates: and it shalbe my wages.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.

33So shall my righteousnesse answere for me hereafter, when it shall come for my rewarde before thy face, and euery one that hath not litle or great spots among the goates, and blacke among the sheepe, the same shalbe theft with me.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.”

34Then Laban sayde, Goe to, woulde God it might be according to thy saying.“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

35Therefore he tooke out the same day the hee goates that were partie coloured and with great spots, and all the shee goates with litle and great spots, and all that had white in them, and all the blacke among the sheepe, and put them in the keeping of his sonnes.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.

36And hee set three dayes iourney betweene himselfe and Iaakob. And Iaakob kept the rest of Labans sheepe.Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37Then Iaakob tooke rods of greene popular, and of hasell, and of the chesnut tree, and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appeare in the rods.Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

38Then he put the rods, which he had pilled, in the gutters and watering troughes, when the sheepe came to drink, before the sheepe. (for they were in heate, when they came to drinke)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,

39And the sheepe were in heate before the rods, and afterward brought forth yong of partie colour, and with small and great spots.they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.

40And Iaakob parted these lambes, and turned the faces of the flocke towardes these lambes partie coloured and all maner of blacke, among the sheepe of Laban: so hee put his owne flockes by themselues, and put them not with Labans flocke.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.

41And in euery ramming time of the stronger sheepe, Iaakob layde the rods before the eyes of the sheepe in the gutters, that they might conceiue before the rods.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.

42But when the sheepe were feeble, hee put them not in: and so the feebler were Labans, and the stronger Iaakobs.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.

43So the man increased exceedingly, and had many flockes, and maide seruantes, and men seruants, and camels and asses.Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.

Dan and Naphtali

Gad and Asher

Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah

Joseph

Jacob Prospers

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Dan and Naphtali

Gad and Asher

Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah

Joseph

Jacob Prospers

You’ve read Genesis 30

Go deeper