1 WYC Forsothe Rachel seiy, that sche was vnfruytful, and hadde enuye to the sister, and seide to hir hosebonde, Yyue thou fre children to me, ellis Y schal 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 WYC To whom Jacob was wrooth, and answerde, Wher Y am for God, which haue priued thee fro the fruyt of thi wombe? BSB BSB: Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
3 WYC And sche seide, Y haue `a seruauntesse Bala, entre thou to hir that she childe on my knees, and that Y haue sones of hir. 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 WYC And sche yaf to hym Bala in to matrimony; BSB BSB: So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,
5 WYC and whanne the hosebonde hadde entrid to hir, sche conseyuede, and childide a sone. BSB BSB: and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son.
6 WYC And Rachel seide, the Lord demede to me, and herde my preier, and yaf a sone to me; and therfor sche clepide his name Dan. 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 WYC And eft Bala conseyuede, and childide anothir sone, BSB BSB: And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 WYC for whom Rachel seide, The Lord hath maad me lijk to my sistir, and Y wexide strong; and sche clepide hym Neptalym. BSB BSB: Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 WYC Lya feelide that sche ceesside to bere child, and sche yaf Selfa, hir handmayde, to the hosebonde. BSB BSB: When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.
10 WYC And whanne Selfa aftir conseyuyng childide a sone, Lya seide, Blessidly; BSB BSB: And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
11 WYC and therfor sche clepide his name Gad. BSB BSB: Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.
12 WYC Also Selfa childide anothir sone, BSB BSB: When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son,
13 WYC and Lia seide, This is for my blis, for alle wymmen schulen seie me blessid; therfor sche clepide hym Aser. BSB BSB: Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
14 WYC Forsothe Ruben yede out in to the feeld in the tyme of wheete heruest, and foond mandragis, whiche he brouyte to Lya, his modir. And Rachel seide, Yyue thou to me a part of the mandragis of thi sone. 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 WYC Lya answeride, Whether it semeth litil to thee, that thou hast rauyschid the hosebonde fro me, no but thou take also the mandragis of my sone? Rachel seide, The hosebonde sleepe with thee in this nyyt for the mandragis of thi sone. 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 WYC And whanne Jacob cam ayen fro the feeld at euentid, Lya yede out in to his comyng, and seide, Thou shalt entre to me, for Y haue hired thee with hire for the mandragis of my sone. He slepte with hir in that nyyt; 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.
17 WYC and God herde hir preiers, and sche conseyuede, and childide the fyuethe sone; BSB BSB: And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.
18 WYC and seide, God yaf meede to me, for Y yaf myn handmayde to myn hosebond; and sche clepide his name Isacar. BSB BSB: Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19 WYC Eft Lia conseyuede, and childide the sixte sone, BSB BSB: Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
20 WYC and seide, The Lord hath maad me riche with a good dower, also in this tyme myn hosebonde schal be with me, for Y childide sixe sones to hym; and therfore sche clepide his name Sabulon. 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 WYC Aftir whom sche childide a douyter, Dyna bi name. BSB BSB: After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 WYC Also the Lord hadde mynde on Rachel, and herde hir, and openyde hir wombe. BSB BSB: Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,
23 WYC And sche conseyuede, and childide a sone, and seide, God hath take a wey my schenschipe; and sche clepid his name Joseph, BSB BSB: and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.
24 WYC and seide, The Lord yyue to me another sone. BSB BSB: She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
25 WYC Sotheli whanne Joseph was borun, Jacob seide to his wyues fadir, Delyuere thou me, that Y turne ayen in to my cuntrey and to my lond. 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 WYC Yyue thou to me my wyues and fre children for whiche Y seruede thee, that Y go; forsothe thou knowist the seruyce bi which Y seruede thee. 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 WYC Laban seide to hym, Fynde Y grace in thi siyt, Y haue lerned bi experience that God blesside me for thee; 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 WYC ordeyne thou the meede which Y schal yyue to thee. BSB BSB: And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29 WYC And he answeride, Thou woost hou Y seruede thee, and hou greet thi possessioun was in myn hondis; BSB BSB: Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care.
30 WYC thou haddist litil bifore that Y cam to thee, and now thou art maad riche, and the Lord blesside thee at myn entryng; therfor it is iust that Y purueye sum tyme also to myn hows. 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 WYC And Laban seide, What schal Y yyue to thee? And Jacob seide, Y wole no thing but if thou doist that that Y axe, eft Y schal fede and kepe thi scheep. 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 WYC Cumpasse thou alle thi flockis, and departe thou alle diuerse scheep and of spottid flees, and what euer thing schal be dun, and spottid, and dyuerse, as wel in scheep as in geet, it schal be my mede. 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 WYC And my riytfulnesse schal answere to me to morewe, whanne the tyme of couenaunt schal come bifor thee; and alle that ben not dyuerse and spottid and dunne, as well in sheep as in geet, schulen repreue me of thefte. 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 WYC And Laban seide, Y haue acceptable that that thou axist. BSB BSB: “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”
35 WYC And he departide in that dai the geet, and scheep, geet buckis, and rammes, dyuerse and spottid. Sothely he bitook al the flok of o coloure, that is, of white and of blak flees in the hond of hise sones; 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 WYC and he settide the space of weie of thre daies bitwixe hise sones and the hosebonde of hise douytris, that fedde othere flockis` of hym. BSB BSB: Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 WYC Therfor Jacob took greene yerdis of popeleris, and of almoundis, and of planes, and in parti dide awei the rynde of tho, and whanne the ryndis weren `drawun a wei, whitnesse apperide in these that weren maad bare; sothely tho that weren hoole dwelliden grene, and bi this maner the coloure was maad dyuerse. 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 WYC And Jacob puttide tho yerdis in the trowis, where the watir was held out, that whanne the flockis schulden come to drynke, thei schulden haue the yerdis bifor the iyen, and schulden conseyue in the siyt of the yerdis. 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 WYC And it was doon that in thilke heete of riding the sheep schulde biholde the yerdis, and that thei schulden brynge forth spotti beestis, and dyuerse, and bispreynt with dyuerse colour. BSB BSB: they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
40 WYC And Jacob departide the floc, and puttide the yerdis in the trowis bifor the iyen of the rammys. Sotheli alle the white and blake weren Labans; sotheli the othere weren Jacobis; for the flockis weren departid bytwixe hem silf. 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 WYC Therfor whanne the scheep weren ridun in the firste tyme, Jacob puttide the yerdis in the `trouyis of watir bifor the iyen of rammys and of scheep, that thei schulden conseyue in the siyt of tho yerdis. 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 WYC Forsothe whanne the late medlyng and the laste conseyuyng weren, Jacob puttide not tho yerdis; and tho that weren late, weren maad Labans, and tho that weren of the firste tyme weren Jacobis. 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 WYC And he was maad ful riche, and hadde many flockis, handmaydis, and seruauntis, camels, and assis. BSB BSB: Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.