New King James Version

New Living Translation

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 wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with 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?”

2Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one 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.”

3Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.”

4Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.

4So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.

5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

5Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with 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.

6Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.”

7And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

7Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.

8Then Rachel said, “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.

8Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”

9When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife.

9Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

10And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

10Soon Zilpah presented him with a son.

11Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad.

11Leah named him Gad, for she said, “How fortunate I am!”

12And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

12Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.

13Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher.

13And Leah named him Asher, for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”

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.”

14One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please 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 angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?” Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the 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.

16So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah.

17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

17And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.

18Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.

18She named him Issachar, for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.”

19Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.

19Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.

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.

20She named him Zebulun, for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.”

21Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

21Later 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 remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children.

23And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said.

24So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The LORD shall add to me another son.”

24And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the LORD add yet another son to my family.” Jacob’s Wealth Increases

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.

25Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so 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 children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have 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.”

27“Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for the LORD has blessed me because of you.

28Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”

28Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”

29So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me.

29Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown 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?”

30You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?”

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:

31“What wages do you want?” Laban asked again. Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks.

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 inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as 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.”

33In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.”

34And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!”

34“All right,” Laban replied. “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.

35But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons,

36Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

36who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.

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.

37Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them.

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 placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated.

39So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.

39And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and 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 separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s.

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.

41Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of 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 he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s.

43Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

43As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.