Now when Rachel saw
that ashe bore
Jacob
no
children, 1she became
jealous
of her sister
; and she said
to Jacob
, " bGive
me children
, or else
I die
."
Then Jacob's anger
burned
against Rachel
, and he said
, "Am I in the place
of God
, who
has awithheld
from you the fruit
of the womb
?"
She said, " aHere
is my maid
Bilhah
, go
in to her that she may bbear
on my knees
, that 1 athrough
her I too
may have
children
."
So ashe gave him her maid
Bilhah
as a wife
, and Jacob
went
in to her.
Bilhah conceived
and bore
Jacob
a son
.
Then Rachel said
, "God
has 1 avindicated
me, and has indeed
heard
my voice
and has given
me a son
." Therefore
she named
him 2Dan
.
Rachel's maid
Bilhah
conceived
again
and bore
Jacob
a second
son
.
So Rachel said
, "With 1mighty
wrestlings
I have 2wrestled
with my sister
, and I have indeed
prevailed
." And she named
him Naphtali
.
When Leah saw
that she had stopped
bearing
, she took
her maid
Zilpah
and gave
her to Jacob
as a wife
.
Leah's maid
Zilpah
bore
Jacob
a son
.
Then Leah said
, " 1How fortunate
!" So she named
him 2Gad
.
Leah's maid
Zilpah
bore
Jacob
a second
son
.
Then Leah said
, " 1Happy
am I! For women
awill call
me happy
." So she named
him 2Asher
.
Now in the days of wheat
harvest
Reuben
went
and found
amandrakes
in the field
, and brought
them to his mother
Leah
. Then Rachel
said
to Leah
, "Please
give
me some
of your son's
mandrakes
."
But she said to her, "Is it a small
matter
for you to take
my husband
? And would you take
my son's
mandrakes
also
?" So Rachel
said
, "Therefore
he may lie
with you tonight
in return
for your son's
mandrakes
."
When Jacob came
in from the field
in the evening
, then 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
." So he lay
with her that night
.
God gave
heed
to Leah
, and she conceived
and bore
Jacob
a fifth
son
.
Then Leah said
, "God
has given
me my 1wages
because
I gave
my maid
to my husband
." So she named
him Issachar
.
Leah conceived
again
and bore
a sixth
son
to Jacob
.
Then Leah said
, "God
has endowed
me with a good
gift
; now
my husband
1will dwell
with me, because
I have borne
him six
sons
." So she named
him Zebulun
.
Afterward she bore
a daughter
and named
her Dinah
.
Then aGod remembered
Rachel
, and God
gave
heed
to her and bopened
her womb
.
So she conceived and bore
a son
and said
, "God
has ataken
away
my reproach
."
She named him Joseph
, saying
, " aMay the LORD
1give
me another
son
."
Now it came about when
Rachel
had borne
Joseph
, that Jacob
said
to Laban
, " aSend
me away
, that I may go
to my own place
and to my own country
.
"Give me my wives
and my children
afor whom
I have served
you, and let me depart
; for you yourself
know
my service
which
I have 1rendered
you."
But Laban said
to him, "If
now
1it pleases
you, stay with me; I have divined
athat the LORD
has blessed
me on your account
."
He 1continued, " aName
me your wages
, and I will give
it."
But he said to him, " aYou yourself
know
how
I have served
you and how
your cattle
have 1fared
with me.
"For you had little
before
1I came and it has 2increased
to a multitude
, and the LORD
has blessed
you 3wherever I turned
. But now
, when
shall I provide
for my own household
also
?"
So he said, "What
shall I give
you?" And Jacob
said
, "You shall not give
me anything
. If
you will do
this
one thing
for me, I will again
pasture
and keep
your flock
:
let me pass through your entire
flock
today
, removing
from there
every
aspeckled
and spotted
sheep
and every
black
1one
among the lambs
and the spotted
and speckled
among the goats
; and such shall be my wages
.
"So my 1honesty will answer
for me later
, when
you come
concerning
my 2wages
. Every
one
that is not speckled
and spotted
among the goats
and black
among the lambs
, if found with me, will be considered stolen
."
Laban said
, " 1Good
, let it be according to your word
."
So he removed on that day
the striped
and spotted
male
goats
and all
the speckled
and spotted
female
goats
, every
one
with white
in it, and all
the black
ones
among the sheep
, and gave
them into the 1care
of his sons
.
And he put a distance of three
days'
journey
between
himself and Jacob
, and Jacob
fed
the rest
of Laban's
flocks
.
Then Jacob 1took
fresh
rods
of poplar
and almond
and plane
trees
, and peeled
white
stripes
in them, exposing
the white
which
was 2in the rods
.
He set the rods
which
he had peeled
in front
of the flocks
in the gutters
, even in the watering
troughs
, where
the flocks
came
to drink
; and they 1mated
when they came
to drink
.
So the flocks 1mated
by the rods
, and the flocks
brought
forth
striped
, speckled
, and spotted
.
Jacob separated
the lambs
, and 1made
the flocks
face
toward
the striped
and all
the black
in the flock
of Laban
; and he put
his own herds
apart
, and did not put
them with Laban's
flock
.
Moreover, whenever the 1stronger
of the flock
2were mating
, Jacob
would place
the rods
in the sight
of the flock
in the gutters
, so that they might 3mate
by the rods
;
but when the flock was feeble
, he did not put
them in; so the feebler
were Laban's
and the 1stronger
Jacob's
.
So athe man 1became
exceedingly
prosperous
, and had
large
flocks
and female
and male
servants
and camels
and donkeys
.