1And when Rachel (ewe) saw that she bore Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) no children, Rachel (ewe) envied her sister; and said unto Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of), Give me children, or else I die.

2And Ya’akov’s (he who holds onto the heel of) anger was kindled against Rachel (ewe): and he said, [Am] I in God-Elōhīm’s [The Living Word - The Many Powered] stead, who has withheld from youi the fruit of the womb?

3And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah (troubled; timid), go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.

4And she gave him Bilhah her female servant to wife: and Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) went in unto her.

5And Bilhah conceived, and bore Ya’akov a son.

6And Rachel (ewe) said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan (Judge).

7And Bilhah Rachel’s [ewe] maid conceived again, and bore Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) a second son.

8And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naftali (My Wrestling).

9When Le’ah (weary; grieved) saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah (a tickling; a sprinkle) her maid, and gave her Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) to wife.

10And Zilpah (a tickling; a sprinkle) Le’ah’s (weary; grieved) maid bore Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) a son.

11And Le’ah (weary; grieved) said, A troop comes: and she called his name Gad (troop; good fortune with much effort).

12And Zilpah, Leah’s maid bore Ya’akov a second son.

13And Le’ah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous): and she called his name Asher (happy).

14And Re’uven (behold a son) went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Le’ah (weary; grieved). Then Rachel (ewe) said to Le’ah (weary; grieved), Give me, I pray youi, of youri son’s mandrakes.

15And she said unto her, [Is it] a small matter that youi hast taken my husband? and would youi take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with youi to night for youri son’s mandrakes.

16And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) came out of the field in the evening, and Le’ah (weary; grieved) went out to meet him, and said, Youi must come in unto me; for surely I have hired youi with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.

17And God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] listened unto Le’ah (weary; grieved), and she conceived, and bore Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) the fifth son.

18And Le’ah said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has given me my hire, because I have given my virgin to my husband: and she called his name Yissakhar (there is recompense).

19And Le’ah conceived again, and bore Ya’akov the sixth son.

20And Le’ah said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has endued me [with] a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Z’vulun (exalted; Glorious Dwelling Place).

21And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah (judgment).

22And God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] remembered Rachel (ewe), and God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] listened to her, and opened her womb.

23And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God-Elōhīm [The Living Word - The Many Powered] has taken away my reproach (disgrace; shame):

24And she called his name Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]); and said, The Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) shall add to me another son.

25And it came to pass, when Rachel (ewe) had born Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]), that Ya’akov said unto Lavan (to be white; white guy), Send me away, that I may go unto my own place, and to my country.

26Give [me] my wives and my children, for whom I have served youi, and let me go: for youi know my service which I have done youi.

27And Lavan said unto him, I pray youi, if I have found favour in youri eyes, [wait: for] I have learned by experience that the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) has Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) me for youri sake.

28And he said, Appoint me youri wages, and I will give [it].

29And he said unto him, Youi know how I have served youi, and how youri cattle was with me.

30For [it was] little which youi had before I [came], and it is [now] increased unto a multitude; and the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) has Blessed (Favored by God; happy; prosperous) youi since my coming: and now when shall I provide for my own house also?

31And he said, What shall I give youi? And Ya’akov said, Youi shall not give me anything: if youi will do this thing for me, I will again feed [and] keep youri flock:

32I will pass through all youri flock to day, removing from there all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and [of such] shall be my hire.

33So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before youri face: every one that [is] not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.

34And Lavan (to be white; white guy) said, Behold, I would it might be according to youri word.

35And he removed that day the he goats that were marked with circular stripes and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, [and] every one that had [some] white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave [them] into the hand of his sons.

36And he set three days’ journey between himself and Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of): and Ya’akov fed the rest of Lavan’s flocks.

37And Ya’akov took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree; and pealed white strakes in them, and made the white appear which [was] in the rods.

38And he set the rods which he had pealed before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle marked with circular stripes, speckled, and spotted.

40And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the marked with circular stripes, and all the brown in the flock of Lavan (to be white; white guy); and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Lavan’s cattle.

41And it came to pass, whenever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Ya’akov laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42But when the cattle were feeble, he put [them] not in: so the feebler were Lavan’s, and the stronger Ya’akov’s.

43And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and donkeys.

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Genesis 30

Dan and Naphtali

1When 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.

2Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”

3Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me,#30:3 Literally bear children on my knees so that through her I too can build a family.”

4So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her, 5and Bilhah conceived and bore him a son. 6Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.#30:6 Dan means He has judged or He has vindicated.

7And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.#30:8 Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew for wrestling.

Gad and Asher

9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10And Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11Then Leah said, “How fortunate!”#30:11 Alternate MT reading (see also LXX); the other alternate reads “A troop is coming!” So she named him Gad.#30:11 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for good fortune, or alternately for band of raiders.

12When Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, 13Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.#30:13 Asher means happy.

14Now 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 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.”

16When 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

17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob. 18Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.#30:18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for wages or reward.

19Again Leah conceived and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20“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.#30:20 Zebulun sounds like the Hebrew for honor.

21After that, Leah gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

Joseph

22Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb, 23and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said. 24She named him Joseph,#30:24 Joseph means may He add. and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”

Jacob Prospers

25Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland. 26Give 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.”

27But 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.” 28And he added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”

29Then Jacob answered, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock have thrived under my care. 30Indeed, 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“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. 32Let 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 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“Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

35That 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. 36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding the rest of Laban’s flocks.

37Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches. 38Then 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, 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 40Jacob 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.

41Whenever 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 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.

43Thus Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. He owned large flocks, maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.

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Genesis 30

Genesis 30