| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” | 1When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I'll die!" |
| 2Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” | 2Jacob became angry with her and said, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" |
| 3Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” | 3Then she said, "Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her." |
| 4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. | 4So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her, |
| 5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. | 5and she became pregnant and bore him a son. |
| 6Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. | 6Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." Because of this she named him Dan. |
| 7Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. | 7Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. |
| 8Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. | 8Then Rachel said, "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." So she named him Naphtali. |
| 9When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. | 9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. |
| 10Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. | 10Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. |
| 11And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad. | 11Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" So she named him Gad. |
| 12Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. | 12Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. |
| 13And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher. | 13Then Leah said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher. |
| 14In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went 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.” | 14During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to 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?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” | 15But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes." |
| 16When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. | 16So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night. |
| 17And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. | 17God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. |
| 18Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. | 18Then Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband." So she named him Issachar. |
| 19And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. | 19Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. |
| 20Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. | 20Then Leah said, "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. |
| 21Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. | 21Some time later 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; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. |
| 23She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” | 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, "God has taken away my disgrace." |
| 24And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!” | 24She named him Joseph, and said, "May the LORD add to me another son." |
| 25As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. | 25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. |
| 26Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” | 26Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you." |
| 27But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you. | 27But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you." |
| 28Name your wages, and I will give it.” | 28He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them." |
| 29Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. | 29Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. |
| 30For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” | 30The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?" |
| 31He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: | 31"What shall I give you?" he asked. "Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: |
| 32let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. | 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. They will be my wages. |
| 33So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” | 33And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen." |
| 34Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” | 34"Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said." |
| 35But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. | 35That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. |
| 36And he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock. | 36Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks. |
| 37Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. | 37Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. |
| 38He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, | 38Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, |
| 39the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. | 39they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. |
| 40And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. | 40Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals. |
| 41Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, | 41Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, |
| 42but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. | 42but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. |
| 43Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys. | 43In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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