| New King James Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 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 was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. "Give me sons, or I will die!" she said to Jacob. |
| 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?” | 2Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, "Am I in God's place, who has withheld children from you?" |
| 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 she said, "Here is my slave Bilhah. Go sleep with her, and she'll bear children for me so that through her I too can build a family." |
| 4Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. | 4So Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. |
| 5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. | 5Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob 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 said, "God has vindicated me; yes, He has heard me and given me a son," and she named him Dan. |
| 7And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. | 7Rachel's slave Bilhah conceived again and bore 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 said, "In my wrestlings with God, I have wrestled with my sister and won," and she named him Naphtali. |
| 9When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife. | 9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. |
| 10And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. | 10Leah's slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. |
| 11Then Leah said, “A troop comes!” So she called his name Gad. | 11Then Leah said, "What good fortune!" and she named him Gad. |
| 12And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. | 12When Leah's slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, |
| 13Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” So she called his name Asher. | 13Leah said, "I am happy that the women call me happy," so she named him Asher. |
| 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.” | 14Reuben went out during the wheat harvest and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother Leah, Rachel asked, "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 replied to her, "Isn't it enough that you have taken my husband? Now you also want to take my son's mandrakes?"" Well," Rachel said, "you can sleep with him tonight in exchange for your son's 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. | 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 Jacob 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 conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. |
| 18Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. | 18Leah said, "God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband," and she named him Issachar. |
| 19Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. | 19Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. " |
| 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. | 20God has given me a good gift," Leah said. "This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him," and she named him Zebulun. |
| 21Afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. | 21Later, Leah bore 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 opened her womb. |
| 23And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” | 23She conceived and bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my shame." |
| 24So she called his name Joseph, and said, “The LORD shall add to me another son.” | 24She named him Joseph: "May the LORD add another son to me." |
| 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. | 25After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so that I can return to my homeland. |
| 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.” | 26Give me my wives and my children that I have worked for, and let me go. You 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.” | 27But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your sight, stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you." |
| 28Then he said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.” | 28Then Laban said, "Name your wages, and I will pay them." |
| 29So Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. | 29So Jacob said to him, "You know what I have done for you and your herds. |
| 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?” | 30For you had very little before I came, but now your wealth has increased. The LORD has blessed you because of me. And now, when will I also do something 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: | 31Laban asked, "What should I give you?" And Jacob said, "You don't need to give me anything. If you do this one thing for me, I will continue to shepherd and keep your flock. |
| 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 go through all your sheep today and remove every sheep that is speckled or spotted, every dark-colored sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the female goats. Such will be 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 come to check on my wages, my honesty will testify for me. If I have any female goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs that are not black, they will be considered stolen."" |
| 34And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” | 34Good," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said." |
| 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. | 35That day Laban removed the streaked and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats--every one that had any white on it--and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he placed his sons in charge of them. |
| 36Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. | 36He put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Jacob, meanwhile, was shepherding 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. | 37Jacob then took branches of fresh poplar, almond, and plane wood, and peeled the bark, exposing white stripes on the branches. |
| 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. | 38He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep--in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink. |
| 39So the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted. | 39The flocks bred in front of the branches and bore streaked, speckled, and spotted young. |
| 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 the lambs and made the flocks face the streaked and the completely dark sheep in Laban's flocks. Then he set his own stock apart and didn't put them with Laban's sheep. |
| 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 of the flock were breeding, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs, in full view of the flocks, and they would breed 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. | 42As for the weaklings of the flocks, he did not put out the branches. So it turned out that the weak sheep belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. |
| 43Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. | 43And the man became very rich. He had many flocks, male and female slaves, and camels and donkeys. |
|
