Genesis 29:31–35:18

³¹And Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. ³²And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Because Jehovah hath looked upon my affliction: for now my husband will love me. ³³And she conceived again, and bare a son: and said, Because Jehovah hath heard that I am hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon. ³⁴And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. ³⁵And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, This time will I praise Jehovah: therefore she called his name Judah; and she left off bearing.

30And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die. ²And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? ³And she said, Behold, my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may bear upon my knees, and I also may obtain children by her. ⁴And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her. ⁵And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. ⁶And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan. ⁷And Bilhah Rachel’s handmaid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. ⁸And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

⁹When Leah saw that she had left off bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife. ¹⁰And Zilpah Leah’s handmaid bare Jacob a son. ¹¹And Leah said, Fortunate! and she called his name Gad. ¹²And Zilpah Leah’s handmaid bare Jacob a second son. ¹³And Leah said, Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy: and she called his name Asher.

¹⁴And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son’s mandrakes. ¹⁵And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son’s mandrakes. ¹⁶And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son’s mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. ¹⁷And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. ¹⁹And Leah conceived again, and bare a sixth son to Jacob. ²⁰And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. ²¹And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. ²²And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. ²³And she conceived, and bare a son: and said, God hath taken away my reproach: ²⁴and she called his name Joseph, saying, Jehovah add to me another son.

²⁵And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. ²⁶Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service wherewith I have served thee. ²⁷And Laban said unto him, If now I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have divined that Jehovah hath blessed me for thy sake. ²⁸And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. ²⁹And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle have fared with me. ³⁰For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a multitude; and Jehovah hath blessed thee whithersoever I turned: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? ³¹And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me aught: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it. ³²I will pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence every speckled and spotted one, and every black one 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 hereafter, when thou shalt come concerning my hire that is before thee: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that if found with me, shall be counted stolen. ³⁴And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. ³⁵And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstreaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons; ³⁶and he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane-tree; and peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. ³⁸And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink. ³⁹And the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstreaked, speckled, and spotted. ⁴⁰And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstreaked and all the black in the flock of Laban: and he put his own droves apart, and put them not unto Laban’s flock. ⁴¹And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods; ⁴²but when the flock were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. ⁴³And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and asses.

31And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. ²And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime. ³And Jehovah said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee. ⁴And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, ⁵and said unto them, I see your father’s countenance, that it is not toward me as beforetime; but the God of my father hath been with me. ⁶And ye know that with all my power I have served your father. ⁷And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me. ⁸If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstreaked shall be thy wages; then bare all the flock ringstreaked. ⁹Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given them to me. ¹⁰And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceive, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled. ¹¹And the angel of God said unto me in the dream, Jacob: and I said, Here am I. ¹²And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are ringstreaked, speckled, and grizzled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. ¹³I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy nativity. ¹⁴And Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? ¹⁵Are we not accounted by him as foreigners? for he hath sold us, and hath also quite devoured our money. ¹⁶For all the riches which God hath taken away from our father, that is ours and our children’s: now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do.

¹⁷Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels; ¹⁸and he carried away all his cattle, and all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, to go to Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan. ¹⁹Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father’s. ²⁰And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. ²¹So he fled with all that he had; and he rose up, and passed over the River, and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead.

²²And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was fled. ²³And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and he overtook him in the mountain of Gilead. ²⁴And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said unto him, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. ²⁵And Laban came up with Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain: and Laban with his brethren encamped in the mountain of Gilead. ²⁶And Laban said to Jacob, What hast thou done, that thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters as captives of the sword? ²⁷Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and steal away from me, and didst not tell me, that I might have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp; ²⁸and didst not suffer me to kiss my sons and my daughters? now hast thou done foolishly. ²⁹It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt: but the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. ³⁰And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? ³¹And Jacob…