Genesis 28–31

28And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, ^aThou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. ^2bArise, go to ^cPadan-aram, to the house of ^dBethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of ^eLaban thy mother’s brother. ^3fAnd God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be ^†a multitude of people; ⁴And give thee ^gthe blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land ^†hwherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. ⁵And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. ⁶When Esau saw that Isaac ^hhad blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; ⁷And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-aram; ⁸And Esau seeing ⁱthat the daughters of Canaan ^†pleased not Isaac his father; ⁹Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had ^kMahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, ^lthe sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

¹⁰And Jacob went out from ^mBeer-sheba, and went toward ⁿHaran. ¹¹And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. ¹²And he ^odreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold ^pthe angels of God ascending and descending on it. ^13qAnd, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, ^rI am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: ^sthe land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; ¹⁴And ^tthy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt ^†spread abroad ^uto the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and ^xin thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. ¹⁵And, behold, ^yI am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will ^zbring thee again into this land; for I ^awill not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. ¹⁶And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in ^bthis place; and I knew it not. ¹⁷And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. ¹⁸And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up ^cfor a pillar, ^dand poured oil upon the top of it. ¹⁹And he called the name of ^ethat place ^||Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. ^20fAnd Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If ^gGod will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, ²¹So that ^hI come again to my father’s house in peace; ⁱthen shall the Lord be my God: ²²And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, ^kshall be God’s house: ^land of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

29Then Jacob ^†went on his journey, and came into the land of the ^†people of ^athe east. ²And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth. ³And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well’s mouth in his place. ⁴And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, Of ^bHaran are we. ⁵And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. ⁶And he said unto them, ^†Is he well? And they said, ^cHe is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. ⁷And he said, Lo, ^†it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. ⁸And they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep. ⁹And while he yet spake with them, ^dRachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them. ¹⁰And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and ^erolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. ¹¹And Jacob ^fkissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. ¹²And Jacob told Rachel that he was ^gher father’s brother, and that he was Rebekah’s son: ^hand she ran and told her father. ¹³And it came to pass, when Laban heard the ^†tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that ⁱhe ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. ¹⁴And Laban said to him, ^kSurely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him ^†the space of a month. ¹⁵And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? ¹⁶And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was ^lbeautiful and well favoured. ¹⁸And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, ^mI will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. ¹⁹And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. ²⁰And Jacob ⁿserved seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

²¹And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. ²²And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and ^omade a feast. ²³And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. ²⁴And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah ^pZilpah his maid for an handmaid. ²⁵And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? ²⁶And Laban said, It ^qmust not be so done in our ^†country, to give the younger before the firstborn. ^27rFulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. ²⁸And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. ²⁹And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter ^sBilhah his handmaid to be her maid. ³⁰And he went in also unto Rachel, and he ^tloved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him ^uyet seven other years.

³¹And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he ^wopened her womb: but Rachel was barren. ³²And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name ^||Reuben: for she said, Surely the Lord hath ^xlooked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me. ³³And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was 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 ^ybe joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called ^||Levi. ³⁵And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord: therefore she called his name ^z||Judah; and ^†left bearing.

30And when Rachel saw that ^ashe bare Jacob no children, Rachel ^benvied her sister; and 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 ^cwithheld from thee the fruit of the womb? ³And she said, Behold my maid ^dBilhah, ^ego in unto her; ^fand she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also ^†have children by her. ⁴And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid ^gto 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 maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. ⁸And Rachel said, With ^†great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name ^||†Naphtali. ⁹When Leah saw that ^hshe had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and ⁱgave her Jacob to wife. ¹⁰And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son. ¹¹And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name ^||Gad. ¹²And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a second son. ¹³And Leah said, ^†Happy am I, for the daughters ^kwill call me blessed: and she called his name ^||Asher. ¹⁴And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found ^lmandrakes 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, ^mIs it a small matter that thou hast taken 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 out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have 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 the fifth son. ¹⁸And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name ^||Issachar. ¹⁹And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. ²⁰And Leah said, God hath 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 ^||*Zebulun. ²¹And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name ^||Dinah. ²²And God ⁿremembered Rachel, and God…