Jacob’s Dream

10 Then Jacob departed from aBeersheba and went toward bHaran.

11 He 1came to 2a acertain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it 3under his head, and lay down in that place.

12 aHe had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, bthe angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13 And behold, athe Lord stood 1above it and said, “I am the Lord, bthe God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it cto you and to dyour 2descendants.

14 “Your 1descendants will also be like athe dust of the earth, and you will 2spread out bto the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and cin you and in your 1descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 “Behold, aI am with you and bwill keep you wherever you go, and cwill bring you back to this land; for dI will not leave you until I have done what I have 1promised you.”

16 Then Jacob aawoke from his sleep and said, “bSurely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

17 He was afraid and said, “aHow awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took athe stone that he had put 1under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top.

19 He called the name of that place 1aBethel; however, 2previously the name of the city had been bLuz.

20 Then Jacob amade a vow, saying, “bIf God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I 1take, and will give me 2cfood to eat and garments to wear,

21 and aI return to my father’s house in 1safety, bthen the Lord will be my God.

22 “This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, awill be God’s house, and bof all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Chapter 29

Jacob Meets Rachel

1 Then Jacob 1went on his journey, and came to the land of athe sons of the east.

2 He looked, and 1saw aa well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large.

3 When all the flocks were gathered there, they would then roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place on the mouth of the well.

4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from aHaran.”

5 He said to them, “Do you know Laban the ason of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”

6 And he said to them, “Is it well with him?” And they said, “It is well, and here is aRachel his daughter coming with the sheep.”

7 He said, “Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered. Water the sheep, and go, pasture them.”

8 But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are gathered, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.”

9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother.

11 Then Jacob akissed Rachel, and lifted his voice and wept.

12 Jacob told Rachel that he was a 1arelative of her father and that he was Rebekah’s son, and bshe ran and told her father.

13 So when aLaban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and bembraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he related to Laban all these things.

14 Laban said to him, “Surely you are amy bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him a month.

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my 1relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall ayour wages be?”

16 Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 And Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was abeautiful of form and 1face.

18 Now Jacob aloved Rachel, so he said, “bI will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.”

20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days abecause of his love for her.

Laban’s Treachery

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my 1time is completed, that I may ago in to her.”

22 Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast.

23 Now in the evening he took his daughter Leah, and brought her to him; and Jacob went in to her.

24 Laban also gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid.

25 So it came about in the morning that, behold, it was Leah! And he said to Laban, “aWhat is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? Why then have you bdeceived me?”

26 But Laban said, “It is not 1the practice in our place to 2marry off the younger before the firstborn.

27 “Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which ayou shall serve with me for another seven years.”

28 Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.

29 Laban also gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.

30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed ahe loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with 1Laban for banother seven years.

31 Now the Lord saw that Leah was 1unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

32 Leah conceived and bore a son and named him 1Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has 2aseen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.”

33 Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “aBecause the Lord has 1heard that I am 2unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.

34 She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become 1attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named aLevi.

35 And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will 1praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him 2aJudah. Then she stopped bearing.

Chapter 30

The Sons of Jacob

1 Now when Rachel saw that ashe bore Jacob no children, 1she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “bGive me children, or else I die.”

2 Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has awithheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

3 She said, “aHere is my maid Bilhah, go in to her that she may bbear on my knees, that 1athrough her I too may have children.”

4 So ashe gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.

5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

6 Then Rachel said, “God has 1avindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him 2Dan.

7 Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8 So Rachel said, “With 1mighty wrestlings I have 2wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

10 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11 Then Leah said, “1How fortunate!” So she named him 2Gad.

12 Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

13 Then Leah said, “1Happy am I! For women awill call me happy.” So she named him 2Asher.

14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found amandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may lie with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, then 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.” So he lay with her that night.

17 God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my 1wages because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

19 Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband 1will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

21 Afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 Then aGod remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and bopened her womb.

23 So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has ataken away my reproach.”

24 She named him Joseph, saying, “aMay the Lord 1give me another son.”

Jacob Prospers

25 Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “aSend me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country.

26 “Give me my wives and my children afor whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have 1rendered you.”

27 But Laban said to him, “If now 1it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined athat the Lord has blessed me on your account.”

28 He 1continued, “aName me your wages, and I will give it.”

29 But he said to him, “aYou yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have 1fared with me.

30 “For you had little before 1I came and it has 2increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you 3wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?”

31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:

32 let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every aspeckled and spotted sheep and every black 1one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages.

33 “So my 1honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my 2wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found