¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord came to him, and said, I am God, Ruler of all; go in my ways and be upright in all things,

² And I will make an agreement between you and me, and your offspring will be greatly increased.

³ And Abram went down on his face on the earth, and the Lord God went on talking with him, and said,

⁴ As for me, my agreement is made with you, and you will be the father of nations without end.

⁵ No longer will your name be Abram, but Abraham, for I have made you the father of a number of nations.

⁶ I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.

⁷ And I will make between me and you and your seed after you through all generations, an eternal agreement to be a God to you and to your seed after you.

⁸ And to you and to your seed after you, I will give the land in which you are living, all the land of Canaan for an eternal heritage; and I will be their God.

⁹ And God said to Abraham, On your side, you are to keep the agreement, you and your seed after you through all generations.

¹⁰ And this is the agreement which you are to keep with me, you and your seed after you: every male among you is to undergo circumcision.

¹¹ In the flesh of your private parts you are to undergo it, as a mark of the agreement between me and you.

¹² Every male among you, from one generation to another, is to undergo circumcision when he is eight days old, with every servant whose birth takes place in your house, or for whom you gave money to someone of another country, and not of your seed.

¹³ He who comes to birth in your house and he who is made yours for a price, all are to undergo circumcision; so that my agreement may be marked in your flesh, an agreement for all time.

¹⁴ And any male who does not undergo circumcision will be cut off from his people: my agreement has been broken by him.

¹⁵ And God said, As for Sarai, your wife, from now her name will be not Sarai, but Sarah.

¹⁶ And I will give her a blessing so that you will have a son by her: truly my blessing will be on her, and she will be the mother of nations: kings of peoples will be her offspring.

¹⁷ Then Abraham went down on his face, and laughing, said in his heart, May a man a hundred years old have a child? will Sarah, at ninety years old, give birth?

¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, If only Ishmael's life might be your care!

¹⁹ And God said, Not so; but Sarah, your wife, will have a son, and you will give him the name Isaac, and I will make my agreement with him for ever and with his seed after him.

²⁰ As for Ishmael, I have given ear to your prayer: truly I have given him my blessing and I will make him fertile and give him great increase; he will be the father of twelve chiefs, and I will make him a great nation.

²¹ But my agreement will be with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth a year from this time.

²² And having said these words, God went up from Abraham.

²³ And Abraham took Ishmael, his son, and all whose birth had taken place in his house, and all his servants whom he had made his for a price, every male of his house, and on that very day he gave them circumcision in the flesh of their private parts as God had said to him.

²⁴ Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he underwent circumcision.

²⁵ And Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he underwent circumcision.

²⁶ Abraham and Ishmael, his son, underwent circumcision on that very day.

²⁷ And all the men of his house, those whose birth had taken place in the house and those whom he had got for money from men of other lands, underwent circumcision with him.

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

² He looked, and behold, a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep lying there by it. For out of that well they watered the flocks. The stone on the well's mouth was large.

³ There all the flocks were gathered. They rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the well's mouth in its place.

⁴ Jacob said to them, "My relatives, where are you from?" They said, "We are from Haran."

⁵ He said to them, "Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him."

⁶ He said to them, "Is it well with him?" They said, "It is well. See, Rachel, his daughter, is coming with the sheep."

⁷ He said, "Behold, it is still the middle of the day, not time to gather the livestock together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them."

⁸ They said, "We can't, until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the well's mouth. Then we water the sheep."

⁹ While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them.

¹⁰ It happened, 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 rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

¹¹ Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.

¹² Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he was Rebekah's son. She ran and told her father.

¹³ It happened, when Laban heard the news of Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to meet Jacob, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things.

¹⁴ Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh." He lived with him for a month.

¹⁵ Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my brother, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what will your wages be?"

¹⁶ Laban had two daughters. The name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

¹⁷ Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and attractive.

¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel. He said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter."

¹⁹ Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me."

²⁰ Jacob served seven years for Rachel. They seemed to him but a few days, for the love he had for her.

²¹ Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her."

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

²³ It happened in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him. He went in to her.

²⁴ Laban gave Zilpah his handmaid to his daughter Leah for a handmaid.

²⁵ It happened in the morning that, behold, it was Leah. He said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Didn't I serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"

²⁶ Laban said, "It is not done so in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn.

²⁷ Fulfill the week of this one, and we will give you the other also for the service which you will serve with me yet seven other years."

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

²⁹ Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah, his handmaid, to be her handmaid.

³⁰ He went in also to Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

³¹ Yahweh saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

³² Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, "Because Yahweh has looked at my affliction. For now my husband will love me."

³³ She conceived again, and bore a son, and said, "Because Yahweh has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this son also." She named him Simeon.

³⁴ She conceived again, and bore a son. Said, "Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore was his name called Levi.

³⁵ She conceived again, and bore a son. She said, "This time will I praise Yahweh." Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.