¹ And Jacob continued his journey, and went into the land of the children of the east.

² And he looked, and behold, there was a well in the fields, and behold there, three flocks of sheep were lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks, and a great stone was at the mouth of the well.

³ And when all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the mouth of the well in its place.

⁴ And Jacob said to them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they said, Of Haran are we.

⁵ And he said to them, Do ye know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We do know [him].

⁶ And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, [He is] well; and behold, there comes Rachel his daughter with the sheep.

⁷ And he said, Behold, it is yet high day; it is not time that the cattle should be gathered together; water the sheep, and go, feed [them].

⁸ And they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water the sheep.

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

¹⁰ And 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 rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of Laban his mother's brother.

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

¹² And Jacob told Rachel that he was a brother of her father, and that he was Rebecca's son; and she ran and told her father.

¹³ And it came to pass when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house; and he told Laban all these things.

¹⁴ And Laban said to him, Thou art indeed my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him a month's time.

¹⁵ And Laban said to Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou serve me for nothing? tell me, what shall be thy wages?

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

¹⁷ And the eyes of Leah were tender; but Rachel was of beautiful form and beautiful countenance.

¹⁸ And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

¹⁹ And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.

²⁰ And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they were in his eyes as single days, because he loved her.

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

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

²³ And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in to her.

²⁴ And Laban gave to her Zilpah, his maidservant, to be maidservant to Leah his daughter.

²⁵ And it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done to me? Have I not served thee for Rachel? Why then hast thou deceived me?

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

²⁷ Fulfil the week [with] this one: then we will give thee the other one also, for the service that thou shalt serve me yet seven other years.

²⁸ And Jacob did so, and fulfilled the week [with] this one, and he gave him Rachel his daughter to be his wife.

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

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

³¹ And when Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

³² And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and called his name Reuben; for she said, Because Jehovah has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.

³³ And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, Because Jehovah has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this one also; and she called his name Simeon.

³⁴ And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, Now this time will my husband be united to me, for I have borne him three sons; therefore was his name called Levi.

³⁵ And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, This time will I praise Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah. And she ceased to bear.

¹ When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I will die."

² Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in God's place, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

³ She said, "Behold, my maid Bilhah. Go in to her, that she may bear on my knees, and I also may obtain children by her."

⁴ She gave him Bilhah her handmaid as wife, and Jacob went in to her.

⁵ Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son.

⁶ Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son." Therefore called she his name Dan.

⁷ Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son.

⁸ Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed." She named him Naphtali.

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

¹⁰ Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, bore Jacob a son.

¹¹ Leah said, "How fortunate!" She named him Gad.

¹² Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, bore Jacob a second son.

¹³ Leah said, "Happy am I, for the daughters will call me Happy." She named him Asher.

¹⁴ 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."

¹⁵ 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?" Rachel said, "Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son's mandrakes."

¹⁶ Jacob came from the field in the evening, and 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." He lay with her that night.

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

¹⁸ Leah said, "God has given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband." She named him Issachar.

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

²⁰ Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good dowry. Now my husband will live with me, because I have borne him six sons." She named him Zebulun.

²¹ Afterwards, she bore a daughter, and named her Dinah.

²² God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and opened her womb.

²³ She conceived, bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach."

²⁴ She named him Joseph, saying, "May Yahweh add another son to me."

²⁵ It happened, 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.

²⁶ Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know my service with which I have served you."

²⁷ Laban said to him, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have divined that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake."

²⁸ He said, "Appoint me your wages, and I will give it."

²⁹ He said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me.

³⁰ For it was little which you had before I came, and it has increased to a multitude. Yahweh has blessed you wherever I turned. Now when will I provide for my own house also?"

³¹ He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed your flock and keep it.

³² I will pass through all your flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. This will be my hire.

³³ So my righteousness will answer for me hereafter, when you come concerning my hire that is before you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that might be with me, will be counted stolen."

³⁴ Laban said, "Behold, let it be according to your word."

³⁵ That day, he removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the female 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.

³⁶ He set three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

³⁷ Jacob took to himself rods of fresh poplar, almond, plane tree, peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

³⁸ He set the rods which he had peeled opposite the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink. They conceived when they came to drink.

³⁹ The flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted.

⁴⁰ Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the streaked and all the black in the flock of Laban: and he put his own droves apart, and didn't put them into Laban's flock.

⁴¹ It happened, whenever the stronger of the flock conceived, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods;

⁴² but when the flock were feeble, he didn't put them in. So the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

⁴³ The man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.