1 And Rahel saw that she did not bear unto Jakob; and Rahel envied her sister, and she said to Jakob, Give me children; and if not, I die. 2 And the anger of Jakob was incensed against Rahel, and he said, Why ask of me? Is it not before the Lord that thou shouldest ask, who hath denied thee the generation of the womb? 3 And she said, Behold my handmaid Bilhah, go in unto her, and she shall bear, and I also shall nourish (children), and be builded up from her. 4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife; and Jakob went in unto her, 5 and Bilhah conceived, and bare to Jakob a son. 6 And Rahel said, The Lord hath judged me, and hath also received my prayer, and given me a son: therefore she called his name Dan. 7 And Bilhah the handmaid of Rahel conceived again, and bare a second son to Jakob. 8 And Rahel said, The Lord hath received my request: when I entreated in my prayer, I desired that I might have offspring as my sister, and also it is given me. And she called his name Naphtali.

9 And Leah saw that she had ceased from bearing, and she took Zilpha her handmaid, and gave her to Jakob to wife. 10 And Zilpha the handmaid of Leah bare a son to Jakob, 11 and Leah said, There cometh prosperity; and she called his name Gad. 12 And Zilpha the handmaid of Leah bare a second son to Jakob; 13 And Leah said, Praise shall be mine; now will women praise me; and she called his name Asher.

14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rahel said to Leah, Give me now of thy son’s mandrakes. 15 And she said to her, Is it a little that thou hast taken my husband, and thou wilt take also my son’s mandrakes? And Rahel said, Therefore shall he lie with thee at night for thy son’s mandrakes. 16 And Jakob came in from the field at evening, and Leah went out to anticipate him, and said, With me thou wilt go in, because with hire have I hired thee, with the mandrakes of my son; and he lay with her that night. 17 And the Lord received the prayer of Leah, and she conceived, and bare to Jakob a fifth son. 18 And Leah said, The Lord hath given me my reward, because I gave my handmaid to my husband. And she called his name Issakar. 19 And Leah conceived again, and bare a sixth son to Jakob. 20 And Leah said, The Lord hath given me a good portion. This time will the habitation of my husband be with me, because I have born him six sons: therefore she called his name Zebulon. 21 And afterward she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. 22 And the remembrance of Rahel came before the Lord, and the Lord received her prayer, and gave her to conceive. 23 And she conceived and bare a son, and she said, The Lord hath taken up my reproach. 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, The Lord shall add to me another son.

25 And it was when Rahel had born Joseph, that Jakob said to Laban, Send me away, that I may go to my place, and to my land. 26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, that I may go: for thou knowest the service with which I have served thee. 27 And Laban said to him, If now I have found grace in thine eyes, I have proved that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. 28 And he said, Certify thy wages with me, and I will give. 29 And he said to him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and what thy flocks have been with me; 30 For thou hadst few before me, and they have increased into a multitude: and the Lord hath blessed thee for my sake. But now, what shall I do also for my (own) house? 31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me anything; but if thou wilt do with me this matter, I will return, and, pasturing thy flocks, will keep (them). 32 I will pass through all thy flocks today, and set apart from them every lamb streaked and speckled, and every black lamb among the lambs, and the streaked and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. 33 And my righteousness shall be testified in the day following, when thou wilt come upon my reward that shall be before thee: everyone which is not streaked or speckled among the goats, and black among the lambs, that shall be (as if) stolen by me. 34 And Laban said, Let it be according to thy word. 35 And he set apart that day the he goats of various colour, and all the goats which were speckled or spotted, everyone which had (some) white in him, and all that were black among the lambs: and he gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 And he set a walk of three days between them and Jakob; and Jakob pastured the flock of Laban which remained.

37 And Jakob took to him rods of white poplars, and of almond, (or hazel,) and of plane tree, and peeled in them white peelings, (so that, where) peeled, the white which was in the rods appeared. 38 And he fixed the rods that he had peeled in the canals, in the place of the watering of waters, the place to which they brought the flocks to drink, to be over against the flocks, that they might be incited when they came to drink. 39 And the sheep were incited before the rods, and the sheep brought forth with chequered feet and streaked. 40 And Jakob separated the lambs, and set before the sheep which were various coloured and all that were black among the sheep of Laban; and placed them for himself a flock apart, not mixing them with the sheep of Laban. 41 And it was that whenever the early (prime) sheep conceived, Jakob placed the rods before the eyes of the sheep in the canals, that they might conceive before the rods: but before the late sheep he did not place them. 42 And (so) the late ones were Laban’s, and the prime ones Jacob’s. 43 And the man increased very greatly, and had a multitude of flocks, and handmaids, and servants, and camels, and asses.

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