| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1When Rachel saw that she wasn’t having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She pleaded with Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” | 1When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children or I'll die!" |
| 2Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!” | 2Jacob became furious with Rachel and exclaimed, "Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?" |
| 3Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me, and through her I can have a family, too.” | 3She replied, "Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with her so that she can bear children for me and I can have a family through her." |
| 4So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her. | 4So Rachel gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with her. |
| 5Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son. | 5Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob a son. |
| 6Rachel named him Dan, for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.” | 6Then Rachel said, "God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer and given me a son." That is why she named him Dan. |
| 7Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. | 7Bilhah, Rachel's servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. |
| 8Rachel named him Naphtali, for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!” | 8Then Rachel said, "I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won." So she named him Naphtali. |
| 9Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. | 9When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. |
| 10Soon Zilpah presented him with a son. | 10Soon Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. |
| 11Leah named him Gad, for she said, “How fortunate I am!” | 11Leah said, "How fortunate!" So she named him Gad. |
| 12Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son. | 12Then Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. |
| 13And Leah named him Asher, for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.” | 13Leah said, "How happy I am, for women will call me happy!" So she named him Asher. |
| 14One day during the wheat harvest, Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” | 14At the time of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Give me some of your son's mandrakes." |
| 15But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it enough that you stole my husband? Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes, too?” Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob sleep with you tonight if you give me some of the mandrakes.” | 15But Leah replied, "Wasn't it enough that you've taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes too?" "All right," Rachel said, "he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes." |
| 16So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out to meet him. “You must come and sleep with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid for you with some mandrakes that my son found.” So that night he slept with Leah. | 16When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must sleep with me because I have paid for your services with my son's mandrakes." So he had marital relations with her that night. |
| 17And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. | 17God paid attention to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. |
| 18She named him Issachar, for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.” | 18Then Leah said, "God has granted me a reward because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife." So she named him Issachar. |
| 19Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. | 19Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. |
| 20She named him Zebulun, for she said, “God has given me a good reward. Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.” | 20Then Leah said, "God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons." So she named him Zebulun. |
| 21Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. | 21After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. |
| 22Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. | 22Then God took note of Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. |
| 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said. | 23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, "God has taken away my shame." |
| 24And she named him Joseph, for she said, “May the LORD add yet another son to my family.” Jacob’s Wealth Increases | 24She named him Joseph, saying, "May the LORD give me yet another son." |
| 25Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country. | 25After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so that I can go home to my own country. |
| 26Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for you.” | 26Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. Then I'll depart, because you know how hard I've worked for you." |
| 27“Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for the LORD has blessed me because of you. | 27But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, for I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me on account of you." |
| 28Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.” | 28He added, "Just name your wages--I'll pay whatever you want." |
| 29Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care. | 29"You know how I have worked for you," Jacob replied, "and how well your livestock have fared under my care. |
| 30You had little indeed before I came, but your wealth has increased enormously. The LORD has blessed you through everything I’ve done. But now, what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?” | 30Indeed, you had little before I arrived, but now your possessions have increased many times over. The LORD has blessed you wherever I worked. But now, how long must it be before I do something for my own family too?" |
| 31“What wages do you want?” Laban asked again. Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your flocks. | 31So Laban asked, "What should I give you?" "You don't need to give me a thing," Jacob replied, "but if you agree to this one condition, I will continue to care for your flocks and protect them: |
| 32Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats that are speckled or spotted, along with all the black sheep. Give these to me as my wages. | 32Let me walk among all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, and the spotted or speckled goats. These animals will be my wages. |
| 33In the future, when you check on the animals you have given me as my wages, you’ll see that I have been honest. If you find in my flock any goats without speckles or spots, or any sheep that are not black, you will know that I have stolen them from you.” | 33My integrity will testify for me later on. When you come to verify that I've taken only the wages we agreed on, if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen." |
| 34“All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.” | 34"Agreed!" said Laban, "It will be as you say." |
| 35But that very day Laban went out and removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted or had white patches, and all the black sheep. He placed them in the care of his own sons, | 35So that day Laban removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care of his sons. |
| 36who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock. | 36Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, while Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban's flocks. |
| 37Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them. | 37But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. |
| 38Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. | 38Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. |
| 39And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted. | 39When the sheep mated in front of the branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. |
| 40Jacob separated those lambs from Laban’s flock. And at mating time he turned the flock to face Laban’s animals that were streaked or black. This is how he built his own flock instead of increasing Laban’s. | 40Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban's flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban's flocks. |
| 41Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches. | 41When the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. |
| 42But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s. | 42But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban and the stronger animals to Jacob. |
| 43As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys. | 43In this way Jacob became extremely prosperous. He owned large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys. |
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