Genesis 30 Parallel Bible Translations

Genesis 30 ▼
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1 Rachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, |If you don't give me sons, I'm going to die!| When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die!” When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2 That made Jacob angry with Rachel, so he asked her, |Can I take God's place, who has not allowed you to conceive?| Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
3 Rachel responded, |Here's my handmaid Bilhah. Go have sex with her. She can bear children on my knees so I can have children through her.| Then she said, “Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her.” Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”
4 So Rachel gave Jacob her woman servant Bilhah to be his wife, and Jacob had sex with her. So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her. So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,
5 Bilhah conceived and bore a son for Jacob. And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. and she became pregnant and bore him a son.
6 Then Rachel said, |God has vindicated me! He has heard my voice and has given me a son.| Therefore, she named him Dan. Then Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him Dan.
7 Rachel's servant conceived again and bore a second son for Jacob, Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 so Rachel said, |I've been through a mighty struggle with my sister and won.| She named him Naphtali. Then Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali. Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing children, she took her woman servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 Leah's servant Zilpah bore a son to Jacob, Then Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
11 and Leah exclaimed, |How fortunate!| So she named him Gad. And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad. Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.
12 Later, Leah's servant Zilpah bore a second son for Jacob. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
13 She said, |How happy I am, because women will call me happy!| So she named him Asher. And Leah said, “Happy am I! For women have called me happy.” So she called his name Asher. Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
14 Some time later, during the wheat harvest season, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field and brought them back for his mother Leah. Then Rachel told Leah, |Please give me your son's mandrakes.| In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went 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.” During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 In response, Leah asked her, |Wasn't it enough that you've taken away my husband? Now you also want to take my son's mandrakes!| But Rachel replied, |Okay, let's let Jacob sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes.| But 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, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son’s mandrakes too?” “Very well,” Rachel said, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 When Jacob came in from the field that evening, Leah went to meet him and told him, |You're having sex with me tonight. I traded my son's mandrakes for you!| So he slept with her that night. When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You must sleep with me,” she said. “I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night.
17 God heard what Leah had said, so she conceived and bore a fifth son for Jacob. And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.
18 Then Leah said, |God has paid me for giving my servant to my husband as his wife.| So she named him Issachar. Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar. Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
19 Later, Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son for Jacob. And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.
20 Then Leah said, |God has given me a good gift. This time my husband will exalt me, because I've borne him six sons.| So she named him Zebulun. Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun. Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.
21 After that, Leah conceived, bore a daughter, and named her Dinah. Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah. Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb, Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.
23 so she conceived, bore a son, and remarked, |God has removed my shame.| She conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”
24 Because she had been asking, |May God give me another son,| she named him Joseph. And she called his name Joseph, saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!” She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
25 After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob told Laban, |Send me off so that I can go back to my place and country. As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland.
26 Give me my wives and children for whom I've served you. Then I'll leave, since you're aware of my service to you.| Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.” Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
27 Then Laban responded, |If I've found favor in your sight, please stay with me, because I've learned through divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you. But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you. But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”
28 Name your wage, and I'll give it to you.| Name your wages, and I will give it.” He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
29 But Jacob replied to Laban, |You know how I've served you and how your cattle thrived under my care. Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me. Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.
30 What you had previously was only a few head, but the herd has now multiplied, because the LORD has blessed you through my efforts. But now, when am I going to be able to provide for my own household?| For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?”
31 |What do I have to give you?| Laban asked. Jacob responded, |You don't have to give me anything. Just do this for me: Let me tend your flock again and watch over it. He said, “What shall I give you?” Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it: “What shall I give you?” he asked. “Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them:
32 Let me walk among your flocks today and remove every speckled or spotted sheep, along with every black lamb, and let me do the same with the speckled and spotted goats. These will be my wages. let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages. Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.
33 In the future, you'll be able to verify my honesty because, when you come to check what I've earned, if you find a goat that's not speckled or spotted or a sheep that's not black, then it will have been stolen by me.| So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen.” And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.”
34 |Okay,| Laban replied. |We'll do it the way you've asked.| Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”
35 That very day, Laban removed the male goats that were striped or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted—that is, every one that had white on them—and all the black lambs and placed them into the care of his sons. But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons. That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons.
36 He sent them as far away from Jacob as a three days' journey could take them. Meanwhile, Jacob kept tending the rest of Laban's flock. And he set a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 Jacob took branches from white poplar trees, freshly cut almond trees, and some other trees, stripped off their bark to make white streaks, and uncovered the white part inside the branches. Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches.
38 Then he placed the branches that he had stripped bare in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He placed the branches in front of the flock, and they went into heat as they came to drink. He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink,
39 When the flocks mated in front of the branches, they would bear offspring that were striped, speckled, or spotted. the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
40 Jacob kept the lambs separate, facing the striped and entirely black ones that belonged to Laban's flock. He set his own herd by itself and would not let them be with Laban's flock. And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals.
41 Whenever the more vigorous of the flock came into heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the flock to make them mate by the branches. Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches,
42 But he didn't put the branches in front of any of the feeble members of the flock. As a result, the feeble ones belonged to Laban, but the stronger ones belonged to Jacob. but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob.
43 Therefore the man Jacob prospered so much that he had large flocks, female and male servants, as well as camels and donkeys. Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys. In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
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