Genesis 30 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Gen 30:1

Gen 30:1When 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!”

Gen 30:2

Gen 30:2Then Jacob became furious with Rachel. “Am I God?” he asked. “He’s the one who has kept you from having children!”

Gen 30:3

Gen 30:3Then Rachel told him, “Take my maid, Bilhah, and sleep with her. She will bear children for me,[fn] and through her I can have a family, too.”

Gen 30:4

Gen 30:4So Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a wife, and he slept with her.

Gen 30:5

Gen 30:5Bilhah became pregnant and presented him with a son.

Gen 30:6

Gen 30:6Rachel named him Dan,[fn] for she said, “God has vindicated me! He has heard my request and given me a son.”

Gen 30:7

Gen 30:7Then Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.

Gen 30:8

Gen 30:8Rachel named him Naphtali,[fn] for she said, “I have struggled hard with my sister, and I’m winning!”

Gen 30:9

Gen 30:9Meanwhile, Leah realized that she wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

Gen 30:10

Gen 30:10Soon Zilpah presented him with a son.

Gen 30:11

Gen 30:11Leah named him Gad,[fn] for she said, “How fortunate I am!”

Gen 30:12

Gen 30:12Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.

Gen 30:13

Gen 30:13And Leah named him Asher,[fn] for she said, “What joy is mine! Now the other women will celebrate with me.”

Gen 30:14

Gen 30:14One 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.”

Gen 30:15

Gen 30:15But 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.”

Gen 30:16

Gen 30:16So 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.

Gen 30:17

Gen 30:17And God answered Leah’s prayers. She became pregnant again and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.

Gen 30:18

Gen 30:18She named him Issachar,[fn] for she said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband as a wife.”

Gen 30:19

Gen 30:19Then Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.

Gen 30:20

Gen 30:20She named him Zebulun,[fn] 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.”

Gen 30:21

Gen 30:21Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

Gen 30:22

Gen 30:22Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children.

Gen 30:23

Gen 30:23She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. “God has removed my disgrace,” she said.

Gen 30:24

Gen 30:24And she named him Joseph,[fn] for she said, “May the LORD add yet another son to my family.”

Jacob’s Wealth Increases

Gen 30:25

Gen 30:25Soon after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own country.

Gen 30:26

Gen 30:26Let 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.”

Gen 30:27

Gen 30:27“Please listen to me,” Laban replied. “I have become wealthy, for[fn] the LORD has blessed me because of you.

Gen 30:28

Gen 30:28Tell me how much I owe you. Whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”

Gen 30:29

Gen 30:29Jacob replied, “You know how hard I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks and herds have grown under my care.

Gen 30:30

Gen 30:30You 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?”

Gen 30:31

Gen 30:31“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.

Gen 30:32

Gen 30:32Let 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.

Gen 30:33

Gen 30:33In 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.”

Gen 30:34

Gen 30:34“All right,” Laban replied. “It will be as you say.”

Gen 30:35

Gen 30:35But 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,

Gen 30:36

Gen 30:36who took them a three-days’ journey from where Jacob was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flock.

Gen 30:37

Gen 30:37Then Jacob took some fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled off strips of bark, making white streaks on them.

Gen 30:38

Gen 30:38Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated.

Gen 30:39

Gen 30:39And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.

Gen 30:40

Gen 30:40Jacob 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.

Gen 30:41

Gen 30:41Whenever 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.

Gen 30:42

Gen 30:42But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s.

Gen 30:43

Gen 30:43As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys.