Genesis 29

1 Jacob set out again on his way to the people of the east.2 He noticed a well out in an open field with three flocks of sheep bedded down around it. This was the common well from which the flocks were watered. The stone over the mouth of the well was huge.3 When all the flocks were gathered, the shepherds would roll the stone from the well and water the sheep; then they would return the stone, covering the well.

4 Jacob said, "Hello friends. Where are you from?" They said, "We're from Haran."

5 Jacob asked, "Do you know Laban son of Nahor?" "We do."

6 "Are things well with him?" Jacob continued. "Very well," they said. "And here is his daughter Rachel coming with the flock."

7 Jacob said, "There's a lot of daylight still left; it isn't time to round up the sheep yet, is it? So why not water the flocks and go back to grazing?"

8 "We can't," they said. "Not until all the shepherds get here. It takes all of us to roll the stone from the well. Not until then can we water the flocks."

9 While Jacob was in conversation with them, Rachel came up with her father's sheep. She was the shepherd.10 The moment Jacob spotted Rachel, daughter of Laban his mother's brother, saw her arriving with his uncle Laban's sheep, he went and single-handedly rolled the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban.11 Then he kissed Rachel and broke into tears.12 He told Rachel that he was related to her father, that he was Rebekah's son. She ran and told her father.13 When Laban heard the news-Jacob, his sister's son!-he ran out to meet him, embraced and kissed him and brought him home. Jacob told Laban the story of everything that had happened.

14 Laban said, "You're family! My flesh and blood!"15 Laban said, "Just because you're my nephew, you shouldn't work for me for nothing. Tell me what you want to be paid. What's a fair wage?"

16 Now Laban had two daughters; Leah was the older and Rachel the younger.17 Leah had nice eyes, but Rachel was stunningly beautiful.18 And it was Rachel that Jacob loved. So Jacob answered, "I will work for you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel."

19 "It is far better," said Laban, "that I give her to you than marry her to some outsider. Yes. Stay here with me."

20 So Jacob worked seven years for Rachel. But it only seemed like a few days, he loved her so much.

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife; I've completed what we agreed I'd do. I'm ready to consummate my marriage."22 Laban invited everyone around and threw a big feast.23 At evening, though, he got his daughter Leah and brought her to the marriage bed, and Jacob slept with her.24 (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.)

25 Morning came: There was Leah in the marriage bed! Jacob confronted Laban, "What have you done to me? Didn't I work all this time for the hand of Rachel? Why did you cheat me?"

26 "We don't do it that way in our country," said Laban. "We don't marry off the younger daughter before the older.27 Enjoy your week of honeymoon, and then we'll give you the other one also. But it will cost you another seven years of work."

28 Jacob agreed. When he'd completed the honeymoon week, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.29 (Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.)30 Jacob then slept with her. And he loved Rachel more than Leah. He worked for Laban another seven years.

31 When God realized that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb. But Rachel was barren.32 Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben (Look-It's-a-Boy!). "This is a sign," she said, "that God has seen my misery; and a sign that now my husband will love me."

33 She became pregnant again and had another son. "God heard," she said, "that I was unloved and so he gave me this son also." She named this one Simeon (God-Heard).34 She became pregnant yet again-another son. She said, "Now maybe my husband will connect with me-I've given him three sons!" That's why she named him Levi (Connect).35 She became pregnant a final time and had a fourth son. She said, "This time I'll praise God." So she named him Judah (Praise-God). Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 30

1 When Rachel realized that she wasn't having any children for Jacob, she became jealous of her sister. She told Jacob, "Give me sons or I'll die!"

2 Jacob got angry with Rachel and said, "Am I God? Am I the one who refused you babies?"

3 Rachel said, "Here's my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her. Let her substitute for me so I can have a child through her and build a family."4 So she gave him her maid Bilhah for a wife and Jacob slept with her.5 Bilhah became pregnant and gave Jacob a son.

6 Rachel said, "God took my side and vindicated me. He listened to me and gave me a son." She named him Dan (Vindication).7 Rachel's maid Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son.8 Rachel said, "I've been in an all-out fight with my sister-and I've won." So she named him Naphtali (Fight).

9 When Leah saw that she wasn't having any more children, she gave her maid Zilpah to Jacob for a wife.10 Zilpah had a son for Jacob.11 Leah said, "How fortunate!" and she named him Gad (Lucky).12 When Leah's maid Zilpah had a second son for Jacob,13 Leah said, "A happy day! The women will congratulate me in my happiness." So she named him Asher (Happy).

14 One day during the wheat harvest Reuben found some mandrakes in the field and brought them home to his mother Leah. Rachel asked Leah, "Could I please have some of your son's mandrakes?"

15 Leah said, "Wasn't it enough that you got my husband away from me? And now you also want my son's mandrakes?" Rachel said, "All right. I'll let him sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's love-apples."

16 When Jacob came home that evening from the fields, Leah was there to meet him: "Sleep with me tonight; I've bartered my son's mandrakes for a night with you." So he slept with her that night.17 God listened to Leah; she became pregnant and gave Jacob a fifth son.18 She said, "God rewarded me for giving my maid to my husband." She named him Issachar (Bartered).19 Leah became pregnant yet again and gave Jacob a sixth son,20 saying, "God has given me a great gift. This time my husband will honor me with gifts-I've given him six sons!" She named him Zebulun (Honor).21 Last of all she had a daughter and named her Dinah.

22 And then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and opened her womb.23 She became pregnant and had a son. She said, "God has taken away my humiliation."24 She named him Joseph (Add), praying, "May God add yet another son to me."

25 After Rachel had had Joseph, Jacob spoke to Laban, "Let me go back home.26 Give me my wives and children for whom I've served you. You know how hard I've worked for you."

27 Laban said, "If you please, I have learned through divine inquiry that God has blessed me because of you."28 He went on, "So name your wages. I'll pay you."

29 Jacob replied, "You know well what my work has meant to you and how your livestock has flourished under my care.30 The little you had when I arrived has increased greatly; everything I did resulted in blessings for you. Isn't it about time that I do something for my own family?"

31 "So, what should I pay you?"32 Go through your entire flock today and take out every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.33 That way you can check on my honesty when you assess my wages. If you find any goat that's not speckled or spotted or a sheep that's not black, you will know that I stole it."

34 "Fair enough," said Laban. "It's a deal."

35 But that very day Laban removed all the mottled and spotted billy goats and all the speckled and spotted nanny-goats, every animal that had even a touch of white on it plus all the black sheep and placed them under the care of his sons.36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob. Meanwhile Jacob went on tending what was left of Laban's flock.

37 But Jacob got fresh branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark, leaving white stripes on them.38 He stuck the peeled branches in front of the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. When the flocks were in heat, they came to drink39 and mated in front of the streaked branches. Then they gave birth to young that were streaked or spotted or speckled.40 Jacob placed the ewes before the dark-colored animals of Laban. That way he got distinctive flocks for himself which he didn't mix with Laban's flocks.41 And when the sturdier animals were mating, Jacob placed branches at the troughs in view of the animals so that they mated in front of the branches.42 But he wouldn't set up the branches before the feebler animals. That way the feeble animals went to Laban and the sturdy ones to Jacob.

43 The man got richer and richer, acquiring huge flocks, lots and lots of servants, not to mention camels and donkeys.

Genesis 31

1 Jacob learned that Laban's sons were talking behind his back: "Jacob has used our father's wealth to make himself rich at our father's expense."2 At the same time, Jacob noticed that Laban had changed toward him. He wasn't treating him the same.

3 That's when God said to Jacob, "Go back home where you were born. I'll go with you."

4 So Jacob sent word for Rachel and Leah to meet him out in the field where his flocks were.5 He said, "I notice that your father has changed toward me; he doesn't treat me the same as before. But the God of my father hasn't changed; he's still with me.6 You know how hard I've worked for your father.7 Still, your father has cheated me over and over, changing my wages time and again. But God never let him really hurt me.8 If he said, 'Your wages will consist of speckled animals' the whole flock would start having speckled lambs and kids. And if he said, 'From now on your wages will be streaked animals' the whole flock would have streaked ones.9 Over and over God used your father's livestock to reward me.

10 "Once, while the flocks were mating, I had a dream and saw the billy goats, all of them streaked, speckled, and mottled, mounting their mates.11 In the dream an angel of God called out to me, 'Jacob!' "I said, 'Yes?'

12 "He said, 'Watch closely. Notice that all the goats in the flock that are mating are streaked, speckled, and mottled. I know what Laban's been doing to you.13 I'm the God of Bethel where you consecrated a pillar and made a vow to me. Now be on your way, get out of this place, go home to your birthplace.'"

14 Rachel and Leah said, "Has he treated us any better?15 Aren't we treated worse than outsiders? All he wanted was the money he got from selling us, and he's spent all that.16 Any wealth that God has seen fit to return to us from our father is justly ours and our children's. Go ahead. Do what God told you."

17 Jacob did it. He put his children and his wives on camels18 and gathered all his livestock and everything he had gotten, everything acquired in Paddan Aram, to go back home to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

19 Laban was off shearing sheep. Rachel stole her father's household gods.20 And Jacob had concealed his plans so well that Laban the Aramean had no idea what was going on-he was totally in the dark.21 Jacob got away with everything he had and was soon across the Euphrates headed for the hill country of Gilead.

22 Three days later, Laban got the news: "Jacob's run off."23 Laban rounded up his relatives and chased after him. Seven days later they caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.24 That night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and said, "Be careful what you do to Jacob, whether good or bad."

25 When Laban reached him, Jacob's tents were pitched in the Gilead mountains; Laban pitched his tents there too.

26 "What do you mean," said Laban, "by keeping me in the dark and sneaking off, hauling my daughters off like prisoners of war?27 Why did you run off like a thief in the night? Why didn't you tell me? Why, I would have sent you off with a great celebration-music, timbrels, flutes!28 But you wouldn't permit me so much as a kiss for my daughters and grandchildren. It was a stupid thing for you to do.29 If I had a mind to, I could destroy you right now, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, 'Be careful what you do to Jacob, whether good or bad.'30 I understand. You left because you were homesick. But why did you steal my household gods?"

31 Jacob answered Laban, "I was afraid. I thought you would take your daughters away from me by brute force.32 But as far as your gods are concerned, if you find that anybody here has them, that person dies. With all of us watching, look around. If you find anything here that belongs to you, take it." Jacob didn't know that Rachel had stolen the gods.

33 Laban went through Jacob's tent, Leah's tent, and the tents of the two maids but didn't find them. He went from Leah's tent to Rachel's.34 But Rachel had taken the household gods, put them inside a camel cushion, and was sitting on them. When Laban had gone through the tent, searching high and low without finding a thing,35 Rachel said to her father, "Don't think I'm being disrespectful, my master, that I can't stand before you, but I'm having my period." So even though he turned the place upside down in his search, he didn't find the household gods.

36 Now it was Jacob's turn to get angry. He lit into Laban: "So what's my crime, what wrong have I done you that you badger me like this?37 You've ransacked the place. Have you turned up a single thing that's yours? Let's see it-display the evidence. Our two families can be the jury and decide between us.

38 "In the twenty years I've worked for you, ewes and she-goats never miscarried. I never feasted on the rams from your flock.39 I never brought you a torn carcass killed by wild animals but that I paid for it out of my own pocket-actually, you made me pay whether it was my fault or not.40 I was out in all kinds of weather, from torrid heat to freezing cold, putting in many a sleepless night.41 For twenty years I've done this: I slaved away fourteen years for your two daughters and another six years for your flock and you changed my wages ten times.42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not stuck with me, you would have sent me off penniless. But God saw the fix I was in and how hard I had worked and last night rendered his verdict."

43 Laban defended himself: "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flock is my flock-everything you see is mine. But what can I do about my daughters or for the children they've had?44 So let's settle things between us, make a covenant-God will be the witness between us."

45 Jacob took a stone and set it upright as a pillar.

46 Jacob called his family around, "Get stones!" They gathered stones and heaped them up and then ate there beside the pile of stones.47 Laban named it in Aramaic, Yegar-sahadutha (Witness Monument); Jacob echoed the naming in Hebrew, Galeed (Witness Monument).

48 Laban said, "This monument of stones will be a witness, beginning now, between you and me." (That's why it is called Galeed-Witness Monument.)49 It is also called Mizpah (Watchtower) because Laban said, "God keep watch between you and me when we are out of each other's sight.50 If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives when there's no one around to see you, God will see you and stand witness between us."

51 Laban continued to Jacob, "This monument of stones and this stone pillar that I have set up is a witness,52 a witness that I won't cross this line to hurt you and you won't cross this line to hurt me.

53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor (the God of their ancestor) will keep things straight between us."54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and worshiped, calling in all his family members to the meal. They ate and slept that night on the mountain.55 Laban got up early the next morning, kissed his grandchildren and his daughters, blessed them, and then set off for home.