New International Version NIV
American Standard Version ASV
1 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!”
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And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and she said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?”
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And Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God's stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?
3 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.”
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And she said, Behold, my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; that she may bear upon my knees, and I also may obtain children by her.
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. Jacob slept with her,
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And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son.
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And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
6 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.
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And Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice, and hath given me a son: therefore called she his name Dan.
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
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And Bilhah Rachel's handmaid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” So she named him Naphtali.
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And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
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When Leah saw that she had left off bearing, she took Zilpah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife.
10 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
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And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a son.
11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” So she named him Gad.
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And Leah said, Fortunate! and she called his name Gad.
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.
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And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a second son.
13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
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And Leah said, Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy: and she called his name Asher.
14 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.”
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And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes.
15 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.”
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And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes.
16 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.
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And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for I have surely hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah, and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son.
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And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob a fifth son.
18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
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And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
19 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.
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And Leah conceived again, and bare a sixth son to Jacob.
20 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.
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And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
21 Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
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And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.
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And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”
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And she conceived, and bare a son: and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
24 She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
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and she called his name Joseph, saying, Jehovah add to me another son.
25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland.
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And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country.
26 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.”
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Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service wherewith I have served thee.
27 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.”
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And Laban said unto him, If now I have found favor in thine eyes, [tarry]: [for] I have divined that Jehovah hath blessed me for thy sake.
28 He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
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And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.
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And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle have fared with me.
30 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?”
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For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a multitude; and Jehovah hath blessed thee whithersoever I turned: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
31 “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:
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And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me aught: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock and keep it.
32 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.
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I will pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from thence every speckled and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and [of such] shall be my hire.
33 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.”
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So shall my righteousness answer for me hereafter, when thou shalt come concerning my hire that is before thee: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, that [if found] with me, shall be counted stolen.
34 “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”
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And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
35 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.
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And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstreaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons;
36 Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.
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and he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
37 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.
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And Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the plane-tree. And peeled white streaks in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
38 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,
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And he set the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs where the flocks came to drink; and they conceived when they came to drink.
39 they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
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And the flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstreaked, speckled, and spotted.
40 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.
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And Jacob separated the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstreaked and all the black in the flock of Laban: and he put his own droves apart, and put them not unto Laban's flock.
41 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,
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And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods;
42 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.
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but when the flock were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
43 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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And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maid-servants and men-servants, and camels and asses.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.