Genesis:30
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And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children ,
Rachel envied her sister ,
and said to Jacob ,
Give me children ,
or else I die .
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And Jacob '
s anger was kindled against Rachel ,
and he said ,
Am I in God '
s stead ,
who has withheld from thee the fruit of the womb ?
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And she said ,
Behold ,
there is my maid ,
Bilhah :
go in to her ,
in order that she may bear on my knees ,
and I may also be built up by her .
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And she gave him Bilhah her maidservant as wife ,
and Jacob went in to her .
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And Bilhah conceived ,
and bore Jacob a son .
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And Rachel said ,
God has done me justice ,
and has also heard my voice ,
and given me a son ;
therefore she called his name Dan .
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And Bilhah Rachel '
s maidservant again conceived ,
and bore Jacob a second son .
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And Rachel said ,
Wrestlings of God have I wrestled with my sister ,
and have prevailed ;
and she called his name Naphtali .
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And when Leah saw that she had ceased to bear ,
she took Zilpah her maidservant and gave her to Jacob as wife .
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And Zilpah Leah '
s maidservant bore Jacob a son .
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And Leah said ,
Fortunately !
and she called his name Gad .
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And Zilpah Leah '
s maidservant bore Jacob a second son .
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And Leah said ,
Happy am I ;
for the daughters will call me blessed !
and she called his name Asher .
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And Reuben went out in the days of wheat-harvest ,
and found mandrakes in the fields ;
and he brought them to his mother Leah .
And Rachel said to Leah ,
Give me ,
I pray thee ,
of thy son '
s mandrakes .
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And she said to her ,
Is it [
too ]
little that thou hast taken my husband ,
that thou wilt take my son '
s mandrakes also ?
And Rachel said ,
Therefore he shall lie with thee to-night for thy son '
s mandrakes .
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And when Jacob came from the fields in the evening ,
Leah went out to meet him ,
and said ,
Thou must come in to me ,
for indeed I have hired thee with my son '
s mandrakes .
And he lay with her that night .
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And God hearkened to Leah ,
and she conceived ,
and bore Jacob a fifth son .
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And Leah said ,
God has given me my hire ,
because I have given my maidservant to my husband ;
and she called his name Issachar .
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And Leah again conceived ,
and bore Jacob a sixth son ;
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and Leah said ,
God has endowed me with a good dowry ;
this time will my husband dwell with me ,
because I have borne him six sons .
And she called his name Zebulun .
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And afterwards she bore a daughter ,
and called her name Dinah .
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And God remembered Rachel ,
and God listened to her ,
and opened her womb .
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And she conceived ,
and bore a son ,
and said ,
God has taken away my reproach .
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And she called his name Joseph ;
and said ,
Jehovah will add to me another son .
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And it came to pass when Rachel had borne Joseph ,
that Jacob said to Laban ,
Send me away ,
that I may go to my place and to my country .
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Give [
me ]
my wives for whom I have served thee ,
and my children ;
that I may go away ,
for thou knowest my service which I have served thee .
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And Laban said to him ,
I pray thee ,
if I have found favour in thine eyes --
I have discovered that Jehovah has blessed me for thy sake .
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And he said ,
Appoint to me thy wages ,
and I will give it .
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And he said to him ,
Thou knowest how I have served thee ,
and what thy cattle has become with me .
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For it was little that thou hadst before me ,
and it is increased to a multitude ,
and Jehovah has blessed thee from the time I came ;
and now ,
when shall I also provide for my house ?
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And he said ,
What shall I give thee ?
And Jacob said ,
Thou shalt not give me anything .
If thou doest this for me ,
I will again feed [
and ]
keep thy flock :
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I will pass through all thy flock to-day ,
to remove thence all the speckled and spotted sheep ,
and all the brown lambs ,
and the spotted and speckled among the goats ;
and [
that ]
shall be my hire .
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And my righteousness shall answer for me hereafter ,
when thou comest about my hire ,
before thy face :
all that is not speckled and spotted among the goats ,
and brown among the lambs ,
let that be stolen with me .
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And Laban said ,
Well ,
let it be according to thy word .
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And he removed that day the he-goats that were ringstraked and spotted ,
and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted ,
every one that had white in it ,
and all the brown among the lambs ,
and gave [
them ]
into the hand of his sons .
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And he put three days '
journey between himself and Jacob .
And Jacob fed the rest of Laban '
s flock .
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And Jacob took fresh rods of white poplar ,
almond-tree ,
and maple ;
and peeled off white stripes in them ,
uncovering the white which was on the rods .
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And he set the rods which he had peeled before the flock ,
in the troughs at the watering-places where the flock came to drink ,
and they were ardent when they came to drink .
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And the flock was ardent before the rods ;
and the flock brought forth ringstraked ,
speckled ,
and spotted .
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And Jacob separated the lambs ,
and set the faces of the flock toward the ringstraked ,
and all the brown in the flock of Laban ;
and he made himself separate flocks ,
and did not put them with Laban '
s flock .
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And it came to pass whensoever the strong cattle were ardent ,
that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flock in the gutters ,
that they might become ardent among the rods ;
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but when the sheep were feeble ,
he put [
them ]
not in ;
so the feeble were Laban '
s ,
and the strong Jacob '
s .
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And the man increased very ,
very much ,
and had much cattle ,
and bondwomen ,
and bondmen ,
and camels ,
and asses .