30 Rachel now knew that she could not give birth to any children for Jacob. So she became jealous of her sister. Rachel said to Jacob, ‘Please give me children. If not, I will die.’ [ a ] 2 Jacob became angry with Rachel. He said, ‘Am I God? God has stopped you from giving birth to children!’ 3 Rachel said, ‘Take my servant Bilhah and have sex with her. Then she can have children on my behalf. Through her, I can have a family.’ [ b ]
4 So Rachel gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob to become his wife. 5 Bilhah became pregnant and she gave birth to a son for Jacob. 6 Rachel said, ‘God has shown that I am right. He has listened to me and he has given a son to me.’ Because of this, she called the boy Dan. 7 Rachel's servant Bilhah became pregnant again. She gave birth to another son for Jacob. 8 Rachel said, ‘I have fought with my sister and I have won.’ She called this son Naphtali.
9 Leah saw that she had stopped having children. So she gave her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 10 Zilpah became pregnant and she gave birth to a son for Jacob. 11 Leah said, ‘This is very good.’ She called the boy Gad. 12 Leah's servant Zilpah gave Jacob another son. 13 Leah said, ‘I am very happy! Women will call me happy.’ So she called this boy Asher.
14 It was the time for the harvest of wheat. Reuben went out and he found some mandrake plants in a field. He took them to his mother, Leah. Rachel said to Leah, ‘Please give me some of the mandrakes that your son gave to you.’ [ c ] 15 But Leah said to Rachel, ‘You took my husband from me. That was bad enough! Now you want to take my son's mandrakes too!’ Rachel said, ‘OK. If you give me some of your son's mandrakes, Jacob can sleep with you tonight.’
16 In the evening, Jacob came in from the fields. Leah went out to meet him. She said, ‘You must sleep with me tonight. I have paid for you with my son's mandrakes.’ So Jacob slept with Leah that night. 17 God listened to Leah and she became pregnant again. She gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. 18 Leah said, ‘God has helped me because I gave my servant to Jacob as a wife.’ She called her son Issachar.
19 Leah became pregnant again and she gave Jacob a sixth son. 20 Leah said, ‘God has given me this valuable gift. Now my husband will respect me because I have given him six sons.’ She called this son Zebulun.
21 After some time, Leah became pregnant again. She gave birth to a daughter. She called her daughter Dinah.
22 Then God decided to help Rachel. He listened to her and he let her become pregnant. 23 She became pregnant and she gave birth to a son. Rachel said, ‘I am not ashamed any longer, because God has given me a son.’ 24 Rachel called her son Joseph. She said, ‘I pray that the Lord will give me another son.’
25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob spoke to Laban. He said, ‘Let me go away now. I want to go home to my own land. 26 Let me take my wives and my children with me. I have worked for you so that I could have them. You must let me leave, because you know how much I have worked for you.’
27 Laban said to Jacob, ‘If you are happy with me then please stay here. I know that the Lord has blessed me because you are here with me. I have used magic to know that.’ 28 Laban also said to Jacob, ‘Tell me how much I should pay you for your work. I will pay whatever you want.’
29 Jacob replied, ‘You know how much I have worked for you. You know that you have many more animals now, because I have taken care of them. 30 Before I came, you had only a few sheep and goats. Now you have many more valuable things. Wherever I have worked for you, the Lord has blessed you. But now I want to work to help my own family. I must do that soon.’
31 Laban asked, ‘What must I give to you?’ Jacob replied, ‘You do not need to give me anything. But just do one thing for me. Then I will still take care of your animals. I will make sure that nothing bad happens to them. 32 Do this: Let me go among all your animals today. Let me remove any animal that has a mark on it or that has more than one colour on its skin. I will also take any black lambs. That is what you will give me for my work. 33 In the future, this will show that I am honest. You can check on my animals whenever you want to. I will only have sheep or goats that have marks on their skin, or black lambs. If I have any other animals, you may call me a robber.’ 34 Laban said, ‘I agree to this. It will be as you have said.’
35 On that same day, Laban went to his animals. He quickly removed all the goats that had marks, both male and female goats. He also removed all the black lambs. He gave these animals to his sons to take care of them. [ d ] 36 He sent those animals a long way away. It would take Jacob three days to reach them. While this was happening, Jacob was taking care of Laban's other animals.
37 Jacob took branches that he had cut from trees. He took them from poplar trees, almond trees and plane trees. He cut white lines on the branches. He stripped off the outside part of the wood to show white lines. 38 Then he put the branches in the place where there were big bowls of water for the animals to drink. They were in front of the animals when they came to drink. The animals could see the branches when it was the right time for them to have sex together. 39 When they had sex in front of the branches, they gave birth to babies that had skin with marks. 40 Jacob kept these lambs separate from Laban's animals. He took the rest of Laban's female animals to join with the animals that had marks or were black. In that way he got more animals that would belong to him. He kept them separate from Laban's animals.
41 Jacob waited until the stronger female animals were ready to have sex. Then he put the special branches in front of them, near the big bowls of water. Then these animals would see the branches when they had sex together. 42 But if the female animals were weak, he did not put the branches in front of them when they had sex. As a result, the weak animals would belong to Laban, but Jacob would keep the strong animals.
43 In this way, Jacob became very rich. Many sheep and goats belonged to him. He also had female servants and male servants, as well as camels and donkeys.
30 Rachel saw that she was not giving Jacob any children. She became jealous of her sister Leah. So Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die!”
2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “I am not God. He is the one who has caused you to not have children.”
3 Then Rachel said, “You can have my maid Bilhah. Sleep with her, and she will have a child for me. [ a ] Then I can be a mother through her.”
4 So Rachel gave Bilhah to her husband Jacob. He had sexual relations with Bilhah. 5 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son for Jacob.
6 Rachel said, “God has listened to my prayer. He decided to give me a son.” So she named this son Dan. [ b ]
7 Bilhah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Rachel said, “I have fought hard to compete with my sister, and I have won.” So she named that son Naphtali. [ c ]
9 Leah saw that she could have no more children. So she gave her slave girl Zilpah to Jacob. 10 Then Zilpah had a son. 11 Leah said, “I am lucky.” So she named the son Gad. [ d ] 12 Zilpah gave birth to another son. 13 Leah said, “I am very happy! Now women will call me happy.” So she named that son Asher. [ e ]
14 During the wheat harvest Reuben went into the fields and found some special flowers. [ f ] He brought them to his mother Leah. But Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s flowers.”
15 Leah answered, “You have already taken away my husband. Now you are trying to take away my son’s flowers.”
But Rachel answered, “If you will give me your son’s flowers, you can sleep with Jacob tonight.”
16 Jacob came in from the fields that night. Leah saw him and went out to meet him. She said, “You will sleep with me tonight. I have paid for you with my son’s flowers.” So Jacob slept with Leah that night.
17 Then God allowed Leah to become pregnant again. She gave birth to a fifth son. 18 She said, “God has given me a reward because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named her son Issachar. [ g ]
19 Leah became pregnant again and gave birth to a sixth son. 20 She said, “God has given me a fine gift. Now surely Jacob will accept me, because I have given him six sons.” So she named this son Zebulun. [ h ]
21 Later, Leah gave birth to a daughter. She named her Dinah.
22 Then God heard Rachel’s prayer and made it possible for Rachel to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “God has taken away my shame.” 24 Rachel named the son Joseph, [ i ] saying, “May the Lord give me another son.”
25 After the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Now let me go back to my own homeland. 26 Give me my wives and my children. I have earned them by working for you. You know that I served you well.”
27 Laban said to him, “Please, let me say something. I know [ j ] that the Lord has blessed me because of you. 28 Tell me what I should pay you, and I will give it to you.”
29 Jacob answered, “You know that I have worked hard for you. Your flocks have grown and been well while I cared for them. 30 When I came, you had little. Now you have much, much more. Every time I did something for you, the Lord blessed you. Now it is time for me to work for myself—it is time to do things for my family.”
31 Laban asked, “Then what should I give you?”
Jacob answered, “I don’t want you to give me anything! I only want you to let me do this one thing: I will go back and take care of your sheep. 32 But let me go through all your flocks today and take every lamb with spots or stripes. Let me take every black young goat and every female goat with stripes or spots. That will be my pay. 33 In the future you can easily see if I am honest. You can come to look at my flocks. If I have any goat that isn’t spotted or any sheep that isn’t black, you will know that I stole it.”
34 Laban answered, “I agree to that. We will do what you ask.” 35 But that day Laban hid all the male goats that had spots. And he hid all the female goats that had spots on them. He also hid all the black sheep. Laban told his sons to watch these sheep. 36 So the sons took all the spotted animals and led them to another place. They traveled for three days. Jacob stayed and took care of all the animals that were left.
37 Then Jacob cut green branches from poplar and almond trees. He stripped off some of the bark so that the branches had white stripes on them. 38 He put the branches in front of the flocks at the watering places. When the animals came to drink, they also mated in that place. 39 Then when the goats mated in front of the branches, the young that were born were spotted, striped, or black.
40 Jacob separated the spotted and the black animals from the other animals in the flock. He kept his animals separate from Laban’s. 41 Any time the stronger animals in the flock were mating, Jacob put the branches before their eyes. The animals mated near those branches. 42 But when the weaker animals mated, Jacob did not put the branches there. So the young animals born from the weak animals were Laban’s. And the young animals born from the stronger animals were Jacob’s. 43 In this way Jacob became very rich. He had large flocks, many servants, camels, and donkeys.
30 And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
2 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 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her.
4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
5 And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son.
6 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 And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son.
8 And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
10 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a son.
11 And Leah said, A troop cometh: and she called his name Gad.
12 And Zilpah Leah's maid bare Jacob a second son.
13 And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
14 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 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken 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 And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto me; for surely I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
17 And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son.
18 And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar.
19 And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son.
20 And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.
21 And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah.
22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
23 And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach:
24 And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son.
25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born 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 my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
27 And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.
28 And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
29 And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me.
30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
31 And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock.
32 I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire.
33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
34 And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.
35 And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons.
36 And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.
38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.
41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.
42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.
43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
30 Now when Rachel saw that ( A ) she had not borne Jacob any children, [ a ] she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, “ ( B ) Give me children, or else I am going to die.” 2 Then Jacob’s anger burned against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has ( C ) withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3 Then she said, “ ( D ) Here is my female slave Bilhah: have relations with her that she may ( E ) give birth [ b ] on my knees, so that [ c ] ( F ) by her I too may obtain a child.” 4 So ( G ) she gave him her slave Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has [ d ] ( H ) vindicated me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him [ e ] Dan. 7 And Rachel’s slave Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 So Rachel said, “ With [ f ] mighty wrestling I have [ g ] wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “ [ h ] How fortunate!” So she named him [ i ] Gad. 12 And Leah’s slave Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “ [ j ] Happy am I! For women ( I ) will call me happy.” So she named him [ k ] Asher.
14 Now in the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found ( J ) mandrake fruits in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter for you to take my husband? And would you take my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Therefore he may sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must have relations with me, for I have indeed hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. 17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has given me my [ l ] reward, because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar. 19 And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; finally my husband [ m ] will acknowledge me as his wife , because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 21 Afterward she gave birth to a daughter, and named her Dinah.
22 Then ( K ) God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and ( L ) opened her womb. 23 So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and said, “God has ( M ) taken away my disgrace.” 24 And she named him Joseph, saying, “ ( N ) May the Lord [ n ] give me another son.”
25 Now it came about, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, “ ( O ) Send me away, so that I may go to my own place and to my own country. 26 Give me my wives and my children ( P ) for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you yourself know my service which I have [ o ] rendered you.” 27 But Laban said to him, “If [ p ] it pleases you at all, stay with me ; I have determined by divination ( Q ) that the Lord has blessed me on your account.” 28 He [ q ] continued, “ ( R ) Name me your wages, and I will give them.” 29 But Jacob said to him, “ ( S ) You yourself know how I have served you and how your livestock have [ r ] fared with me. 30 For you had little before [ s ] I came, and it has [ t ] increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you [ u ] wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?” 31 So he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock: 32 let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every ( T ) speckled or spotted sheep and every black sheep among the lambs, and the spotted or speckled among the goats; and those shall be my wages. 33 So my [ v ] honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my [ w ] wages. Every one that is not speckled or spotted among the goats, or black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen.” 34 Laban said, “ [ x ] Good, let it be according to your word.” 35 So he removed on that day the striped or spotted male goats, and all the speckled or spotted female goats, every one with white on it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and put them in the [ y ] care of his sons. 36 And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 Then Jacob [ z ] took fresh rods of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white that was [ aa ] in the rods. 38 He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs, that is , in the watering channels where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink. 39 So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks delivered striped, speckled, and spotted offspring . 40 Then Jacob separated the lambs, and [ ab ] made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban’s flock. 41 Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the drinking troughs, so that they would mate by the rods; 42 but when the flock was sickly, he did not put them in; so the sickly were Laban’s, and the stronger were Jacob’s. 43 So ( U ) the man [ ac ] became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.
30 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, ( A ) she became jealous of her sister. ( B ) So she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”
2 Jacob became angry with her and said, “Am I in the place of God, ( C ) who has kept you from having children?” ( D )
3 Then she said, “Here is Bilhah, ( E ) my servant. ( F ) Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.” ( G )
4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife. ( H ) Jacob slept with her, ( I ) 5 and she became pregnant and bore him a son. 6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; ( J ) he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” ( K ) Because of this she named him Dan. [ a ] ( L )
7 Rachel’s servant Bilhah ( M ) conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.” ( N ) So she named him Naphtali. [ b ] ( O )
9 When Leah ( P ) saw that she had stopped having children, ( Q ) she took her servant Zilpah ( R ) and gave her to Jacob as a wife. ( S ) 10 Leah’s servant Zilpah ( T ) bore Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” [ c ] So she named him Gad. [ d ] ( U )
12 Leah’s servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me ( V ) happy.” ( W ) So she named him Asher. [ e ] ( X )
14 During wheat harvest, ( Y ) Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, ( Z ) which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But she said to her, “Wasn’t it enough ( AA ) 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.” ( AB )
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.” ( AC ) So he slept with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah, ( AD ) and she became pregnant and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband.” ( AE ) So she named him Issachar. [ f ] ( AF )
19 Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, ( AG ) because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. [ g ] ( AH )
21 Some time later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah. ( AI )
22 Then God remembered Rachel; ( AJ ) he listened to her ( AK ) and enabled her to conceive. ( AL ) 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son ( AM ) and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ( AN ) 24 She named him Joseph, [ h ] ( AO ) and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.” ( AP )
25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way ( AQ ) so I can go back to my own homeland. ( AR ) 26 Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, ( AS ) and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, ( AT ) please stay. I have learned by divination ( AU ) that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” ( AV ) 28 He added, “Name your wages, ( AW ) and I will pay them.”
29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you ( AX ) and how your livestock has fared under my care. ( AY ) 30 The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been. ( AZ ) But now, when may I do something for my own household? ( BA ) ”
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: 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. ( BB ) They will be my wages. ( BC ) 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, ( BD ) will be considered stolen. ( BE ) ”
34 “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” 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, ( BF ) and he placed them in the care of his sons. ( BG ) 36 Then he put a three-day journey ( BH ) between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond ( BI ) and plane trees ( BJ ) and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. ( BK ) 38 Then he placed the peeled branches ( BL ) in all the watering troughs, ( BM ) so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat ( BN ) and came to drink, 39 they mated in front of the branches. ( BO ) And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. ( BP ) 40 Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals ( BQ ) that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. 41 Whenever the stronger females were in heat, ( BR ) Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, ( BS ) 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. ( BT ) 43 In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. ( BU )
