創世記 第 30 章

And when Rachel saw that she had borne nothing to Jacob, Rachel envied her sister and said to Jacob, "Give me children; but if not, I shall die."

And Jacob was angry with Rachel and said to her, "Am I in the place of God, who has deprived you of the fruit of the womb?"

And Rachel said to Jacob, "Behold, my maidservant Balla; go in to her, and she shall bear upon my knees, and I too shall have children by her."

And she gave him Balla her maidservant, to him as wife, and Jacob went in to her.

And Balla, Rachel's maidservant, conceived and bore a son to Jacob.

And Rachel said, "God has judged for me and has listened to my voice and has given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.

And Balla, Rachel's maidservant, conceived again and bore a second son to Jacob.

And Rachel said, "God has helped me, and I contended with my sister and prevailed." And she called his name Nephthali.

And Leah saw that she had ceased from bearing, and she took Zelpha her maidservant and gave her to Jacob as wife.

And Jacob went in to her, and Zelpha, Leah's maidservant, conceived and bore a son to Jacob.

And Leah said, "With good fortune!" And she named his name Gad.

And Zelpha, Leah's maidservant, conceived and bore yet a second son to Jacob.

And Leah said, "Blessed am I, for the women call me blessed." And she called his name Asher.

And Reuben went out in the days of the wheat harvest and found apples of mandrake in the field, and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, "Give me some of your son's mandrakes."

But Leah said, "Is it not enough for you that you have taken my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes also?" And Rachel said, "Not so; let him lie with you this night in return for your son's mandrakes."

And Jacob came in from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, "You shall come in to me today, for I have indeed hired you in return for my son's mandrakes." And he lay with her that night.

And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore a fifth son to Jacob.

And Leah said, "God has given me my wages, because I gave my maidservant to my husband." And she called his name Issachar, which is "Wages."

And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob.

And Leah said, "God has bestowed on me a good gift; at the present time my husband will choose me, for I have borne him six sons." And she called his name Zaboulon.

And after this she bore a daughter, and she called her name Dina.

And God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

And conceiving she bore a son to Jacob. And Rachel said, "God has taken away my reproach."

And she called his name Joseph, saying, "May God add to me another son."

And it happened, when Rachel bore Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own land.

Give me my wives and the children, for whom I have served you, that I may go; for you yourself know the service with which I have served you."

But Laban said to him, "If I have found favour before you—I learned by divination that God has blessed me at your coming in.

Name your wages to me, and I will give them."

And Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you, and how many your livestock were with me.

For what you had before me was little, and it increased to a multitude, and the Lord blessed you at my foot. Now then, when shall I also make a house for myself?"

And Laban said to him, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said to him, "You shall give me nothing. If you will do this thing for me, I will again shepherd your flocks and keep them.

Let all your flocks pass by today, and separate out from them every grey sheep among the lambs, and every white-streaked and speckled one among the goats; these shall be my wages.

And my righteousness will answer for me on the morrow, for my wages are before you: everything among the goats that is not speckled and white-streaked, and among the lambs that is not grey, shall be counted as stolen with me."

And Laban said to him, "Let it be according to your word."

And on that day he separated out the speckled and the white-streaked he-goats, and all the speckled and white-streaked she-goats, and everything among them that was white, and everything that was grey among the lambs, and he gave them into the hand of his sons.

And he set a distance of three days' journey between them and Jacob; and Jacob shepherded the flocks of Laban that were left.

And Jacob took for himself a green rod of storax, and of walnut, and of plane tree, and Jacob peeled white strips on them, stripping away the green; and the white that he had peeled appeared on the rods, variegated.

And he laid the rods that he had peeled in the troughs of the watering places of the water, so that when the flocks came to drink, they would be before the rods as they came to drink,

and the flocks would conceive at the rods; and the flocks bore young that were white-streaked and variegated and ash-coloured speckled.

But the lambs Jacob separated, and he set before the flocks a white-streaked ram and every variegated one among the lambs; and he set apart for himself flocks by themselves, and did not mix them with Laban's flocks.

And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, taking in the womb, Jacob would lay the rods before the flocks in the troughs, so that they would conceive at the rods.

But whenever the flocks gave birth, he did not lay them; and the unmarked ones became Laban's, and the marked ones Jacob's.

And the man became exceedingly, exceedingly rich, and he had many livestock, and cattle and menservants and maidservants and camels and donkeys.