Genesis 29
1 Jacob continued on the road [MTY], and he arrived at the land that was east of Canaan.
Jacob went quickly on his way, and arrived in the land of the eastern people.
2 There he [was surprised to] see a well in a field, and three flocks of sheep were lying near the well. It was the well from which shepherds habitually got water for their sheep. There was a large stone covering the top of the well.
As he looked around he saw a well in a field with three flocks of sheep lying down beside it, waiting to be given water. A large stone covered the top of the well.
3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would work together to roll the stone away from the top of the well and get water for the sheep. When they finished doing that, they would put the stone back in its place over the top of the well.
The usual practice was that once all the flocks had arrived, the shepherds would roll away the stone from the well and give their sheep water. Then they would put the stone back again.
4 [On that day], Jacob asked the shepherds who were sitting there, “Where are you from?” They replied, “We are from Haran.”
Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” “We're from Haran,” they replied.
5 He asked them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” They replied, “Yes, we know him.”
“Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?” he asked. “Yes, we know him,” they replied.
6 Jacob asked them, “Is Laban well?” They replied, “Yes, he is well. Look! Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!”
“How is he?” he asked. “He's well,” they replied. “Look! In fact here's his daughter Rachel coming with the sheep right now.”
7 Jacob said, “Hey! The sun is still high in the sky. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered for nighttime. Give the sheep some water and then take them back to (graze/eat grass) in the pastures!”
“Look, there's still plenty of daylight left,” said Jacob. “It's too early to round up the sheep yet. Why not let them drink so they can go back to grazing?”
8 They replied, “No, we cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered here and the stone is removed from the top of the well. After that, we will give water to the sheep.”
“We can't do that until all the flocks have arrived,” they told him. “Then we roll away the stone from the well and let the sheep drink.”
9 While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep. She was the one who took care of her father’s sheep.
While he was still talking with them Rachel arrived with the flock she was looking after for her father.
10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, who was his mother’s brother, [Jacob was so excited that] he went over and [by himself] rolled away the stone that covered the top of the well, and he got water for his uncle’s sheep.
When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, he went over and rolled away the stone from the well so Laban's sheep could drink.
11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel [on the cheek], and he cried loudly [because he was so happy].
Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept for joy.
12 Jacob told Rachel that he was one of her father’s relatives, the son of her aunt Rebekah. So she ran and told that to her father.
(He had told her that he was the son of Laban's brother and Rebekah.) She ran and told her father what had happened.
13 As soon as Laban heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, was there, he ran to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him [on the cheek]. Then he brought him to his home, and Jacob told him all that had happened to him.
As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob he ran out to meet him. He hugged him and kissed him, and took him home. After Jacob had explained everything to Laban,
14 Then Laban said to him, “Truly, you are part of my family!” After Jacob had stayed there and worked for Laban for a month,
Laban told him, “No question about it—you're my own flesh and blood!” Jacob stayed with Laban for a month.
15 Laban said to him “(You should not work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine!/Why should you work for me for nothing just because you are a relative of mine?) [RHQ] Tell me how much you want me to pay you.”
One day Laban said to him, “You're my relative so you shouldn't be working for me for nothing! Tell me, what should I pay you?”
16 Well, Laban had two daughters. The older one was named Leah, and the younger one was named Rachel.
Laban had two daughters. The older one was Leah, and the younger one was Rachel.
17 Leah had pretty eyes, but Rachel had a very attractive figure and was beautiful.
Leah had kind eyes, but Rachel had a shapely figure and beautiful looks.
18 Jacob (was in love with/wanted very much to be married to) Rachel, and he said, “I will work for you for seven years. That will be my payment for your letting me marry your younger daughter, Rachel.”
Jacob was in love with Rachel so he promised Laban, “I'll do seven years work for you for Rachel, your younger daughter.”
19 Laban replied, “It is better for me to let you marry her than for her to marry some other man!”
“Well it's better for me to give her to you than anyone else,” Laban replied. “So stay here and work for me.”
20 So Jacob worked for Laban for seven years to get Rachel, but to him it seemed like it was only a few days, because he loved her so much.
Jacob worked for Laban for seven years, but to him they seemed like just a few days because he really loved her.
21 After the seven years were ended, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me marry Rachel now, because the time we agreed upon for me to work for you is ended, and I want to marry her. [EUP]”
Then Jacob said to Laban, “I've completed the time we agreed. Now give me your daughter to be my wife.”
22 So Laban gathered together all the people who lived in that area and made a feast.
So Laban organized a wedding banquet and invited everyone around to come.
23 But that evening, instead of taking Rachel to Jacob, Laban took his older daughter, Leah, to him. But because it was already dark, he could not see that it was Leah and not Rachel, and he had sex [EUP] with her.
But once it was dark Laban brought his daughter Leah to Jacob, and he slept with her.
24 (Laban had already given his slave girl Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid/servant.)
(Laban also arranged for his servant Zilpah to be Leah's personal maid.)
25 The next morning, Jacob was shocked to see that it was Leah who was with him! So he went to Laban [and told him] very angrily, “(What you have done to me is disgusting!/What is this that you have done to me?) [RHQ] I worked for you to get Rachel, did I not? So why did you deceive me?”
When morning came, he saw it was Leah! He went to Laban and asked angrily, “What have you done to me? It was for Rachel that I worked for you! Why have you deceived me?”
26 Laban replied, “In this land, it is not our custom to give a younger daughter to be married before we let someone marry our firstborn daughter.
“Here we don't give the younger daughter in marriage before the firstborn,” Laban replied.
27 After we finish this week of celebration, we will let you marry the younger one also. But in return, you must pay for Rachel by working for me for another seven years.”
“Finish this week of wedding celebrations and then I'll give you the other daughter as well, as long as you work another seven years for me.”
28 So that is what Jacob did. After the week of celebration was ended, Laban gave him his daughter, Rachel, to be his wife.
Jacob agreed. He finished the week of wedding celebrations for Leah, and then Laban gave Jacob his daughter Rachel as his wife as well.
29 Laban gave his slave girl, Bilhah, to Rachel to be her maid/servant.
(Laban also arranged for his servant Bilhah to be Rachel's personal maid.)
30 Jacob had sex [EUP] with Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than he loved Leah. And Jacob worked for Laban for another seven years.
So Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. He worked for Laban another seven years for Rachel.
31 When Yahweh saw that Jacob did not love Leah [very much], he enabled her to become pregnant. But Rachel was not able to become pregnant.
The Lord saw that Leah wasn't loved he helped Leah to have children, but not Rachel.
32 Leah gave birth to a son, whom she named Reuben, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘Look, a son]!’ She said, “Yahweh has seen that I was miserable, and because of that he has given me a son. Now, surely my husband will love me for giving birth to a son for him.”
Leah became pregnant, and had a son she named Reuben, for she said, “The Lord saw how much I was suffering and now my husband will love me!”
33 Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Because Yahweh has heard that my husband doesn’t love me, he has given me this son, too.” So she named him Simeon, [which means ‘someone who hears’].
Then Leah became pregnant again, and had another son. She said, “The Lord has heard that I'm not loved so he gave me this son.” So she named him Simeon.
34 Later she became pregnant again, and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now, finally, my husband will hold me close to him.” So she named him Levi, [which means ‘hold close’].
Leah became pregnant for the third time, and had another son. She said, “Finally my husband will be attached to me because now I've given him three sons.” That's why he was named Levi.
35 Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “(This time/Now) I will praise Yahweh.” So she called his name Judah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘praise’]. After that, she did not give birth to any more children [for several years].
Once again Leah became pregnant and had another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I can really praise the Lord!” After that she had no more children.
