The Holy Bible

Gen 30:1  Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. And she said to Jacob, “Give me sons, or else I will die.”

Gen 30:2  And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel. And he said, “Am I in God’s stead Who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

Gen 30:3  And she said, “Behold my handmaid Bilhah; go in to her, and she shall bear upon my knees, and yea, that I may also have children by her.”

Gen 30:4  So she gave him her handmaid Bilhah as a wife. And Jacob went in to her.

Gen 30:5  And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

Gen 30:6  And Rachel said, “God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son.” Therefore, she called his name Dan.

Gen 30:7  Then Rachel’s handmaid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

Gen 30:8  And Rachel said, “With the wrestlings of God I have wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed.” And she called his name Naphtali.

Gen 30:9  When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing, she took her handmaid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

Gen 30:10  And Leah’s handmaid Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

Gen 30:11  And Leah said, “With good fortune.” And she called his name Gad.

Gen 30:12  Then Leah’s handmaid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

Gen 30:13  And Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.” And she called his name Asher.

Gen 30:14  Now Reuben went out in the days of the wheat harvest and found love-apples in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s love-apples.”

Gen 30:15  But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? And would you also take my son’s love-apples?” And Rachel said, “Therefore, he shall lie with you tonight for your son’s love-apples.”

Gen 30:16  And Jacob came out of the field in the evening. And Leah went out to meet him, and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s love-apples.” And he lay with her that night.

Gen 30:17  And God hearkened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob the fifth son.

Gen 30:18  So Leah said, “God has given me my hire because I gave my handmaid to my husband.” And she called his name Issachar.

Gen 30:19  And Leah conceived again and bore Jacob the sixth son.

Gen 30:20  So Leah said, “God has given me a good present. Now my husband will live with me because I have borne him six sons.” And she called his name Zebulun.

Gen 30:21  And afterward she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah.

Gen 30:22  Then God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her and opened her womb.

Gen 30:23  And she conceived and bore a son, and she said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

Gen 30:24  And she called his name Joseph. And she said, “May the LORD add another son to me.”

Jacob’s Prosperity

Gen 30:25  Then, when Rachel had borne Joseph, it came to pass that Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away so that I may go into my own place and to my country.

Gen 30:26  Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know my service which I have done you.”

Gen 30:27  And Laban said to him, “I pray you, if I have found favor in your eyes, stay; for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”

Gen 30:28  And he also said, “Name your wages and I will give it.”

Gen 30:29  Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you, and what your livestock have become with my care;

Gen 30:30  For you had little before I came, and it has now increased to a multitude. And the LORD has blessed you since my coming. But when shall I also provide for my own house?”

Gen 30:31  And he said, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flock.

Gen 30:32  I will pass through all the flocks today, taking out all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all of the black sheep among the lambs, and the spotted and the speckled among the goats. And these shall be my wages.

Gen 30:33  And my righteousness shall answer for me in time to come when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, shall be counted as stolen with me.”

Gen 30:34  And Laban said, “Yes, truly let it be according to your word.”

Gen 30:35  And that day Laban secretly took out the he-goats that were striped and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white in it, and all the black from among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons.

Gen 30:36  And he set three days’ journey between himself and Jacob. And Jacob fed and cared for the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Gen 30:37  But Jacob took rods of green poplar, and of a fresh tree, and the almond and plane tree. And he peeled back the bark making white streaks in them, exposing the white inner wood of the rods.

Gen 30:38  And he placed the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks—in the troughs, in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink—because the flocks bred when they came to drink.

Gen 30:39  And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted offspring.

Gen 30:40  Then Jacob separated the lambs, but made the flocks face toward the striped and the black of the flock of Laban. Thus he made separate flocks of his own, and did not let them mix with the flock of Laban.

Gen 30:41  And it came to pass when the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the flocks in the troughs, so that they might conceive among the rods.

Gen 30:42  But when the feeble of the flock were breeding, he did not put them in. So usually it came to pass that the weak of the offspring were Laban’s and the stronger ones Jacob’s.

Gen 30:43  Thus the man increased exceedingly, and had many flocks, camels, donkeys, maidservants and male servants.

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

Gen 29:1  Then Jacob moved on and went to the land of the sons of the east.

Gen 29:2  And he looked, and behold, a well was in the field! And, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it, for they watered the flocks out of that well. And a great stone was upon the well’s mouth.

Gen 29:3  And all the flocks were gathered there. And they rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well’s mouth in its place.

Gen 29:4  And Jacob said to them, “My brethren, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”

Gen 29:5  And he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”

Gen 29:6  And he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well. And, behold, his daughter Rachel comes with the sheep.”

Gen 29:7  And he said, “Lo, it is still high day and not yet time for gathering the flocks together. Water the sheep, then take them back to pasture.”

Gen 29:8  And they said, “We cannot until all the flocks have been gathered together. Only then is the stone rolled from the well’s mouth and we water the sheep.”

Gen 29:9  While he still spoke with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them.

Gen 29:10  And when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, then Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flocks of Laban his mother’s brother.

Gen 29:11  Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept.

Gen 29:12  And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, and that he was Rebekah’s son. And she ran and told her father.

Gen 29:13  And it came to pass when Laban heard the news of Jacob his sister’s son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And Jacob told Laban all these things.

Gen 29:14  And Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.” And he stayed with him for a month.

Gen 29:15  And Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my kinsman, should you then serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall be your wages?”

Gen 29:16  Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

Gen 29:17  And Leah had lovely soft eyes, but Rachel was beautiful and well-favored.

Gen 29:18  And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”

Gen 29:19  And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than I should give her to another man. Stay with me.”

Gen 29:20  So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him a few days, for the love he had for her.

Gen 29:21  And Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, so that I may go in to her.”

Gen 29:22  Then Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a wedding feast.

Gen 29:23  And it came to pass in the evening that he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. And he went in to her.

Gen 29:24  And Laban gave his handmaid Zilpah to his daughter Leah for her handmaid.

Gen 29:25  And it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you tricked me?”

Gen 29:26  And Laban said, “It must not be done this way in our country to give the younger before the firstborn.

Gen 29:27  Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you shall serve with me still another seven years.”

Gen 29:28  So Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week. Then Laban gave Rachel his daughter to Jacob as wife also.

Gen 29:29  And Laban gave Bilhah his handmaid to his daughter Rachel to be her handmaid.

Gen 29:30  And Jacob also went in to Rachel. He also loved Rachel more than Leah, and served with Laban still seven more years.

Jacob’s Children

Gen 29:31  And when the LORD saw that Leah was loved less, even He opened her womb. But Rachel was barren.

Gen 29:32  And Leah conceived and bore a son. And she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Surely the LORD has looked upon my afflictions. Now therefore my husband will love me.”

Gen 29:33  And she conceived again, and bore a son, and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I was loved less, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon.

Gen 29:34  And she conceived again, and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore, his name was called Levi.

Gen 29:35  And she conceived again and bore a son, and she said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” Therefore, she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

Jacob Sent to Laban

Gen 28:1  Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and commanded him. And he said to him, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.

Gen 28:2  Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father. And take a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

Gen 28:3  And may God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, so that you may be a multitude of people.

Gen 28:4  And may He give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you, so that you may inherit the land in which you are a stranger, which God gave to Abraham.”

Gen 28:5  So Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Padan Aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Esau Marries an Ishmaelite

Gen 28:6  Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him away to Padan Aram in order to take a wife from there—and that as he blessed him, he gave him a command, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan”—

Gen 28:7  And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and had gone to Padan Aram.

Gen 28:8  Now when Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac his father,

Gen 28:9  Esau went to Ishmael, and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, in addition to his other wives.

Jacob’s Dream

Gen 28:10  And Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.

Gen 28:11  And he came upon a certain place, and stayed there all night because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and placed it at his head. And he lay down in that place to sleep.

Gen 28:12  And he dreamed. And behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven! And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

Gen 28:13  And behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your seed.

Gen 28:14  And your seed shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south. And in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Gen 28:15  And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in every place where you go, and will bring you again into this land, for I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”

Gen 28:16  And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”

Gen 28:17  And he was afraid and said, “How fearful is this place! This is nothing but the house of God, and this is the gate of Heaven!”

Gen 28:18  So Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone which he had put at his head, and set it as a memorial pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.

Gen 28:19  And he called the name of that place The House of God. But the name of that city was Luz at first.

Gen 28:20  Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “Since God will be with me, and will keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,

Gen 28:21  And I come again to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God.

Gen 28:22  And this stone which I have set for a pillar shall be God’s house. And of all that You shall give me, I will surely give the tenth to You.”

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Gen 27:1  And it came to pass when Isaac was old and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called his oldest son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Behold, I am here.”

Gen 27:2  And he said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death.

Gen 27:3  And now please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.

Gen 27:4  And make savory meat for me, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

Gen 27:5  And Rebekah listened when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt venison in order to bring it.

Gen 27:6  And Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob, saying, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying,

Gen 27:7  ‘Bring me venison, and make me delicious food so that I may eat and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’

Gen 27:8  And now, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you.

Gen 27:9  Go now to the flock and bring me from there two good kids of the goats. And I will make of them delicious food for your father, such as he loves.

Gen 27:10  And you shall bring it to your father so that he may eat, and that he may bless you before his death.”

Gen 27:11  And Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

Gen 27:12  My father will perhaps feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver. And I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.”

Gen 27:13  And his mother said to him, “Your curse be upon me, my son—only obey my voice and go bring them to me.”

Gen 27:14  And he went and he took them and brought them to his mother. And his mother made delicious things such as his father loved.

Gen 27:15  And Rebekah took the clothes of her older son Esau, the costly ones which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son.

Gen 27:16  And she put the skins from the kids of the goats upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck.

Gen 27:17  And she gave the delicious food and the bread which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.

Gen 27:18  And he came to his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?”

Gen 27:19  And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you asked me. Arise, I pray you, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me.”

Gen 27:20  And Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God brought it to me.”

Gen 27:21  And Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, I pray you, so that I may feel you, my son, whether you are truly my son Esau or not.”

Gen 27:22  And Jacob went near to Isaac his father. And he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

Gen 27:23  And he did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. And he blessed him.

Gen 27:24  And he said, “Are you truly my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”

Gen 27:25  And he said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, so that my soul may bless you.” And he brought it near to him, and he ate. And he brought him wine, and he drank.

Gen 27:26  And his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.”

Gen 27:27  And he came near and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed.

Gen 27:28  And may God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.

Gen 27:29  Let people serve you, and let nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone that curses you, and blessed be he that blesses you.”

Gen 27:30  And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was scarcely gone from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

Gen 27:31  And he also had made a dish of savory meat and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s venison so that your soul may bless me.”

Gen 27:32  And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

Gen 27:33  Then Isaac trembled greatly, and said, “Who then was the one who has hunted deer and brought it to me—and I have eaten it all before you came, and have blessed him? Yea, he shall be blessed!”

Gen 27:34  And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

Gen 27:35  And he said, “Your brother came with deceit, and has taken away your blessing.”

Gen 27:36  And Esau said, “Is he not rightly called Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times—he took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

Gen 27:37  And Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brethren I have given him for servants. And with grain and wine I have sustained him. And what shall I do now to you, my son?”

Gen 27:38  And Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father.” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

Gen 27:39  And Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, your dwelling shall be far from the fatness of the earth and far from the dew of heaven from above.

Gen 27:40  And you shall live by your sword and shall serve your brother. But it shall come to pass that when you shall have the dominion, you shall break his yoke from off your neck.”

Gen 27:41  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand—then I will kill my brother Jacob.

Gen 27:42  And these words of her older son Esau were told to Rebekah. And she sent and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau is going to comfort himself concerning you—for he is planning to kill you.

Gen 27:43  And now therefore, my son, obey my voice—arise, and flee to my brother Laban, to Haran,

Gen 27:44  And stay with him a few days until your brother’s fury turns away,

Gen 27:45  Until your brother’s anger turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved of both of you in one day?”

Gen 27:46  And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these of the daughters of the land, what good is my life to me?”

God’s Promise to Isaac

Gen 26:1  And there was a famine in the land (besides the former famine that had been in the days of Abraham). And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

Gen 26:2  And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down into Egypt. Live in the land which I shall tell you of.

Gen 26:3  Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your seed, I will give all these lands; and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

Gen 26:4  And I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and will give to your seed all these lands. And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,

Gen 26:5  Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Isaac and Abimelech

Gen 26:6  And Isaac lived in Gerar.

Gen 26:7  And when the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister” for he feared to say, “She is my wife,” lest the men of the place should kill him for Rebekah because she was beautiful to look upon.

Gen 26:8  And when he had been there a long time, it came to pass that Abimelech, king of the Philistines, was looking out a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah his wife.

Gen 26:9  And Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she surely is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ “

Gen 26:10  And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us!”

Gen 26:11  And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

Gen 26:12  Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him.

Gen 26:13  And the man became great—and continued gaining until he became very great.

Gen 26:14  And he had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants. And the Philistines envied him.

Gen 26:15  (Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father and filled them with dirt.)

Gen 26:16  And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are mightier than we are.”

Gen 26:17  So Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar and lived there.

Gen 26:18  And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. And he called them by the names which his father had called them.

Gen 26:19  And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing water.

Gen 26:20  But the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” And he called the name of the well Contention because they strove with him.

Gen 26:21  And they dug another well, and they strove over that one too. And he called its name, Opposition.

Gen 26:22  Then he moved from there and dug another well, but they did not strive over it. So he called its name, Broad Places. And he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

Gen 26:23  And he went from there to Beersheba.

Gen 26:24  And the LORD appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you, and will bless you and multiply your seed for My servant Abraham’s sake.”

Gen 26:25  And he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there. And Isaac’s servants dug a well there.

Gen 26:26  Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phicol the commander of his army.

Gen 26:27  And Isaac said to them, “Why do you come to me since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”

Gen 26:28  And they said, “We saw certainly that the LORD was with you. And we said, ‘Let there be now an oath between us, between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you;

Gen 26:29  That you will do us no harm since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing but good to you, and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.’ “

Gen 26:30  And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

Gen 26:31  And they rose up early in the morning and swore an oath to one another. And Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

Gen 26:32  And the same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a well which they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water.”

Gen 26:33  And he called the well, Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is The Well of Sheba to this day.

Gen 26:34  And when Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

Gen 26:35  And they both were a grief of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.