Study Desk

And it happened when Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Send me away so I may go to my own place and to my land.

Give my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go. For you know my service with which I have served you.

And Laban said to him, Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, stay. I have seen omens, also Jehovah has blessed me because of you.

And he said, Set your wages on me and I will give.

And he said to him, You know how I have served you and what your livestock has become with me.

For little was yours before my presence, and it has spread out into a host. And Jehovah has blessed you at my foot. And now when shall I work for my house, I also?

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 remain. I will feed your flock and keep it.

I will pass among all your flock today, taking from there every speckled and spotted sheep, and every black sheep among the lambs, also the spotted and speckled goats; these shall be my wages.

And my righteousness shall testify for me in the day to come. When you come in about my wages, before your face everyone that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and black among the lambs, it is stolen with me.

And Laban said, Yes, if it be so let it be as you speak.

And he turned out in that day all the striped and spotted lambs, and all the speckled and spotted goats, every one which had white, and every black one among the lambs. And he gave them into the hands of his sons.

And he put three days journey between himself and Jacob. And Jacob was feeding the remaining flocks of Laban.

And Jacob took for himself white rods of a fresh tree, and the almond and plane tree. And he peeled white stripes in them, laying bare the white on the rods.

And he set the rods which he had peeled by the troughs, by the water troughs where the flocks came to drink, across from the flocks. And they were in heat when they came to drink.

And the flocks were in heat before the rods and bore striped, speckled and spotted offspring .

And Jacob separated the lambs, and he set the faces of the flock toward the striped, and every black one in the flocks of Laban. And he put his own droves by themselves, and did not put them with the flock of Laban.

And it happened that whenever the strong flocks conceived, Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the flocks, before the troughs, that they might conceive by the rods.

And the flocks being feeble, he did not set them . And usually it happened that the weak were for Laban, and the strong for Jacob.

And the man increased very much, and many flocks were his, and slave-girls, and male slaves, and camels and asses.