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Meanwhile {when} Rachel realized that she was not able to bear {any} children for Jacob, she was jealous of her sister, and she demanded of Jacob, "Help me have children, or else I want to die!” 2 Jacob became very angry with Rachel and responded, "I am not God! He is the one who has prevented you from having children!” 3 Then Rachel told {him}, "You can have my servant Bilhah {as a wife}. Sleep with her, so that she will have children for me so that I too can have a family.” 4 So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah to be {another} wife {for him}, and Jacob slept with her.5 Then Bilhah became pregnant and had a son for Jacob, 6 and Rachel exclaimed, "God has judged in my favor! Yes indeed, he has answered my prayer and given me a son!” That is why she named the baby Dan {which means "he judged in my favor”}. 7 Then Rachel's servant Bilhah became pregnant again and had a second son for Jacob. 8 So Rachel said, "I have had a difficult contest with my sister, and {now} I have defeated her!” Then she named that son Naphtali {which means "my contest”}.
9 Now when Leah realized that she had stopped having children, she brought her servant Zilpah {to Jacob} and gave her to him to be {another} wife {for him}. 10 Then Zilpah had a son for Jacob, 11 and Leah exclaimed, "I am so fortunate!” So she named him Gad {which means "fortunate”}.
12 Then Leah's servant Zilpah had a second son for Jacob, 13 and Leah exclaimed, "{God} has truly blessed me! Now {other} women will know that {God} has blessed me.” So she named that son Asher {which means "blessed”}.
14 Then {one day} during the season when people were harvesting wheat, Leah's son Reuben went out in a field and found {some} fertility plants, and he gave them to his mother. {When Rachel found out about the plants,} she begged Leah, "Please give me some of the fertility plants that your son found.” 15 But Leah replied to her, "{No!} It was {bad} enough that you stole my husband {from me}! And {now} you even want to take my son's fertility plants!” Rachel replied, "Alright then, Jacob can sleep with you tonight if you will give me your son's fertility plants.”
16 That evening when Jacob came {home} from {working in} the field, Leah went out to greet him and told {him}, "You must sleep with me {tonight}, because I have traded my son's fertility plants for time with you.” So Jacob spent that night with Leah. 17 God answered {the prayers of} Leah, so that she became pregnant and had a fifth son for Jacob. 18 Then she said, "God has rewarded me for giving my servant to my husband {as a wife}.” So she named that son Issachar {which means "reward”}.
19 Then Leah became pregnant again and had a sixth son for Jacob. 20 Then she said, "God has given me a valuable gift, {so that} now my husband will honor me because I have had six sons for him.” So she named their son Zebulun {which means "honor”}.
21 {Sometime} after that, Leah had a daughter and named her Dinah.
22 God had not forgotten Rachel, so he answered her {prayers} and made it possible for her to have children. 23 Then she became pregnant and had a son, and she exclaimed, "God has made it so that I am no longer ashamed!” 24 She named her son Joseph {which means "may he give another”}, {because} she said, "I pray that Yahweh will give me another son.”
25 After Rachel had Joseph, Jacob requested of Laban, "{Please} allow me to leave {here}, so that I can return to my {own} home in my {own} country. 26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have finished serving you for, so that I can leave {with them}. You yourself know how {well} I have served you.” 27 But Laban responded to him, "Please be kind to me and stay, {because} I have found out from observing signs that Yahweh has blessed me because you {are here with me}.” 28 Then he added, "Tell me what you want your pay to be, and that is what I will pay you.” 29 Jacob replied to him, "You yourself know how {hard} I have worked for you and how {well} your animals have prospered under my care. 30 The few that you owned before I came have multiplied dramatically. Yes, Yahweh has blessed you because of me. But now, I need to also provide for my {own} family!“
31 So Laban asked {him}, "What can I pay you {to persuade you} {to stay here}?” Jacob answered, "Do not pay me anything. Just do this {one} thing for me, and I will continue taking care of your flocks: 32 Let me look through all your flocks today and separate out from them all the lambs that are speckled, spotted or dark-colored, and {all} the young goats that are spotted or speckled. They will be my pay. 33 That way {too}, in the future it will be easy {for you} to know whether {or not} I am being honest whenever you check the animals you have paid me. {If you see} that I have any {sheep or} goats that are not speckled or spotted, or any lambs {that are not} dark-colored, {you will know that} I stole them {from you}.”
34 Laban replied, "I agree. Yes, let's do exactly as you have suggested.” 35 But that {same} day, Laban separated {from his flocks} {all} the he-goats that had streaks or spots, and all the she-goats that had speckles or spots, all that {had any} white {marks} on them, together with all the dark-colored lambs. Then he told his sons to take care of them, 36 and he {and his sons} took {those animals} a three-day walking-distance away from Jacob. Meanwhile Jacob continued taking care of the rest of Laban's flocks.
37 Then Jacob cut {some} branches from poplar {trees}, almond {trees} and chestnut {trees}, and made white streaks on them {by peeling off long strips of bark}, which exposed the white {wood} that was inside the branches. 38 Then he put those {streaked} branches in all the drinking troughs that the flocks would come to drink from, so that the flocks would see the branches. {That way, whenever} the animals that were ready to mate came {to the troughs} to drink, 39 they would see the branches as they were mating. As a result, they would have {young that were} streaked or speckled or spotted. 40 Then Jacob separated those young animals {from Laban's flocks} {to form new flocks for himself}, and he put {the rest of} the flocks with the streaked and dark-colored animals in Laban's flocks {so that they would mate and have young that were streaked or dark-colored}. In that way, {over time} he created separate flocks {of sheep and goats} for himself that he kept separate from Laban's flocks.
41 Whenever the stronger female animals were ready to mate, Jacob put the {streaked} branches in the {drinking} troughs in front of those animals so that they would see the branches as they were mating. 42 But whenever the weaker female animals {were ready to mate}, Jacob did not put {the branches in the troughs}. In that way, {the young from} the weaker animals were Laban's and {the young from} the stronger animals were Jacob's. 43 So Jacob became extremely wealthy and owned large flocks {of sheep and goats}, and {many} male and female servants, and {many} camels and donkeys.