NLT One Year Bible - Flipbook - Page 53
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she said, “I have struggled hard with my
sister, and I’m winning!”
9Meanwhile, Leah realized that she
wasn’t getting pregnant anymore, so she
took her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to
Jacob as a wife. 10Soon Zilpah presented
him with a son. 11Leah named him Gad,*
for she said, “How fortunate I am!”
12 Then Zilpah gave Jacob a second son.
13And Leah named him Asher,* for she
said, “What joy is mine! Now the other
women will celebrate with me.”
14One day during the wheat harvest,
Reuben found some mandrakes growing in a field and brought them to his
mother, Leah. Rachel begged Leah,
“Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 But Leah angrily replied, “Wasn’t it
enough that you stole my husband?
Now will you steal my son’s mandrakes,
too?”
Rachel answered, “I will let Jacob
sleep with you tonight if you give me
some of the mandrakes.”
16So that evening, as Jacob was coming home from the fields, Leah went out
to meet him. “You must come and sleep
with me tonight!” she said. “I have paid
for you with some mandrakes that my
son found.” So that night he slept with
Leah. 17 And God answered Leah’s
prayers. She became pregnant again
and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob.
18 She named him Issachar,* for she
said, “God has rewarded me for giving
my servant to my husband as a wife.”
19 Then Leah became pregnant again
and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob.
20 She named him Zebulun,* for she
said, “God has given me a good reward.
Now my husband will treat me with respect, for I have given him six sons.”
21Later she gave birth to a daughter and
named her Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel’s
plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children. 23 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son.
“God has removed my disgrace,” she
said. 24And she named him Joseph,* for
J A N U A R Y
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she said, “May the Lord add yet another
son to my family.”
25 Soon after Rachel had given birth to
Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Please release me so I can go home to my own
country. 26Let me take my wives and children, for I have earned them by serving
you, and let me be on my way. You certainly know how hard I have worked for
you.”
27“Please listen to me,” Laban replied.
“I have become wealthy, for* the Lord
has blessed me because of you. 28Tell
me how much I owe you. Whatever it is,
I’ll pay it.”
29 Jacob replied, “You know how hard
I’ve worked for you, and how your flocks
and herds have grown under my care.
30You had little indeed before I came,
but your wealth has increased enormously. The L ord has blessed you
through everything I’ve done. But now,
what about me? When can I start providing for my own family?”
31“What wages do you want?” Laban
asked again.
Jacob replied, “Don’t give me anything. Just do this one thing, and I’ll continue to tend and watch over your
flocks. 32Let me inspect your flocks today and remove all the sheep and goats
that are speckled or spotted, along with
all the black sheep. Give these to me
as my wages. 33In the future, when you
check on the animals you have given me
as my wages, you’ll see that I have been
honest. If you find in my flock any goats
without speckles or spots, or any sheep
that are not black, you will know that I
have stolen them from you.”
34“All right,” Laban replied. “It will be
as you say.” 35 But that very day Laban
went out and removed the male goats
that were streaked and spotted, all the
female goats that were speckled and
spotted or had white patches, and all the
black sheep. He placed them in the care
of his own sons, 36 who took them
a three-days’ journey from where Jacob
was. Meanwhile, Jacob stayed and cared
for the rest of Laban’s flock.
37 Then Jacob took some fresh branches
