Jacob Meets Rachel

1 And Jacob continued his journey, and came to the land of the children of the East. 2 And he looked, and saw a well in a field; and, look, three flocks of sheep lying near it, because from that well they watered the flocks; and a great stone was over the mouth of the well. 3 And there all the flocks were gathered together; and they withdrew the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the flock, and returned the stone over the mouth of the well to its place. 4 And Jacob said to them, My brothers, where are you from? And they said, We are from Haran. 5 And Jacob said to them, Do you know Laban bar Nahor? And they said, We know him. 6 And he said, Is he well? And they said, He is well; and look, Rachel his daughter is coming with the flock. 7 And he said, Look, it is still broad daylight, it is not time to gather the cattle; water the sheep, and go to the pasture. 8 And they said, We cannot till all the flocks are gathered, and we remove the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the flock. 9 While he spoke with them, Rachel came, with the flock of her father; for she was a shepherdess. 10 And it was, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, the brother of his mother, and the flock of Laban the brother of his mother, that Jacob went near, and withdrew the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother. 11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was the son of her father's sister, and that he was the son of Rebekah. And she ran and told her father. 13 And it was when Laban heard the news about Jacob the son of his sister, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him into his house; and he narrated to Laban all these words. 14 And Laban said to him, You are indeed my close relative and my own flesh. And he stayed with him for a month.

Jacob Marries Leah and Rachel

15 And Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my relative, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall be your wages? 16 And Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder Leah, and the name of the younger Rachel. 17 And the eyes of Leah were beautiful; but Rachel was beautiful in figure and appearance. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel, and he said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter. 19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to you than give her to another man; reside with me. 20 And Jacob served for Rachel seven years; and they were in his eyes as a few days, because he loved her. 21 And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife; for my time of service is complete, and I will have relations with her. 22 And Laban assembled all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23 And it was in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him, and he had relations with her. 24 And Laban gave her Zilpah his female servant to Leah his daughter, to attend on her. 25 And it was in the morning, and, look, she was Leah! And he said to Laban, What is this that you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? and why have you deceived me? 26 And Laban said, It is not our custom, to give the younger before the elder.⁠a 27 Complete this week, and I will give you the other daughter also, for the service that you shall serve with me for seven more years. 28 And Jacob did so, and completed this week's celebration; and he gave him Rachel his daughter to be his wife. 29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah her female servant to serve her. 30 And he also had relations with Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served him for seven more years.

The Children of Leah

31 And the Lord saw that Leah was hated, and He enabled her to conceive, but Rachel was unable to have children. 32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, Because my suffering was known to the Lord; for now my husband will love me. 33 And she conceived again and bore a son, and she said, Because it was heard before the Lord that I was hated, and He gave me this also; and she named him Simeon. 34 And she conceived again and bore a son: and she said, This time my husband will be attached to me; for I have borne him three sons: therefore she named him Levi. 35 And she conceived again and bore a son; and she said, This time I will give praise before the Lord: therefore she named him Judah. And she stopped bearing children.