Genesis 29–30
1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came into the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying by it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. A large stone was on the well’s opening. 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds rolled the stone from the well’s opening, watered the sheep, then put the stone back on the well’s opening in its place.
4 Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?”
And they said, “We are from Harran.”
5 Then he said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?”
And they said, “We know him.”
6 He said to them, “Is he well?”
And they said, “He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.”
7 He said, “Since it is yet midday, it is not the time that the livestock should be gathered together. Water the sheep, and go and feed them.”
8 They said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening. Then we may water the sheep.”
9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them. 10 When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well’s opening and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. 11 Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s relative and that he was Rebekah’s son. Then she ran and told her father.
13 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. Then Jacob told Laban all these things. 14 Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh.”
And he stayed with him for a month. 15 Laban said to Jacob, “Since you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?”
16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were tender, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. 18 Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”
19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, so that I may have relations with her.”
22 Laban gathered together all the men of the place and prepared a feast. 23 But in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob had relations with her. 24 Laban gave Zilpah his maid to his daughter Leah for a maidservant.
25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah, and he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why then have you tricked me?”
26 Then Laban said, “It is not the custom in our country to marry off the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfill the period of seven days for this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.”
28 Jacob did so and completed her week. Then Laban gave him Rachel his daughter as his wife also. 29 Laban gave Bilhah his maidservant to Rachel his daughter to be her maid. 30 So Jacob also had relations with Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah and served Laban another seven years.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. 32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Surely the Lord has looked upon my affliction. Now therefore my husband will love me.”
33 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I was unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” Then she called his name Simeon.
34 She conceived again and gave birth to 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.
35 She conceived again and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now I will praise the Lord!” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she stopped giving birth.
Chapter 30
1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”
2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”
3 Then she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Have relations with her so that she may bear a child on my knees, so that I may also have children through her.”
4 So she gave him Bilhah her maidservant as a wife, and Jacob had relations with her. 5 Bilhah conceived and gave Jacob a son. 6 Rachel said, “God has vindicated me, and He has also heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she called his name Dan.
7 Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and gave Jacob a second son. 8 Then Rachel said, “With great wrestling have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed.” So she called his name Naphtali.
9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave Jacob a son. 11 Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she called his name Gad.
12 Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave Jacob a second son. 13 Then Leah said, “Happy am I, for women will call me happy.” So she called his name Asher.
14 At the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
15 Leah said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?”
So Rachel said, “All right, he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
16 When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me, because I have paid for you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he slept with her that night.
17 God listened to Leah, and she conceived and gave Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my reward because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.
19 Leah conceived again and gave Jacob a sixth son. 20 Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will dwell with me, because I have given him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
21 Afterwards she gave birth to a daughter and called her name Dinah.
22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb. 23 She conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” 24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “The Lord will add to me another son.”
25 When Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, so that I may go to my own place, to my country. 26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go. For you know the service that I have given you.”
27 Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. For I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me on account of you.” 28 He said, “Name me your wages, and I will give it.”
29 Jacob said to him, “You know how I have served you, and how your livestock have fared with me. 30 For you had little before I came, and it is now increased to a multitude. The Lord has blessed you since I came, and now when may I also provide for my own house?”
31 Laban said, “What may I give you?”
And Jacob said, “You may not give me anything, but if you will do this one thing for me, I will continue to feed and keep your flock. 32 I will pass through all your flock today, removing from it all the speckled and spotted sheep, and every brown sheep from among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. These shall be my wages. 33 So my integrity will answer for me in time to come. When you come to examine my wages, every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep that are with me will be considered stolen.”
34 Laban said, “Agreed. Let it be according to your word.” 35 He removed that day the male goats that were striped and spotted and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons. 36 He put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
37 Then Jacob took rods of fresh-cut poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white which was in the rods. 38 He set the rods which he had peeled before the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink, so that they would mate when they came to drink. 39 The flocks mated before the rods and gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, and spotted. 40 Jacob separated the lambs and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the brown in the flock of Laban. He put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban’s sheep. 41 Whenever the stronger sheep mated, Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the sheep in the troughs, so that they might mate among the rods. 42 But when the livestock were feeble, he did not put them in. So the weaker were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. 43 The man became exceedingly prosperous and had many sheep and female servants and male servants and camels and donkeys.
Matthew 9:1–17
1 He entered a boat, crossed over, and came into His own city. 2 They brought to Him a man sick with paralysis, lying on a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer. Your sins are forgiven you.”
3 Then certain scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes.”
4 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, pick up your bed, and go into your house.” 7 And he rose and departed to his house. 8 But when the crowds saw it, they were amazed and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s station. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” And he rose and followed Him.
10 While Jesus sat at supper in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 But when Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
15 Jesus answered, “Can the guests of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
16 “No one sews a piece of new cloth into an old garment, for that which is sewn in to fill it up pulls on the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17 Neither do men put new wine into old wineskins. Or else the wineskins burst, the wine runs out, and the wineskins perish. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”