1 Da dro Jakob videre på reisen sin til han kom til landet i øst.

Then Jacob went on his journey till he came to the land of the children of the East.

2 Og der så han en vannkilde på en mark, og ved siden av den var det tre flokker av sauer, for der vannet de sauene. På åpningen av vannkilden lå det en stor stein.

And there he saw a water-hole in a field, and by the side of it three flocks of sheep, for there they got water for the sheep: and on the mouth of the water-hole there was a great stone.

3 Alle flokkene samlet seg der, og når steinen ble rullet bort, vannet de sauene og la steinen tilbake på åpningen av vannkilden.

And all the flocks would come together there, and when the stone had been rolled away, they would give the sheep water, and put the stone back again in its place on the mouth of the water-hole.

4 Jakob sa til gjeterne: «Mine brødre, hvor kommer dere fra?» Og de svarte: «Fra Haran.»

Then Jacob said to the herdmen, My brothers, where do you come from? And they said, From Haran.

5 Han spurte dem: «Kjenner dere Laban, Nahors sønn?» De svarte: «Ja, det gjør vi.»

And he said to them, Have you any knowledge of Laban, the son of Nahor? And they said, We have.

6 Han spurte: «Hvordan går det med ham?» De svarte: «Han har det bra, og her kommer hans datter Rakel med sauene.»

And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, He is well, and here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep.

7 Da sa Jakob: «Solen er ennå høy, og det er ikke tid for å samle kveget. Vann sauene, og gå av sted og gi dem fôr.»

Then Jacob said, The sun is still high and it is not time to get the cattle together: get water for the sheep and go and give them their food.

8 De svarte: «Vi kan ikke gjøre det før alle flokkene er samlet og steinen er rullet bort fra åpningen til vannkilden; da vil vi vanne sauene.»

And they said, We are not able to do so till all the flocks have come together and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the water-hole; then we will get water for the sheep.

9 Mens han snakket med dem, kom Rakel med farens sauer, for hun tok seg av dem.

While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she took care of them.

10 Da Jakob så Rakel, sin morbror Labans datter, komme med Labans sauer, gikk han bort og rullet steinen bort fra åpningen til kilden og vannet Labans flokk.

Then when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, coming with Laban's sheep, he came near, and rolling the stone away from the mouth of the hole, he got water for Laban's flock.

11 Gråtende av glede, ga Jakob Rakel en kyss.

And weeping for joy, Jacob gave Rachel a kiss.

12 Da Rakel hørte fra Jakob at han var en slektning av hennes far og Rebekkas sønn, løp hun for å gi faren beskjed.

And Rachel, hearing from Jacob that he was her father's relation and that he was the son of Rebekah, went running to give her father news of it.

13 Da Laban hørte om Jakob, sin søsters sønn, løp han og omfavnet ham, kysset ham og førte ham inn i huset sitt. Jakob fortalte ham alt.

And Laban, hearing news of Jacob, his sister's son, came running, and took Jacob in his arms, and kissing him, made him come into his house. And Jacob gave him news of everything.

14 Laban sa til ham: «Sannelig, du er mitt kjøtt og blod.» Og Jakob bodde hos ham i en måned.

And Laban said to him, Truly, you are my bone and my flesh. And he kept Jacob with him for the space of a month.

15 Laban sa til Jakob: «Skal du arbeide for meg uten lønn fordi du er min slektning? Fortell meg hva du vil ha som betaling.»

Then Laban said to Jacob, Because you are my brother are you to be my servant for nothing? say now, what is your payment to be?

16 Laban hadde to døtre: Den eldste het Lea, og den yngste het Rakel.

Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 Leas øyne var matte, men Rakel var vakker av utseende og form.

And Leah's eyes were clouded, but Rachel was fair in face and form.

18 Jakob var forelsket i Rakel, og han sa: «Jeg vil tjene deg i syv år for Rakel, din yngste datter.»

And Jacob was in love with Rachel; and he said, I will be your servant seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.

19 Laban sa: «Det er bedre at jeg gir henne til deg enn til en annen mann; bli her hos meg.»

And Laban said, It is better for you to have her than another man: go on living here with me.

20 Så tjente Jakob i syv år for Rakel, og det virket for ham som en kort tid på grunn av hans kjærlighet til henne.

And Jacob did seven years' work for Rachel; and because of his love for her it seemed to him only a very little time.

21 Jakob sa til Laban: «Gi meg min kone, for mine dager er fullført, så jeg kan leve med henne.»

Then Jacob said to Laban, Give me my wife so that I may have her, for the days are ended.

22 Laban samlet alle mennene på stedet og holdt en fest.

And Laban got together all the men of the place and gave a feast.

23 Om kvelden tok han sin datter Lea og brakte henne til Jakob, og han lå med henne.

And in the evening he took Leah, his daughter, and gave her to him, and he went in to her.

24 Laban ga sin tjenestepike Silpa til Lea som hennes tjenestekvinne.

And Laban gave Zilpah, his servant-girl, to Leah, to be her waiting-woman.

25 Om morgenen, se, det var Lea! Da sa Jakob til Laban: «Hva har du gjort mot meg? Var det ikke for Rakel jeg tjente deg? Hvorfor har du bedratt meg?»

And in the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What have you done to me? was I not working for you so that I might have Rachel? why have you been false to me?

26 Laban svarte: «I vårt land gir vi ikke den yngste i ekteskap før den eldste.»

And Laban said, In our country we do not let the younger daughter be married before the older.

27 «La brylluksuken bli fullført, så skal vi gi deg den andre også, dersom du vil tjene meg i ytterligere syv år.»

Let the week of the bride-feast come to its end and then we will give you the other in addition, if you will be my servant for another seven years.

28 Jakob gjorde som han sa; og da uken var over, ga Laban ham sin datter Rakel til kone.

And Jacob did so; and when the week was ended, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel for his wife.

29 Laban ga Rakel sin tjenestepike Bilha som hennes tjenestekvinne.

And Laban gave Rachel his servant-girl Bilhah to be her waiting-woman.

30 Jakob tok Rakel som kone, og hans kjærlighet til henne var større enn til Lea; og han tjente hos Laban i ytterligere syv år.

Then Jacob took Rachel as his wife, and his love for her was greater than his love for Leah; and he went on working for Laban for another seven years.

31 Da Herren så at Lea var mindre elsket, gav han henne barn, mens Rakel ikke hadde noen.

Now the Lord, seeing that Leah was not loved, gave her a child; while Rachel had no children.

32 Lea ble gravid og fødte en sønn, og hun kalte ham Ruben. Hun sa: «Herren har sett min nød, nå vil min mann elske meg.»

And Leah was with child, and gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name Reuben: for she said, The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me.

33 Hun ble igjen gravid og fødte en sønn; hun sa: «Herren har hørt at jeg er mindre elsket, så han har gitt meg denne også.» Hun kalte ham Simeon.

Then she became with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Because it has come to the Lord's ears that I am not loved, he has given me this son in addition: and she gave him the name Simeon.

34 Hun ble med barn igjen og fødte en sønn, og sa: «Nå vil min mann knytte seg til meg, for jeg har født ham tre sønner.» Så han ble kalt Levi.

And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son; and said, Now at last my husband will be united to me, because I have given him three sons: so he was named Levi.

35 Hun ble igjen med barn og fødte en sønn, og hun sa: «Denne gangen vil jeg prise Herren.» Derfor kalte hun ham Juda; etter dette sluttet hun å få barn for en tid.

And she was with child again, and gave birth to a son: and she said, This time I will give praise to the Lord: so he was named Judah; after this she had no more children for a time.