²⁸ Moreover he said, “Name your own price and I’ll pay it.”

²⁹ Then he said to him, “You yourself know how I’ve served you and how your livestock fared with me. ³⁰ For you had very little before I came, and it has been busting at the seams in abundance. So Adonai blessed you with my every step. So now, when am I myself going to make something for my household also?”

³¹ Then he said, “What can I pay you?”

Jacob said, “You don’t need to pay me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will shepherd your flock again and watch it: ³² let me pass through your flock today, removing every colorfully spotted lamb from there and every dark-colored lamb among the sheep as well as the colorfully spotted among the goats—and that will be my salary. ³³ So tomorrow my honesty will testify on my behalf when you come to check on my salary you agreed to. Every one that isn’t colorfully spotted among the goats or dark-colored among the sheep with me, it is stolen.”

³⁴ So Laban said, “All right! May it be according to your word.” ³⁵ On that day he removed the colorfully striped and colorful billy goats as well as all the colorfully spotted goats—everyone with white on it—and every dark-colored one among the lambs, and he put them in the hand of his sons. ³⁶ Then he put a three-day’s journey between them and Jacob, while Jacob was shepherding Laban’s remaining flocks.

³⁷ But Jacob took fresh white poplar, almond, and plane tree branches, peeled away white stripped sections on them, exposing the white of the branches. ³⁸ Then he set the branches he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs and watering channels where the flocks come to drink. Since they were in heat when they came to drink, ³⁹ the flocks mated near the branches, and the flocks gave birth to striped, spotted and colorful ones. ⁴⁰ Now Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped ones as well as all the dark-colored ones among Laban’s flocks. Then he set aside the herds for himself and did not put them with Laban’s flocks. ⁴¹ Whenever the strong flocks mated, Jacob put the branches in the watering troughs before the eyes of the flocks, to have them mate near the branches. ⁴² But when the flocks were sickly, he did not put the branches down—so the sickly ones became Laban’s and the stronger ones became Jacob’s. ⁴³ And the man grew exceedingly prosperous and had numerous flocks, along with female and male servants, camels and donkeys.

Jacob Secretly Leaves Laban

31 Now Jacob heard the words Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything that belongs to our father, and from what belongs to our father he has made all these riches.” ² Then Jacob saw Laban’s face, and he noticed that his expression wasn’t the same as it was just a day or two before. ³ Then Adonai said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”

⁴ So Jacob sent and called for Rachel and Leah to come to the field, to his flock. ⁵ He said to them, “I can see by your father’s face that his expression isn’t the same as it was just a day or two ago. But the God of my father has been with me. ⁶ Now you yourselves know that I’ve served your father with all my strength. ⁷ Yet your father has fooled around with me and has changed my salary ten times—but God hasn’t allowed him to harm me. ⁸ If he would say, ‘the spotted ones will be your salary,’ then the flocks would give birth to spotted ones. Or if he would say, ‘the striped ones will be your salary,’ then all the flocks would give birth to striped ones. ⁹ So God has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me. ¹⁰ Now it happened when the flocks were in heat that I lifted up my eyes and saw, in a dream, behold, the males going up to the flocks were striped, spotted and speckled. ¹¹ Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Hineni.’ ¹² He said, ‘Lift up your eyes and see that all the males going up to the flocks are striped, spotted and speckled. For I have seen everything Laban has done to you. ¹³ I am the God of Beth-El where you anointed a memorial stone, where you made a vow to Me. Get up now and leave this land, and return to the land of your relatives.’”

¹⁴ Then Rachel answered along with Leah and they said to him, “Is there still a portion and inheritance for us in our father’s house? ¹⁵ Aren’t we considered foreigners to him? For he has sold us and has also completely used up our bridal price. ¹⁶ For all the riches that God has taken away from our father is for us and for our children. So now, everything God said to you, do it!”