Bible in Basic English
And God gave ear to her and she became with child, and gave Jacob a fifth son.
Then Leah said, God has made payment to me for giving my servant-girl to my husband: so she gave her son the name Issachar.
And again Leah became with child, and she gave Jacob a sixth son.
And she said, God has given me a good bride-price; now at last will I have my husband living with me, for I have given him six sons: and she gave him the name Zebulun.
After that she had a daughter, to whom she gave the name Dinah.
Then God gave thought to Rachel, and hearing her prayer he made her fertile.
And she was with child, and gave birth to a son: and she said, God has taken away my shame.
And she gave him the name Joseph, saying, May the Lord give me another son.
Now after the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Let me go away to my place and my country.
Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have been your servant, and let me go: for you have knowledge of all the work I have done for you.
And Laban said, If you will let me say so, do not go away; for I have seen by the signs that the Lord has been good to me because of you.
Say then what your payment is to be and I will give it.
Then Jacob said, You have seen what I have done for you, and how your cattle have done well under my care.
For before I came you had little, and it has been greatly increased; and the Lord has given you a blessing in everything I have done; but when am I to do something for my family?
And Laban said, What am I to give you? And Jacob said, Do not give me anything; but I will again take up the care of your flock if you will only do this for me:
Let me go through all your flock today, taking out from among them all the sheep which are marked or coloured or black, and all the marked or coloured goats: these will be my payment.
And so you will be able to put my honour to the test in time to come; if you see among my flocks any goats which are not marked or coloured, or any sheep which is not black, you may take me for a thief.
And Laban said, Let it be as you say.
So that day he took all the he-goats which were banded or coloured, and all the she-goats which were marked or coloured or had white marks, and all the black sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons;
And sent them three days' journey away: and Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flock.
Then Jacob took young branches of trees, cutting off the skin so that the white wood was seen in bands.
And he put the banded sticks in the drinking-places where the flock came to get water; and they became with young when they came to the water.
And because of this, the flock gave birth to young which were marked with bands of colour.
These lambs Jacob kept separate; and he put his flock in a place by themselves and not with Laban's flock.
And whenever the stronger ones of the flock became with young, Jacob put the sticks in front of them in the drinking-places, so that they might become with young when they saw the sticks.
But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put the sticks before them; so that the feebler flocks were Laban's and the stronger were Jacob's.
So Jacob's wealth was greatly increased; he had great flocks and women-servants and men-servants and camels and asses.
— Genesis 30:17-1964, Bible in Basic English
“And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband: and she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived again, and bare Jacob the sixth son. And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun. And afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name Dinah. And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me another son. And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto mine own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go: for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said, Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it. And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy cattle was with me. For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also? And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: I will pass through all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such shall be my hire. So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me. And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word. And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons. And he set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks. And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban’s cattle. And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses. ”
Now at the time of the grain-cutting, Reuben saw some love-fruits in the field, and took them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to her, Let me have some of your son's love-fruits.
But Leah said to her, Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband from me? and now would you take my son's love-fruits? Then Rachel said, You may have him tonight in exchange for your son's love-fruits.
In the evening, when Jacob came in from the field, Leah went out to him and said, Tonight you are to come to me, for I have given my son's love-fruits as a price for you. And he went in to her that night.
And God gave ear to her and she became with child, and gave Jacob a fifth son.
Then Leah said, God has made payment to me for giving my servant-girl to my husband: so she gave her son the name Issachar.
And again Leah became with child, and she gave Jacob a sixth son.
And she said, God has given me a good bride-price; now at last will I have my husband living with me, for I have given him six sons: and she gave him the name Zebulun.
After that she had a daughter, to whom she gave the name Dinah.
Then God gave thought to Rachel, and hearing her prayer he made her fertile.
And she was with child, and gave birth to a son: and she said, God has taken away my shame.
And she gave him the name Joseph, saying, May the Lord give me another son.
Now after the birth of Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, Let me go away to my place and my country.
Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have been your servant, and let me go: for you have knowledge of all the work I have done for you.
And Laban said, If you will let me say so, do not go away; for I have seen by the signs that the Lord has been good to me because of you.
Say then what your payment is to be and I will give it.
Then Jacob said, You have seen what I have done for you, and how your cattle have done well under my care.
For before I came you had little, and it has been greatly increased; and the Lord has given you a blessing in everything I have done; but when am I to do something for my family?
And Laban said, What am I to give you? And Jacob said, Do not give me anything; but I will again take up the care of your flock if you will only do this for me:
Let me go through all your flock today, taking out from among them all the sheep which are marked or coloured or black, and all the marked or coloured goats: these will be my payment.
And so you will be able to put my honour to the test in time to come; if you see among my flocks any goats which are not marked or coloured, or any sheep which is not black, you may take me for a thief.
And Laban said, Let it be as you say.
So that day he took all the he-goats which were banded or coloured, and all the she-goats which were marked or coloured or had white marks, and all the black sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons;
And sent them three days' journey away: and Jacob took care of the rest of Laban's flock.
Then Jacob took young branches of trees, cutting off the skin so that the white wood was seen in bands.
And he put the banded sticks in the drinking-places where the flock came to get water; and they became with young when they came to the water.
And because of this, the flock gave birth to young which were marked with bands of colour.
These lambs Jacob kept separate; and he put his flock in a place by themselves and not with Laban's flock.
And whenever the stronger ones of the flock became with young, Jacob put the sticks in front of them in the drinking-places, so that they might become with young when they saw the sticks.
But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put the sticks before them; so that the feebler flocks were Laban's and the stronger were Jacob's.
So Jacob's wealth was greatly increased; he had great flocks and women-servants and men-servants and camels and asses.