Scriptures

New Living Translation (NLT)

Genesis 30
⁴¹ Whenever the stronger females were ready to mate, Jacob would place the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of them. Then they would mate in front of the branches.
⁴² But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s.
⁴³ As a result, Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks of sheep and goats, female and male servants, and many camels and donkeys.
Genesis 31
¹ But Jacob soon learned that Laban’s sons were grumbling about him. “Jacob has robbed our father of everything!” they said. “He has gained all his wealth at our father’s expense.”
² And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him.
³ Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there, and I will be with you.”
⁴ So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching his flock.
⁵ He said to them, “I have noticed that your father’s attitude toward me has changed. But the God of my father has been with me.
⁶ You know how hard I have worked for your father,
⁷ but he has cheated me, changing my wages ten times. But God has not allowed him to do me any harm.
⁸ For if he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your wages,’ the whole flock began to produce speckled young. And when he changed his mind and said, ‘The striped animals will be your wages,’ then the whole flock produced striped young.