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- After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland.
- Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I've done for you."
- But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you."
- He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them."
- Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.
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- Now it came about when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my own country.
- "Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me depart; for you yourself know my service which I have rendered you."
- But Laban said to him, "If now it pleases you, stay with me; I have divined that the LORD has blessed me on your account."
- He continued, "Name me your wages, and I will give it."
- But he said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you and how your cattle have fared with me.
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- The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?"
- "What shall I give you?" he asked. "Don't give me anything," Jacob replied. "But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them:
- Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.
- And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen."
- "Agreed," said Laban. "Let it be as you have said."
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- "For you had little before I came and it has increased to a multitude, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?"
- So he said, "What shall I give you?" And Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this one thing for me, I will again pasture and keep your flock:
- let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from there every speckled and spotted sheep and every black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and such shall be my wages.
- "So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, will be considered stolen."
- Laban said, "Good, let it be according to your word."
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- That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons.
- Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban's flocks.
- Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches.
- Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink,
- they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted.
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- So he removed on that day the striped and spotted male goats and all the speckled and spotted female goats, every one with white in it, and all the black ones among the sheep, and gave them into the care of his sons.
- And he put a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.
- Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white which was in the rods.
- He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the gutters, even in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.
- So the flocks mated by the rods, and the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.
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- Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban's animals.
- Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches,
- but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob.
- In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys.
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- Jacob separated the lambs, and made the flocks face toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart, and did not put them with Laban's flock.
- Moreover, whenever the stronger of the flock were mating, Jacob would place the rods in the sight of the flock in the gutters, so that they might mate by the rods;
- but when the flock was feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban's and the stronger Jacob's.
- So the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks and female and male servants and camels and donkeys.
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