1Forsothe Rachel seiy, that sche was vnfruytful, and hadde enuye ⁴to the sister, and seide to hir hosebonde, Yyue thou fre children to me, ellis Y schal die.

2To whom Jacob was wrooth, and answerde, Wher Y am for God, which haue priued thee fro the fruyt of thi wombe?

3And sche seide, Y haue `a seruauntesse Bala, entre thou to hir that she childe on my knees, and that Y haue sones of hir.

4And sche yaf to hym Bala in to matrimony;

5and whanne the hosebonde hadde entrid to hir, sche conseyuede, and childide a sone.

6And Rachel seide, the Lord demede to me, and herde my preier, and yaf a sone to me; and therfor sche clepide his name Dan.

7And eft Bala conseyuede, and childide anothir sone,

8for whom Rachel seide, The Lord hath maad me lijk to my sistir, and Y wexide strong; and sche clepide hym Neptalym.

9Lya feelide that sche ceesside to bere child, and sche yaf Selfa, hir handmayde, to the hosebonde.

10And whanne Selfa aftir conseyuyng childide a sone, Lya seide, Blessidly;

11and therfor sche clepide his name Gad.

12Also Selfa childide anothir sone,

13and Lia seide, This is for my blis, for alle wymmen schulen seie me blessid; therfor sche clepide hym Aser.

14Forsothe Ruben yede out in to the feeld in the tyme of wheete heruest, and foond mandragis, whiche he brouyte to Lya, his modir. And Rachel seide, Yyue thou to me a part of the mandragis of thi sone.

15Lya answeride, Whether it semeth litil to thee, that thou hast rauyschid the hosebonde fro me, no but thou take also the mandragis of my sone? Rachel seide, The hosebonde sleepe with thee in this nyyt for the mandragis of thi sone.

16And whanne Jacob cam ayen fro the feeld at euentid, Lya yede out in to his comyng, and seide, Thou shalt entre to me, for Y haue hired thee with hire for the mandragis of my sone. He slepte with hir in that nyyt;

17and God herde hir preiers, and sche conseyuede, and childide the fyuethe sone;

18and seide, God yaf meede to me, for Y yaf myn handmayde to myn hosebond; and sche clepide his name Isacar.

19Eft Lia conseyuede, and childide the sixte sone,

20and seide, The Lord hath maad me riche with a good dower, also in this tyme myn hosebonde schal be with me, for Y childide sixe sones to hym; and therfore sche clepide his name Sabulon.

21Aftir whom sche childide a douyter, Dyna bi name.

22Also the Lord hadde mynde on Rachel, and herde hir, and openyde hir wombe.

23And sche conseyuede, and childide a sone, and seide, God hath take a wey my schenschipe; and sche clepid his name Joseph,

24and seide, The Lord yyue to me another sone.

25Sotheli whanne Joseph was borun, Jacob seide to his wyues fadir, Delyuere thou me, that Y turne ayen in to my cuntrey and to my lond.

26Yyue thou to me my wyues and fre children for whiche Y seruede thee, that Y go; forsothe thou knowist the seruyce bi which Y seruede thee.

27Laban seide to hym, Fynde Y grace in thi siyt, Y haue lerned bi experience that God blesside me for thee;

28ordeyne thou the meede which Y schal yyue to thee.

29And he answeride, Thou woost hou Y seruede thee, and hou greet thi possessioun was in myn hondis;

30thou haddist litil bifore that Y cam to thee, and now thou art maad riche, and the Lord blesside thee at myn entryng; therfor it is iust that Y purueye sum tyme also to myn hows.

31And Laban seide, What schal Y yyue to thee? And Jacob seide, Y wole no thing ⁵but if thou doist that that Y axe, eft Y schal fede and kepe thi scheep.

32Cumpasse thou alle thi flockis, and departe thou alle diuerse scheep and of spottid flees, and what euer thing schal be dun, and spottid, and dyuerse, as wel in scheep as in geet, it schal be my mede.

33And my riytfulnesse schal answere to me to morewe, whanne the tyme of couenaunt schal come bifor thee; and alle that ben not dyuerse and spottid and dunne, as well in sheep as in geet, schulen repreue me of thefte.

34And Laban seide, Y haue acceptable that that thou axist.

35And he departide in that dai the geet, and scheep, geet buckis, and rammes, dyuerse and spottid. Sothely he bitook al the flok of o coloure, that is, of white and of blak flees in the hond of hise sones;

36and he settide the space of weie of thre daies bitwixe hise sones and the hosebonde of hise douytris, that fedde othere flockis' of hym.

37Therfor Jacob took greene yerdis of popeleris, and of almoundis, and of planes, and in parti dide awei the rynde of tho, and whanne the ryndis weren `drawun a wei, whitnesse apperide in these that weren maad bare; sothely tho that weren hoole dwelliden grene, and bi this maner the coloure was maad dyuerse.

38And Jacob puttide tho yerdis in the trowis, where the watir was held out, that whanne the flockis schulden come to drynke, thei schulden haue the yerdis bifor the iyen, and schulden conseyue in the siyt of the yerdis.

39And it was doon that in thilke heete of riding the sheep schulde biholde the yerdis, and that thei schulden brynge forth spotti beestis, and dyuerse, and bispreynt with dyuerse colour.

40And Jacob departide ⁶the floc, and puttide the yerdis in the trowis bifor the iyen of the rammys. Sotheli alle the white and blake weren Labans; sotheli the othere weren Jacobis; for the flockis weren departid bytwixe hem silf.

41Therfor whanne the scheep weren ridun in the firste tyme, Jacob puttide the yerdis in the `trouyis of watir bifor the iyen of rammys and of scheep, that thei schulden conseyue in the siyt of tho yerdis.

42Forsothe whanne the late medlyng and the laste conseyuyng weren, Jacob puttide not tho yerdis; and tho that weren late, weren maad Labans, and tho that weren of the firste tyme weren Jacobis.

43And he was maad ful riche, and hadde many flockis, handmaydis, and seruauntis, camels, and assis.