But he didn’t do this with the weaker ones, so the weaker lambs belonged to Laban, and the stronger ones were Jacob’s.
Parallel translations
- WEB but when the flock were feeble, he didn’t put them in. So the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
- KJV But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s.
- BSB But if the animals were weak, he did not set out the branches. So the weaker animals went to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob.
- NKJV But when the flocks were feeble, he did not put them in; so the feebler were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s.
- NASB but when the flock was sickly, he did not put them in; so the sickly were Laban’s, and the stronger were Jacob’s.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jacob withholds the rods from the weaker animals, so the feeble ones go to Laban and the strong to himself. The result greatly favors Jacob.
Overview
The arrangement leaves Laban with the weaker animals and Jacob with the stronger, reversing Laban's intended advantage. While Jacob's methods are described plainly, the divine perspective in chapter 31 makes clear God orchestrated this reversal. Laban's deceitfulness is answered by God's just and gracious provision for Jacob.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 30:42 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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