The Lord confirms this oath ¹  by the arrogance of Jacob: ²  “I swear ³  I will never forget all you have done! ⁴ 

“Because ¹  you violently slaughtered ²  your relatives, ³  the people of Jacob, ⁴  shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed ⁵  forever.

“Since, I, the Lord, do not go back on my promises, ¹  you, sons of Jacob, have not perished.

When his brother came out with ¹  his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. ²  Isaac was sixty years old ³  when they were born.

When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled ¹  hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. ² 

Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. ¹  So Esau despised his birthright. ² 

Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.

Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you, ¹  my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau.” ² 

He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. ¹ 

When Jacob explained ¹  to Rachel that he was a relative of her father ²  and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father.

Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” ¹  So Jacob ²  stayed with him for a month. ³ 

Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work ¹  for me for nothing because you are my relative? ²  Tell me what your wages should be.”

Since Jacob had fallen in love with ¹  Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.”

So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. ¹  But they seemed like only a few days to him ²  because his love for her was so great. ³ 

Finally Jacob said ¹  to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. ²  I want to have marital relations with her.” ³ 

Jacob ¹  had marital relations ²  with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban ³  for seven more years. ⁴ 

Jacob became furious ¹  with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” ² 

After Rachel had given birth ¹  to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send ²  me on my way so that I can go ³  home to my own country. ⁴ 

When the stronger females were in heat, ¹  Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches.

But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. ¹  So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban ²  and the stronger animals to Jacob.