創世記30:25-43

30:25 拉結生約瑟之後，雅各對拉班說：「請打發我走，叫我回到我本鄉本土去。
30:26 請你把我服事你所得的妻子和兒女給我，讓我走；我怎樣服事你，你都知道。」
30:27 拉班對他說：「我若在你眼前蒙恩，請你仍與我同住，因為我已算定，耶和華賜福與我是為你的緣故」；
30:28 又說：「請你定你的工價，我就給你。」
30:29 雅各對他說：「我怎樣服事你，你的牲畜在我手裡怎樣，是你知道的。
30:30 我未來之先，你所有的很少，現今卻發大眾多，耶和華隨我的腳步賜福與你。如今，我甚麼時候才為自己興家立業呢？」
30:31 拉班說：「我當給你甚麼呢？」雅各說：「甚麼你也不必給我，只有一件事，你若應承，我便仍舊牧放你的羊群。
30:32 今天我要走遍你的羊群，把綿羊中凡有點的、有斑的，和黑色的，並山羊中凡有斑的、有點的，都挑出來；將來這一等的就算我的工價。
30:33 以後你來查看我的工價，凡在我手裡的山羊不是有點有斑的，綿羊不是黑色的，那就算是我偷的；這樣便可證出我的公義來。」
30:34 拉班說：「好啊！我情願照著你的話行。」
30:35 當日，拉班把有紋的、有斑的公山羊，有點的、有斑的、有雜白紋的母山羊，並黑色的綿羊，都挑出來，交在他兒子們的手下，
30:36 又使自己和雅各相離三天的路程。雅各就牧養拉班其餘的羊。
30:37 雅各拿楊樹、杏樹、楓樹的嫩枝，將皮剝成白紋，使枝子露出白的來，
30:38 將剝了皮的枝子，對著羊群，插在飲羊的水溝裡和水槽裡，羊來喝的時候，牝牡配合。
30:39 羊對著枝子配合，就生下有紋的、有點的、有斑的來。
30:40 雅各把羊羔分出來，使拉班的羊與這有紋和黑色的羊相對，把自己的羊另放一處，不叫他和拉班的羊混雜。
30:41 到羊群肥壯配合的時候，雅各就把枝子插在水溝裡，使羊對著枝子配合。
30:42 只是到羊瘦弱配合的時候就不插枝子。這樣，瘦弱的就歸拉班，肥壯的就歸雅各。
30:43 於是雅各極其發大，得了許多的羊群、僕婢、駱駝，和驢。

²⁵ After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. ²⁶ 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.”
²⁷ 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.” ²⁸ He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”
²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. ³⁰ 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?”
³¹ “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: ³² 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. ³³ 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.”
³⁴ “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.” ³⁵ 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. ³⁶ Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks.
³⁷ 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. ³⁸ 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, ³⁹ they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. ⁴⁰ 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. ⁴¹ 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, ⁴² 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. ⁴³ In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

************

    拉班耍詭計，上帝卻讓雅各有智慧來面對，使他能夠有豐盛的財富。

      人要怎樣惡待我們是無法防範，但上帝總是有辦法讓我們得勝有餘！