6. Then Jacob asked, “How is he?”They answered, “He is well. Look, his daughter Rachel is coming now with his sheep.”
7. Jacob said, “But look, it is still the middle of the day. It is not time for the sheep to be gathered for the night, so give them water and let them go back into the pasture.”
8. But they said, “We cannot do that until all the flocks are gathered. Then we will roll away the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep.”
9. While Jacob was talking with the shepherds, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, because it was her job to care for the sheep.
10. When Jacob saw Laban’s daughter Rachel and Laban’s sheep, he went to the well and rolled the stone from its mouth and watered Laban’s sheep. Now Laban was the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s mother.
11. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and cried.
12. He told her that he was from her father’s family and that he was the son of Rebekah. So Rachel ran home and told her father.
13. When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. Laban hugged him and kissed him and brought him to his house, where Jacob told Laban everything that had happened.
14. Then Laban said, “You are my own flesh and blood.”Jacob stayed there a month.
15. Then Laban said to Jacob, “You are my relative, but it is not right for you to work for me without pay. What would you like me to pay you?”
16. Now Laban had two daughters. The older was Leah, and the younger was Rachel.
17. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was very beautiful.
18. Jacob loved Rachel, so he said to Laban, “Let me marry your younger daughter Rachel. If you will, I will work seven years for you.”
19. Laban said, “It would be better for her to marry you than someone else, so stay here with me.”
20. So Jacob worked for Laban seven years so he could marry Rachel. But they seemed like just a few days to him because he loved Rachel very much.
21. After seven years Jacob said to Laban, “Give me Rachel so that I may marry her. The time I promised to work for you is over.”