29 ¹ JACOB CONTINUED HIS JOURNEY and came to the land of the eastern tribes. 29 ² There he saw a well in the open country and three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Over its mouth was a huge stone, 29 ³ and all the herdsmen used to gather there and roll it off the mouth of the well and water the flocks; then they would put it back in its place over the well.

29 ⁴ Jacob said to them, 'Where are you from, my friends?' 'We are from Harran', they replied. 29 ⁵ He asked them if they knew Laban the grandson of Nahor. They answered, 'Yes, we do.' 29 ⁶ 'Is he well?' Jacob asked; and they answered, 'Yes, he is well, and here is his daughter Rachel coming with the flock.' 29 ⁷ Jacob said, 'The sun is still high, and the time for folding the sheep has not yet come. Water the flocks and then go and graze them.' 29 ⁸ But they replied, 'We cannot, until all the herdsmen have gathered together and the stone is rolled away from the mouth of the well; then we can water our flocks.'

29 ⁹ While he was talking to them, Rachel came up with her father's flock, for she was a shepherdess. 29 ¹⁰ When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, with Laban's flock, he stepped forward, rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered Laban's sheep. 29 ¹¹ He kissed Rachel, and was moved to tears. 29 ¹² He told her that he was her father's kinsman and Rebecca's son; so she ran and told her father.

29 ¹³ When Laban heard the news of his sister's son Jacob, he ran to meet him, embraced him, kissed him warmly and welcomed him to his home. 29 ¹⁴ Jacob told Laban everything, and Laban said, 'Yes, you are my own flesh and blood.' So Jacob stayed with him for a whole month.