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Genesis 30:38
ESV He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,
NIV 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,
NASB He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the drinking troughs, that is, in the watering channels where the flocks came to drink; and they mated when they came to drink.
CSB He set the peeled branches in the troughs in front of the sheep—in the water channels where the sheep came to drink. And the sheep bred when they came to drink.
NLT Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated.
KJV And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.
NKJV And the rods which he had peeled, he set before the flocks in the gutters, in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, so that they should conceive when they came to drink.

What does Genesis 30:38 mean?

Jacob has created a device he will use to influence whether sheep and goats born in the flock are fully white and black, in turn, or mixed in color. It's important to realize Jacob has made this bargain for the off-color animals at the Lord's direction (Genesis 31:7–12). He has not dreamed this up on his own. The text does not appear to be suggesting that peeled sticks in or near a water source actually cause spotted or striped animals to be born. God is acting supernaturally to bless Jacob by causing a much higher than normal number of mixed-color offspring in response to Jacob's device of placing these sticks in front of the animals he wishes to influence.

He has gathered fresh sticks from three specific trees and peeled back the bark to expose the white underneath. This, in fact, may have been part of Jacob's symbolism in using these sticks. The Hebrew term for "white" is laban, making this a fairly direct reference to his cheating father-in-law.

Now Jacob places these sticks in or near the watering places for the flocks, since this is where the flocks also mated.
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Context Summary
Genesis 30:25-43 describes Jacob's struggle to convince Laban to allow him to return to his own people with his wives and children, even though the 14 years of Jacob's contracted service have ended. Laban asks Jacob to name new wages to continue to work for him. Laban knows he has grown wealthy due to the Lord's blessing on Jacob. Jacob asks to own all the new off-color sheep and goats that will be born to Laban's flock. Laban agrees and quickly tries to cheat Jacob. Nevertheless, the Lord blesses Jacob's unusual breeding practices, causing so many off-color animals to be born in the flock that Jacob becomes a wealthy man in his own right. Soon he will leave Laban behind for good.
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Chapter Context
God alone gives children. He causes babies to be born. He even determines what color baby sheep and goats will be. Genesis 30 describes the urgent desire of Rachel and Leah to have sons for Jacob and how God hears and grants their prayers in His own time. In addition, God blesses Jacob's unusual breeding practices with Laban's flocks to finally allow Jacob to overcome his father-in-law's schemes to keep Jacob under his service.
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