Genesis 27
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” “Here I am,” Esau replied.
Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were cloudy, and so he was not able to see. And he called his elder son Esau, and he said to him, “My son?” And he responded, “Here I am.”
2 “Look,” said Isaac, “I am now old, and I do not know the day of my death.
His father said to him: “You see that I am old, and I do not know the day of my death.
3 Take your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out into the field to hunt some game for me.
Take your weapons, the quiver and the bow, and go out. And when you have taken something by hunting,
4 Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
make from it a small meal for me, just as you know I like, and bring it, so that I may eat and my soul may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac told his son Esau. So when Esau went into the field to hunt game and bring it back,
And when Rebekah had heard this, and he had gone out into the field to fulfill his father’s order,
6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I overheard your father saying to your brother Esau,
she said to her son Jacob: “I heard your father speaking with your brother Esau, and saying to him,
7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me a tasty dish to eat, so that I may bless you in the presence of the LORD before I die.’
‘Bring to me from your hunting, and make me foods, so that I may eat and bless you in the sight of the Lord before I die.’
8 Now, my son, listen to my voice and do exactly as I tell you.
Therefore, now my son, agree to my counsel,
9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so that I can make them into a tasty dish for your father—the kind he loves.
and go straight to the flock, and bring me two of the best young goats, so that from them I may make meat for your father, such as he willingly eats.
10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”
Then, when you have brought these in and he has eaten, he may bless you before he dies.”
11 Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am smooth-skinned.
He answered her: “You know that my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth.
12 What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”
If my father should lay hands on me and perceive it, I am afraid lest he think me willing to mock him, and I will bring a curse upon myself, instead of a blessing.”
13 His mother replied, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey my voice and go get them for me.”
And his mother said to him: “Let this curse be upon me, my son. Yet listen to my voice, and go directly to bring what I said.”
14 So Jacob went and got two goats and brought them to his mother, who made the tasty food his father loved.
He went out, and he brought, and he gave to his mother. She prepared the meats, just as she knew his father liked.
15 And Rebekah took the finest clothes in the house that belonged to her older son Esau, and she put them on her younger son Jacob.
And she clothed him with the very fine garments of Esau, which she had at home with her.
16 She also put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
And she encircled his hands with little pelts from the young goats, and she covered his bare neck.
17 Then she handed her son Jacob the tasty food and bread she had made.
And she gave him the small meal, and she handed him the bread that she had baked.
18 So Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.” “Here I am!” he answered. “Which one are you, my son?”
When he had carried these in, he said, “My father?” And he answered, “I’m listening. Who are you, my son?”
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”
And Jacob said: “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you instructed me. Arise; sit and eat from my hunting, so that your soul may bless me.”
20 But Isaac asked his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?” “Because the LORD your God brought it to me,” he replied.
And again Isaac said to his son, “How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “It was the will of God, so that what I sought met with me quickly.”
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau, or not?”
And Isaac said, “Come here, so that I may touch you, my son, and may prove whether you are my son Esau, or not.”
22 So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”
He approached his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: “The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob. But the hands are the hands of Esau.”
23 Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.
And he did not recognize him, because his hairy hands made him seem similar to the elder one. Therefore, blessing him,
24 Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he replied, “I am.”
he said, “Are you my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”
25 “Serve me,” said Isaac, “and let me eat some of my son’s game, so that I may bless you.” Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; then he brought him wine, and he drank.
Then he said, “Bring me the foods from your hunting, my son, so that my soul may bless you.” And when he had eaten what was offered, he also brought forth wine for him. And after he finished it,
26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son.”
he said to him, “Come to me and give me a kiss, my son.”
27 So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said: “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.
He approached and kissed him. And immediately he perceived the fragrance of his garments. And so, blessing him, he said: “Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord has blessed.
28 May God give to you the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth— an abundance of grain and new wine.
May God give to you, from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, an abundance of grain and wine.
29 May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”
And may the peoples serve you, and may the tribes reverence you. May you be the lord of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down before you. Whoever curses you, may he be cursed, and whoever blesses you, may he be filled with blessings.”
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt.
Scarcely had Isaac completed his words, and Jacob departed, when Esau arrived.
31 He too made some tasty food, brought it to his father, and said to him, “My father, sit up and eat of your son’s game, so that you may bless me.”
And he brought his father foods cooked from his hunting, saying, “Arise, my father, and eat from your son’s hunting, so that your soul may bless me.”
32 But his father Isaac replied, “Who are you?” “I am Esau, your firstborn son,” he answered.
And Isaac said to him, “But who are you?” And he answered, “I am your firstborn son, Esau.”
33 Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”
Isaac became frightened and very astonished. And wondering beyond what can be believed, he said: “Then who is he that a while ago brought me the prey from his hunting, from which I ate, before you arrived? And I blessed him, and he will be blessed.”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, O my father!”
Esau, having heard his father’s words, roared out with a great outcry. And, being confounded, he said, “But bless me also, my father.”
35 But Isaac replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
And he said, “Your twin came deceitfully, and he received your blessing.”
36 So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
But he responded: “Justly is his name called Jacob. For he has supplanted me yet another time. My birthright he took away before, and now, this second time, he has stolen my blessing.” And again, he said to his father, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me also?”
37 But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him your master and given him all his relatives as servants; I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”
Isaac answered: “I have appointed him as your lord, and I have subjugated all his brothers as his servants. I have reinforced him with grain and wine, and after this, my son, what more shall I do for you?”
38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, O my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
And Esau said to him: “Have you only one blessing, father? I beg you, bless me also.” And when he wept with a loud wail,
39 His father Isaac answered him: “Behold, your dwelling place shall be away from the richness of the land, away from the dew of heaven above.
Isaac was moved, and he said to him: “In the fatness of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above,
40 You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
will your blessing be. You will live by the sword, and you will serve your brother. But the time will arrive when you will shake off and release his yoke from your neck.”
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
Therefore, Esau always hated Jacob, for the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And he said in his heart, “The days will arrive for the mourning of my father, and I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42 When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you.
These things were reported to Rebekah. And sending and calling for her son Jacob, she said to him, “Behold, your brother Esau is threatening to kill you.
43 So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
Therefore, now my son, listen to my voice. Rise up and flee to my brother Laban, in Haran.
44 Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury subsides—
And you will dwell with him for a few days, until the fury of your brother subsides,
45 until your brother’s rage against you wanes and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
and his indignation ceases, and he forgets the things that you have done to him. After this, I will send for you and bring you from there to here. Why should I be bereaved of both my sons in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”
And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob accepts a wife from the stock of this land, I would not be willing to live.”
