Genesis 27
1 And it came to pass when Isaac had become old, and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, that he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, My son! And he said to him, Here am I.
Isaac was old and going blind. He called for Esau, his oldest son, and said, “My son.” “I'm here,” Esau replied.
2 And he said, Behold now, I am become old; I know not the day of my death.
“I'm old now,” said Isaac, “I may die soon, who knows?
3 And now, I pray thee, take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and hunt me venison,
So please take your bow and arrows and go hunting in the countryside for some meat for me.
4 and prepare me a savoury dish such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, in order that my soul may bless thee before I die.
Make me that tasty food that I love and bring it to me to eat, so I can bless you before I die.”
5 And Rebecca heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt venison, to bring it.
Rebekah heard what Isaac told his son Esau. So when Esau left to go hunting in the countryside for wild game,
6 And Rebecca spoke to Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak to Esau thy brother, saying,
Rebekah told her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father tell your brother,
7 Bring me venison, and prepare me a savoury dish, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah, before my death.
‘Get me some wild game and make me some tasty food so I can eat it and then bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.’
8 And now, my son, hearken to my voice in that which I command thee.
Now then, my son, listen to me and do exactly what I tell you.
9 Go, I pray thee, to the flock, and fetch me thence two good kids of the goats. And I will make of them a savoury dish for thy father, such as he loves.
Go to the flock and bring me two nice young goats. I'll cook them and make the tasty food your father loves.
10 And thou shalt bring [it] to thy father, that he may eat, in order that he may bless thee before his death.
Then you take it to your father to eat, so he can bless you in the presence of the Lord before he dies.”
11 And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.
“But listen,” Jacob replied to his mother Rebekah, “my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a smooth man.
12 My father perhaps will feel me, and I shall be in his sight as one who mocks [him], and I shall bring a curse on me, and not a blessing.
Maybe my father will notice when he touches me. Then it will look like I'm deceiving him and I'll bring a curse down on myself instead of a blessing.”
13 And his mother said to him, On me [be] thy curse, my son! Only hearken to my voice, and go, fetch [them].
“Let the curse fall on me, my son,” his mother replied. “Just do what I tell you. Go and get the young goats for me.”
14 And he went, and fetched and brought [them] to his mother. And his mother prepared a savoury dish such as his father loved.
So Jacob went and got them and took them to his mother, and she made some tasty food, the way his father loved.
15 And Rebecca took the clothes of her elder son Esau, the costly ones which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son;
Then Rebekah went and got her older son Esau's best clothes that she had at home and put them on Jacob her younger son.
16 and she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck;
She put the goatskins on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
17 and she gave the savoury dishes and the bread that she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.
Then she handed her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she'd made.
18 And he came to his father, and said, My father! And he said, Here am I: who art thou, my son?
He went in to see his father, and called out, “My father, I'm here.” “Which son are you?” Isaac asked.
19 And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau, thy firstborn. I have done according as thou didst say to me. Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, in order that thy soul may bless me.
“It's me Esau, your firstborn son,” Jacob told his father. “I did what you told me. So please sit up and eat some of my wild game meat so you can bless me.”
20 And Isaac said to his son, How is it that thou hast found [it] so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God put [it] in my way.
“How did you find an animal so fast, my son?” Isaac asked. “Because the Lord your God sent it my way,” Jacob replied.
21 And Isaac said to Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be really my son Esau or not.
“Come over here so I can touch you, my son,” Isaac told Jacob, “so I can tell if you're really my son Esau or not.”
22 And Jacob drew near to Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “It's Jacob's voice but Esau's hands.”
23 And he did not discern him, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands; and he blessed him.
Isaac didn't realize it was really Jacob because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's, so Isaac got ready to bless him.
24 And he said, Art thou really my son Esau? And he said, It is I.
“It's really you, my son Esau?” he asked again. “Yes, it's me,” Jacob replied.
25 And he said, Bring [it] near to me, that I may eat of my son's venison, in order that my soul may bless thee. And he brought [it] near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your wild game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.” Jacob brought some for him to eat, as well as some wine for him to drink.
26 And his father Isaac said to him, Come near, now, and kiss me, my son.
Afterwards he said to Isaac, “Come here and kiss me, my son.”
27 And he came near, and kissed him. And he smelt the smell of his clothes, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed.
So Jacob went over and kissed him, and Isaac could smell the clothes Jacob was wearing. So he went ahead with the blessing, saying to himself, “See—the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.”
28 And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of corn and new wine.
“May God use the dew of heaven and fertile land to give you rich harvests of grain and new wine!
29 Let peoples serve thee, And races bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be they that curse thee, And blessed be they that bless thee.
May the people of different nations serve you and bow down to you. May you rule over your relatives, and may they bow down to you. May everyone who curses you be cursed, and may everyone who bless you be blessed.”
30 And it came to pass when Isaac had ended blessing Jacob, and when Jacob was only just gone out from Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came from his hunting.
After Isaac finished blessing Jacob—in fact Jacob had just left his father—Esau returned from his hunting trip.
31 And he also had prepared savoury dishes, and he brought [them] in to his father, and said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son's venison, in order that thy soul may bless me.
He had also made some tasty food, and took it to his father. Esau said to Isaac, “Sit up, my father, and eat some of my wild game so you can bless me.”
32 And Isaac his father said to him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau.
“Who are you?” Isaac asked him. “I'm your son, your firstborn son, Esau,” he replied.
33 Then Isaac trembled with exceeding great trembling, and said, Who was he, then, that hunted venison and brought [it] to me? And I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him; also blessed he shall be.
Isaac started to shake all over and asked, “So who was it who went hunting game and then brought it to me? I ate it all before you came back and I blessed him. His blessing will remain.”
34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me — me also, my father!
When Esau heard his father's words, he cried out in great anger and bitterness, and pleaded with his father, “Please bless me too, my father!”
35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and has taken away thy blessing.
But Isaac replied, “You brother came and deceived me—he stole your blessing!”
36 And he said, Is it not therefore he was named Jacob, for he has supplanted me now twice? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
“Isn't he well named—Jacob the deceiver!” said Esau. “He's deceived me twice. First he took my birthright, and now he's stolen my blessing! Haven't you kept a blessing for me?”
37 And Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him lord over thee, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and new wine have I supplied him — and what can I do now for thee, my son?
Isaac replied to Esau. “I have made him ruler over you, and have said that all his relatives will be his servants. I have declared that he will be well supplied with grain and new wine. So what is left that I can do for you, my son?”
38 And Esau said to his father, Hast thou then but one blessing, my father? bless me — me also, my father! And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
“Do you only have one blessing, my father?” Esau asked. “Please bless me too!” Then Esau began to cry very loudly.
39 And Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above;
Then his father Isaac declared, “Listen! You will live far away from fertile land, far from the dew of heaven that falls from above.
40 And by thy sword shalt thou live; And thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass when thou rovest about, That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
You will make a living by using your sword, and you will be your brother's servant. But when you rebel, you will throw off his yoke from your neck.”
41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand, and I will slay my brother Jacob.
From then on Esau hated Jacob because of his father's blessing. Esau said to himself, “Soon the time will come when I'll mourn my father's death. Then I'll kill my brother Jacob!”
42 And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebecca. And she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, comforts himself that he will kill thee.
However, Rebekah found out what Esau was saying, so she sent for Jacob. “Look,” she told him, “your brother Esau is making himself feel better by making plans to kill you.
43 And now, my son, hearken to my voice, and arise, flee to Laban my brother, to Haran;
So, my son, listen carefully to what I tell you. Leave immediately and go to my brother Laban in Haram.
44 and abide with him some days, until thy brother's fury turn away —
Stay with him for a while until your brother's anger cools down.
45 until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget what thou hast done to him; then I will send and fetch thee thence. Why should I be bereaved even of you both in one day?
Once he's cooled down and forgets what you did to him, I'll send for you to come back. Why should I lose both of you in a single day?”
46 And Rebecca said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good should my life do me?
Then Rebekah went and told Isaac, “I'm so sick of these Hittite women—they're ruining my life! If Jacob also marries a Hittite woman like them, one of the local people, I'd rather die!”
