Genesis 27
1 Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he could not see: and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him: My son? And he answered: Here I am.
Isaac was old and going blind. He called for Esau, his oldest son, and said, “My son.” “I'm here,” Esau replied.
2 And his father said to him: Thou seest that I am old, and know not the day of my death.
“I'm old now,” said Isaac, “I may die soon, who knows?
3 Take thy arms, thy quiver, and bow, and go abroad: and when thou hast taken some thing by hunting,
So please take your bow and arrows and go hunting in the countryside for some meat for me.
4 Make me savoury meat thereof, as thou knowest I like, and bring it, that I may eat: and 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 when Rebecca had heard this, and he was gone into the field to fulfill his father’s commandment,
Rebekah heard what Isaac told his son Esau. So when Esau left to go hunting in the countryside for wild game,
6 She said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with Esau thy brother, and saying to him:
Rebekah told her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father tell your brother,
7 Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat, and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die.
‘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 Now, therefore, my son, follow my counsel:
Now then, my son, listen to me and do exactly what I tell you.
9 And go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth:
Go to the flock and bring me two nice young goats. I'll cook them and make the tasty food your father loves.
10 Which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may bless thee before he die.
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 he answered her: Thou knowest that Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am smooth.
“But listen,” Jacob replied to his mother Rebekah, “my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a smooth man.
12 If my father shall feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest he will think I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me a curse instead of 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: Upon me be this curse, my son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which I have said.
“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 He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She dressed meats, such as she knew his father liked.
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 she put on him very good garments of Esau, which she had at home with her:
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 the little skins of the kids she put about his hands, and covered the bare of his neck.
She put the goatskins on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
17 And she gave him the savoury meat, and delivered him bread that she had baked.
Then she handed her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she'd made.
18 Which when he had carried in, he said: My father? But he answered: I hear. 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: I am Esau thy firstborn: I have done as thou didst command me: arise, sit, and eat of my venison, 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 couldst thou find it so quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God, that what I sought came quickly 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: Come hither, that I may feel thee, my son, and may prove whether thou be 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 He came near to 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.
Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “It's Jacob's voice but Esau's hands.”
23 And he knew him not, because his hairy hands made him like to the elder. Then blessing 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 He said: Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I am.
“It's really you, my son Esau?” he asked again. “Yes, it's me,” Jacob replied.
25 Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son, that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought, and he had eaten, he offered him wine also, which after he had drunk,
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 He said to him: Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son.
Afterwards he said to Isaac, “Come here and kiss me, my son.”
27 He came near, and kissed him. And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he said: Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord 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 God give thee the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine.
“May God use the dew of heaven and fertile land to give you rich harvests of grain and new wine!
29 And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let thy mother’s children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings.
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 Isaac had scarce ended his words, when Jacob being now gone out abroad, Esau came,
After Isaac finished blessing Jacob—in fact Jacob had just left his father—Esau returned from his hunting trip.
31 And brought in to his father meats made of what he had taken in hunting, saying: Arise, my father, and eat of thy son’s venison; 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 said to him: Why! who art thou? He answered: I am thy firstborn son Esau.
“Who are you?” Isaac asked him. “I'm your son, your firstborn son, Esau,” he replied.
33 Isaac was struck with fear, and astonished exceedingly: and wondering beyond what can be believed, said Who is he then that even now brought me venison that he had taken, and I ate of all before thou camest? and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed.
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 Esau having heard his father’s words, roared out with a great cry: and being in a great consternation, said: Bless 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 deceitfully and got thy blessing.
But Isaac replied, “You brother came and deceived me—he stole your blessing!”
36 But he said again: Rightly is his name called Jacob; for he hath supplanted me lo this second time: my first birthright he took away before, and now this second time he hath stolen away my blessing. And again he said to his father: Hast thou not reserved me also a blessing?
“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 Isaac answered: I have appointed him thy lord, and have made all his brethren his servants: I have established him with corn and wine, and after this, what shall I do more 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 him: Hast thou only one blessing, father? I beseech thee bless me also. And when he wept with a loud cry,
“Do you only have one blessing, my father?” Esau asked. “Please bless me too!” Then Esau began to cry very loudly.
39 Isaac being moved, said to him: In the fat of the earth, and in 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 Shall thy blessing be. Thou shalt live by the sword and shalt serve thy brother: and the time shall come, when thou shalt shake off and loose his yoke from 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 Esau therefore always hated Jacob for the blessing wherewith his father had blessed him: and he said in his heart: The days will come of the mourning of my father, and I will kill 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 These things were told to Rebecca: and she sent and called Jacob her son, and said to him: Behold Esau thy brother threateneth to 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 Now therefore, my son, hear my voice: arise and 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 thou shalt dwell with him a few days, till the wrath of thy brother be assuaged,
Stay with him for a while until your brother's anger cools down.
45 And his indignation cease, and he forget the things thou hast done to him: afterwards I will send, and bring thee from thence hither. Why shall I be deprived of both my sons 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 stock of this land, I choose not to live.
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!”
