Genesis 27
1 Isaac was old and going blind. He called for Esau, his oldest son, and said, “My son.” “I'm here,” 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 “I'm old now,” said Isaac, “I may die soon, who knows?
His father said to him: “You see that I am old, and I do not know the day of my death.
3 So please take your bow and arrows and go hunting in the countryside for some meat for me.
Take your weapons, the quiver and the bow, and go out. And when you have taken something by hunting,
4 Make me that tasty food that I love and bring it to me to eat, so I can 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 Rebekah heard what Isaac told his son Esau. So when Esau left to go hunting in the countryside for wild game,
And when Rebekah had heard this, and he had gone out into the field to fulfill his father’s order,
6 Rebekah told her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father tell your brother,
she said to her son Jacob: “I heard your father speaking with your brother Esau, and saying to him,
7 ‘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.’
‘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 then, my son, listen to me and do exactly what I tell you.
Therefore, now my son, agree to my counsel,
9 Go to the flock and bring me two nice young goats. I'll cook them and make the tasty food your father 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 you take it to your father to eat, so he can bless you in the presence of the Lord before he dies.”
Then, when you have brought these in and he has eaten, he may bless you before he dies.”
11 “But listen,” Jacob replied to his mother Rebekah, “my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I'm a smooth man.
He answered her: “You know that my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth.
12 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.”
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 “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.”
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 them and took them to his mother, and she made some tasty food, the way 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 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.
And she clothed him with the very fine garments of Esau, which she had at home with her.
16 She put the goatskins 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 the bread she'd made.
And she gave him the small meal, and she handed him the bread that she had baked.
18 He went in to see his father, and called out, “My father, I'm here.” “Which son are you?” Isaac asked.
When he had carried these in, he said, “My father?” And he answered, “I’m listening. Who are you, my son?”
19 “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.”
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 “How did you find an animal so fast, my son?” Isaac asked. “Because the Lord your God sent it my way,” Jacob 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 “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.”
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 Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “It's Jacob's voice but Esau's hands.”
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 didn't realize it was really Jacob because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's, so Isaac got ready to bless him.
And he did not recognize him, because his hairy hands made him seem similar to the elder one. Therefore, blessing him,
24 “It's really you, my son Esau?” he asked again. “Yes, it's me,” Jacob replied.
he said, “Are you my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”
25 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.
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 Afterwards he said to Isaac, “Come here and kiss me, my son.”
he said to him, “Come to me and give me a kiss, my son.”
27 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.”
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 use the dew of heaven and fertile land to give you rich harvests 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 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.”
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 After Isaac finished blessing Jacob—in fact Jacob had just left his father—Esau returned from his hunting trip.
Scarcely had Isaac completed his words, and Jacob departed, when Esau arrived.
31 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.”
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 “Who are you?” Isaac asked him. “I'm your son, your firstborn son, Esau,” he replied.
And Isaac said to him, “But who are you?” And he answered, “I am your firstborn son, Esau.”
33 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.”
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 cried out in great anger and bitterness, and pleaded with his father, “Please bless me too, 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, “You brother came and deceived me—he stole your blessing!”
And he said, “Your twin came deceitfully, and he received your blessing.”
36 “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?”
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 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?”
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 “Do you only have one blessing, my father?” Esau asked. “Please bless me too!” Then Esau began to cry very loudly.
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 Then his father Isaac declared, “Listen! You will live far away from fertile land, far from the dew of heaven that falls from 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 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.”
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 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!”
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 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.
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, my son, listen carefully to what I tell you. Leave immediately and go to my brother Laban in Haram.
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 anger cools down.
And you will dwell with him for a few days, until the fury of your brother subsides,
45 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?”
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 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!”
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.”
