Genesis 27
1 And it comes to pass that Isaac [is] aged, and his eyes are too dim for seeing, and he calls [for] his older son Esau and says to him, “My son”; and he says to him, “Here I [am].”
When Isaac was old, he became almost blind. One day he summoned Esau, his firstborn/older son,
2 And he says, “Now behold, I have become aged, I have not known the day of my death;
and said to him, “My son?” Esau replied, “Here I am!”
3 and now, please take up your instruments, your quiver, and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt provision for me,
Isaac said, “Listen to me. I am very old, and I do not know when I will die. So now take your bow and quiver full of arrows and go out into the countryside, and hunt for a wild animal for me.
4 and make tasteful things for me, [such] as I have loved, and bring [them] to me, and I eat, so that my soul blesses you before I die.”
Kill one and prepare the kind of tasty meat that I like. Then bring it to me so that after I eat it, I can give you a blessing before I die.”
5 And Rebekah is listening while Isaac is speaking to his son Esau; and Esau goes to the field to hunt game—to bring in;
Rebekah was listening as Isaac said that to his son, Esau. So when Esau left the tent to go to the countryside to hunt for a wild animal in order to kill it and bring it back,
6 and Rebekah has spoken to her son Jacob, saying, “Behold, I have heard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying,
Rebekah said to her son, Jacob, “Listen to me. I heard your father talking to your brother, Esau, saying,
7 Bring game for me, and make tasteful things for me, and I eat, and bless you before YHWH before my death.
‘Go and kill some wild animal and bring it here, and prepare the meat in a tasty way, so that I may eat it, and then before I die I can give you my blessing while Yahweh is listening.’
8 And now, my son, listen to my voice, to that which I am commanding you:
So now, my son, do what I am telling you.
9 Now go to the flock, and take for me two good kids of the goats from there, and I make them tasteful things for your father, [such] as he has loved;
Go out to the flock and [kill] two nice young goats and bring [the meat] to me. Then I will prepare some tasty food for your father, the way he likes it.
10 and you have taken [them] to your father, and he has eaten, so that his soul blesses you before his death.”
Then you can take it to your father, in order that he can eat it, and then, before he dies, he will give his blessing to you, [and not to your older brother].”
11 And Jacob says to his mother Rebekah, “Behold, my brother Esau [is] a hairy man, and I [am] a smooth man,
But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “But my brother Esau’s skin has hair all over it, and my skin is not like that! My skin is smooth!
12 it may be my father feels me, and I have been in his eyes as a deceiver, and have brought on me disapproval, and not a blessing”;
What will happen if my father touches me? He will realize that I am tricking him, and as a result (I will be cursed/he will say that God will do bad things to) me, not a blessing!”
13 and his mother says to him, “On me your disapproval, my son; only listen to my voice, and go, take for me.”
His mother replied, “If that happens, let the curse be on me. You do what I am telling you. Go and get the goats for me!”
14 And he goes, and takes, and brings to his mother, and his mother makes tasteful things, [such] as his father has loved;
So Jacob went and killed two goats and brought them to his mother. Then [with the meat] his mother prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked.
15 and Rebekah takes the desirable garments of Esau her older son, which [are] with her in the house, and puts them on Jacob her younger son;
Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s clothes that were with her in the tent, and she put them on her younger son Jacob.
16 and she has put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck,
She also put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck.
17 and she gives the tasteful things, and the bread which she has made, into the hand of her son Jacob.
Then she handed him some bread and the tasty food that she had prepared.
18 And he comes to his father and says, “My father”; and he says, “Here I [am]; who [are] you, my son?”
Jacob took it to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac replied, “I’m here; which of my sons are you?”
19 And Jacob says to his father, “I [am] Esau your firstborn; I have done as you have spoken to me; please rise, sit and eat of my game, so that your soul blesses me.”
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn son. I did what you told me to do. Sit up and eat some of the meat so that you can then bless me.”
20 And Isaac says to his son, “What [is] this you have hurried to find, my son?” And he says, “That which your God YHWH has caused to come before me.”
But Isaac asked his son, “My son, how is it that you were able to find and kill an animal so quickly?” Jacob replied, “Because Yahweh, whom you worship, enabled me to be successful.”
21 And Isaac says to Jacob, “Please come near, and I feel you, my son, whether you [are] he, my son Esau, or not.”
Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near to me, my son, so that I can touch you and determine whether you are really my son Esau.”
22 And Jacob comes near to his father Isaac, and he feels him, and says, “The voice [is] the voice of Jacob, and the hands hands of Esau.”
So Jacob went close to him. Isaac. Isaac touched him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob, but your hands feel hairy, like the hands of your older brother, Esau.”
23 And he has not discerned him, for his hands have been hairy, as the hands of his brother Esau, and he blesses him,
Isaac did not recognize Jacob, [because he was blind] and because Jacob’s hands were now hairy, like those of his older brother, Esau. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob.
24 and says, “You are he—my son Esau?” And he says, “I [am].”
But first Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob replied, “Yes, I am.”
25 And he says, “Bring [it] near to me, and I eat of my son’s game, so that my soul blesses you”; and he brings [it] near to him, and he eats; and he brings wine to him, and he drinks.
Isaac said, “My son, bring me some of the meat that you have cooked, so that I may eat it and then give you my blessing.” So Jacob brought him some, and he ate it. Jacob also brought him some wine, and he drank it.
26 And his father Isaac says to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son”;
Then Isaac said to him, “My son, come here and kiss me.”
27 and he comes near, and kisses him, and he smells the fragrance of his garments, and blesses him, and says, “See, the fragrance of my son [is] as the fragrance of a field which YHWH has blessed;
So Jacob came close to him, and his father kissed him on the cheek. Isaac smelled the clothes Jacob was wearing. They smelled like Esau’s clothes. So he said, “Truly, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that Yahweh has blessed.
28 and God gives to you of the dew of the heavens, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of grain and wine;
I ask that God will send down to you dew from heaven [to water your fields], and cause you to have abundant crops, good harvests of grain, and grapes for wine.
29 peoples serve you, and nations bow themselves to you, be mighty over your brothers, and the sons of your mother bow themselves to you; those who curse you [are] cursed, and those who bless you [are] blessed.”
I ask that people of many nations will serve you and bow down to you. I ask that you will rule over your brothers, and that your mother’s descendants will also bow down to you. I ask that God will curse/punish those who (curse you/ask God to do bad things to you), and bless those who bless you.”
30 And it comes to pass, as Isaac has finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob is only just going out from the presence of his father Isaac, that his brother Esau has come in from his hunting;
After Isaac finished blessing Jacob, Jacob was just leaving the room where his father was, when his older brother, Esau, returned from hunting.
31 and he also makes tasteful things, and brings to his father, and says to his father, “Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s game, so that your soul blesses me.”
Esau cooked some tasty meat and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “My father, please sit up and eat some of the meat that I have cooked, so that you can then give me your blessing!”
32 And his father Isaac says to him, “Who [are] you?” And he says, “I [am] your son, your firstborn, Esau”;
His father, Isaac, said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am Esau, your firstborn son!”
33 and Isaac trembles a very great trembling and says, “Who, now, [is] he who has provided game, and brings to me, and I eat of all before you come in, and I bless him? Indeed, he is blessed.”
Then Isaac, realizing that it was not Esau who had come earlier, trembled very violently. He said, “Then who is it that brought me some meat from an animal that he had hunted and killed, and I ate it all? He was here just before you came. I blessed him, and I cannot (take back that blessing/declare that those things will not happen to him).”
34 When Esau hears the words of his father, then he cries a very great and bitter cry, and says to his father, “Bless me, me also, O my father”;
When Esau heard those words of his father, he cried loudly. He was very disappointed. He said to his father, “My father, bless me, too!”
35 and he says, “Your brother has come with subtlety, and takes your blessing.”
But his father said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing!”
36 And he says, “Is it because he whose name is called Jacob takes me by the heel these two times? He has taken my birthright; and behold, now he has taken my blessing”; he also says, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
Esau said, “It is right [RHQ] that his name is Jacob, which means ‘cheat,’ because he deceived me two times. The first time he took my rights from being his firstborn son, and this time he took my blessing!” Then he asked, “Do you not have any blessing left for me?”
37 And Isaac answers and says to Esau, “Behold, a mighty one have I set him over you, and all his brothers have I given to him for servants, and [with] grain and wine have I sustained him; and for you now, what will I do, my son?”
Isaac answered and said to Esau, “I have declared that your younger brother will rule over you, and declared that all his relatives will serve him. And I have said that God will give him plenty of grain and grapes for wine. So, my son, (what can I do for you?/There is nothing more that I can do for you!)” [RHQ]
38 And Esau says to his father, “One blessing have you my father? Bless me, me also, O my father”; and Esau lifts up his voice, and weeps.
Esau said to his father, “My father, do you have only one blessing? My father, bless me, too!” Then Esau cried very loudly.
39 And his father Isaac answers and says to him, “Behold, of the fatness of the earth is your dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above;
His father Isaac answered and said to him, “The place where you will live will be far from the fertile soil and from the dew that God sends from heaven [to water the fields].
40 and by your sword you live, and your brother serves you; and it has come to pass, when you rule, that you have broken his yoke from off your neck.”
You will [rob and] kill people [MTY] in order to [get what you need to] live, and you will be as though you are your brother’s slave. But when you decide to rebel against him, you will (free yourself from/no longer be under) his control.”
41 And Esau hates Jacob, because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau says in his heart, “The days of mourning [for] my father draw near, and I slay my brother Jacob.”
So, because his father had given a blessing to Jacob, and not to him, Esau hated his younger brother. Esau thought to himself, “After my father dies and we finish mourning for him, I will kill Jacob!”
42 And the words of Esau her older son are declared to Rebekah, and she sends and calls for Jacob her younger son, and says to him, “Behold, your brother Esau is comforting himself in regard to you—to slay you;
But Rebekah found out what her older son, Esau, was thinking. So she summoned her younger son, Jacob, and said to him, “Listen to me. Your older brother, Esau, is [comforting himself by] planning to kill you, to get revenge because of your deceiving your father.
43 and now, my son, listen to my voice, and rise, flee for yourself to my brother Laban, to Haran,
So now, my son, listen carefully to what I am telling you. Escape quickly and go and stay with my brother Laban, in Haran [town].
44 and you have dwelt with him some days, until your brother’s fury turns back,
Stay with him a while, until your older brother is no longer angry.
45 until your brother’s anger turns back from you, and he has forgotten that which you have done to him, and I have sent and taken you from there; why am I bereaved even of you both the same day?”
When he forgets what you did to him, I will send a message to you, to tell you to return from there. If Esau kills you, [others will kill him, and] then both my sons would die at the same time!” [RHQ]
46 And Rebekah says to Isaac, “I have been disgusted with my life because of the presence of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these—from the daughters of the land—why do I live?”
Rebekah also said to Isaac, “These [foreign] women whom Esau has married, who are descendants of Heth, are making my life miserable. I would prefer to die than to see Jacob marry a woman from the descendants of Heth in this area!”
