Genesis 27
1 When Isaac was old, he became almost blind. One day he summoned Esau, his firstborn/older son,
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 and said to him, “My son?” Esau replied, “Here I am!”
His father said to him: “You see that I am old, and I do not know the day of my death.
3 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.
Take your weapons, the quiver and the bow, and go out. And when you have taken something by hunting,
4 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.”
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 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,
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, “Listen to me. I heard your father talking to your brother, Esau, saying,
she said to her son Jacob: “I heard your father speaking with your brother Esau, and saying to him,
7 ‘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.’
‘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 So now, my son, do what I am telling you.
Therefore, now my son, agree to my counsel,
9 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.
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 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].”
Then, when you have brought these in and he has eaten, he may bless you before he dies.”
11 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!
He answered her: “You know that my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth.
12 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!”
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, “If that happens, let the curse be on me. You do what I am telling you. Go and get the 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 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.
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 took her older son Esau’s clothes that were with her in the tent, 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 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 him some bread and the tasty food that she had prepared.
And she gave him the small meal, and she handed him the bread that she had baked.
18 Jacob took it to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac replied, “I’m here; which of my sons are you?”
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 son. I did what you told me to do. Sit up and eat some of the meat so that you can then 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, “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.”
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 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.”
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 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.”
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 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.
And he did not recognize him, because his hairy hands made him seem similar to the elder one. Therefore, blessing him,
24 But first Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob replied, “Yes, I am.”
he said, “Are you my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”
25 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.
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 Isaac said to him, “My son, come here and kiss me.”
he said to him, “Come to me and give me a kiss, my son.”
27 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.
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 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.
May God give to you, from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, an abundance of grain and wine.
29 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.”
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, Jacob was just leaving the room where his father was, when his older brother, Esau, returned from hunting.
Scarcely had Isaac completed his words, and Jacob departed, when Esau arrived.
31 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!”
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 His father, Isaac, said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am Esau, your firstborn son!”
And Isaac said to him, “But who are you?” And he answered, “I am your firstborn son, Esau.”
33 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).”
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 those words of his father, he cried loudly. He was very disappointed. He said to his father, “My father, bless me, too!”
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 his father said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing!”
And he said, “Your twin came deceitfully, and he received your blessing.”
36 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?”
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 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]
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, “My father, do you have only one blessing? My father, bless me, too!” Then Esau cried 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 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].
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 [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.”
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 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!”
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 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.
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, listen carefully to what I am telling you. Escape quickly and go and stay with my brother Laban, in Haran [town].
Therefore, now my son, listen to my voice. Rise up and flee to my brother Laban, in Haran.
44 Stay with him a while, until your older brother is no longer angry.
And you will dwell with him for a few days, until the fury of your brother subsides,
45 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]
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 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!”
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.”
