Genesis 27
1 When Isaac was old, he became almost blind. One day he summoned Esau, his firstborn/older son,
And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said to him, My son: and he said to him, Behold, here am I.
2 and said to him, “My son?” Esau replied, “Here I am!”
And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not 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.
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;
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.”
And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee 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 Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6 Rebekah said to her son, Jacob, “Listen to me. I heard your father talking to your brother, Esau, saying,
And Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak to Esau thy brother, saying,
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 me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death.
8 So now, my son, do what I am telling you.
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
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.
Go now to the flock, and bring me from there two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
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].”
And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
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!
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:
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!”
My father perhaps will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not 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, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go bring them to me.
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.
And he went, and took, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.
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 Rebekah took the choicest raiment of her eldest son Esau, which was with her in the house, and put it upon Jacob her younger son:
16 She also put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck.
And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth part of his neck:
17 Then she handed him some bread and the tasty food that she had prepared.
And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
18 Jacob took it to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac replied, “I’m here; which of my sons are you?”
And he came to his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, 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 to his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy 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 Isaac said to his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me.
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 to Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou art my very 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.”
And Jacob went 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.
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 knew him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.
24 But first Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob replied, “Yes, I am.”
And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, 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.
And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he ate: and he brought him wine, and he drank.
26 Then Isaac said to him, “My son, come here and kiss me.”
And his father Isaac said to him, Come near now, and kiss me, 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.
And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD hath 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.
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty 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.”
Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
30 After Isaac finished blessing Jacob, Jacob was just leaving the room where his father was, when his older brother, Esau, returned from hunting.
And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had yet scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
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 also had made savoury meat, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.
32 His father, Isaac, said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am Esau, your firstborn son!”
And Isaac his father said to him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn 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).”
And Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall 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!”
And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceedingly bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
35 But his father said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing!”
And he said, Thy brother came deceitfully, and hath taken away thy 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?”
And he said, Is he not rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me twice: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
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]
And Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with grain and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now to thee, my son?
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 his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
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].
And Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of 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.”
And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy 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!”
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay 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.
And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as concerning thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
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].
Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;
44 Stay with him a while, until your older brother is no longer angry.
And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury shall turn away;
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]
Till thy brother’s anger shall turn away from thee, and he shall forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and bring thee from there: why should I be deprived also of you both 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 shall take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these who are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
