Genesis 27
1 senuit autem Isaac et caligaverunt oculi eius et videre non poterat vocavitque Esau filium suum maiorem et dixit ei fili mi qui respondit adsum
When Isaac was old, he became almost blind. One day he summoned Esau, his firstborn/older son,
2 cui pater vides inquit quod senuerim et ignorem diem mortis meae
and said to him, “My son?” Esau replied, “Here I am!”
3 sume arma tua faretram et arcum et egredere foras cumque venatu aliquid adprehenderis
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 fac mihi inde pulmentum sicut velle me nosti et adfer ut comedam et benedicat tibi anima mea antequam moriar
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 quod cum audisset Rebecca et ille abisset in agrum ut iussionem patris expleret
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 dixit filio suo Iacob audivi patrem tuum loquentem cum Esau fratre tuo et dicentem ei
Rebekah said to her son, Jacob, “Listen to me. I heard your father talking to your brother, Esau, saying,
7 adfer mihi venationem tuam et fac cibos ut comedam et benedicam tibi coram Domino antequam moriar
‘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 nunc ergo fili mi adquiesce consiliis meis
So now, my son, do what I am telling you.
9 et pergens ad gregem adfer mihi duos hedos optimos ut faciam ex eis escas patri tuo quibus libenter vescitur
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 quas cum intuleris et comederit benedicat tibi priusquam moriatur
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 cui ille respondit nosti quod Esau frater meus homo pilosus sit et ego lenis
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 si adtractaverit me pater meus et senserit timeo ne putet sibi voluisse inludere et inducat super me maledictionem pro benedictione
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 ad quem mater in me sit ait ista maledictio fili mi tantum audi vocem meam et perge adferque quae dixi
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 abiit et adtulit deditque matri paravit illa cibos sicut noverat velle patrem illius
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 et vestibus Esau valde bonis quas apud se habebat domi induit eum
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 pelliculasque hedorum circumdedit manibus et colli nuda protexit
She also put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck.
17 dedit pulmentum et panes quos coxerat tradidit
Then she handed him some bread and the tasty food that she had prepared.
18 quibus inlatis dixit pater mi et ille respondit audio quis tu es fili mi
Jacob took it to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac replied, “I’m here; which of my sons are you?”
19 dixitque Iacob ego sum Esau primogenitus tuus feci sicut praecepisti mihi surge sede et comede de venatione mea ut benedicat mihi anima tua
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 rursum Isaac ad filium suum quomodo inquit tam cito invenire potuisti fili mi qui respondit voluntatis Dei fuit ut cito mihi occurreret quod volebam
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 dixitque Isaac accede huc ut tangam te fili mi et probem utrum tu sis filius meus Esau an non
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 accessit ille ad patrem et palpato eo dixit Isaac vox quidem vox Iacob est sed manus manus sunt 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 et non cognovit eum quia pilosae manus similitudinem maioris expresserant benedicens ergo illi
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 ait tu es filius meus Esau respondit ego sum
But first Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob replied, “Yes, I am.”
25 at ille offer inquit mihi cibos de venatione tua fili mi ut benedicat tibi anima mea quos cum oblatos comedisset obtulit ei etiam vinum quo hausto
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 dixit ad eum accede ad me et da mihi osculum fili mi
Then Isaac said to him, “My son, come here and kiss me.”
27 accessit et osculatus est eum statimque ut sensit vestimentorum illius flagrantiam benedicens ait ecce odor filii mei sicut odor agri cui benedixit Dominus
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 det tibi Deus de rore caeli et de pinguedine terrae abundantiam frumenti et vini
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 et serviant tibi populi et adorent te tribus esto dominus fratrum tuorum et incurventur ante te filii matris tuae qui maledixerit tibi sit maledictus et qui benedixerit benedictionibus repleatur
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 vix Isaac sermonem impleverat et egresso Iacob foras venit Esau
After Isaac finished blessing Jacob, Jacob was just leaving the room where his father was, when his older brother, Esau, returned from hunting.
31 coctosque de venatione cibos intulit patri dicens surge pater mi et comede de venatione filii tui ut benedicat mihi anima tua
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 dixitque illi Isaac quis enim es tu qui respondit ego sum primogenitus filius tuus Esau
His father, Isaac, said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am Esau, your firstborn son!”
33 expavit Isaac stupore vehementi et ultra quam credi potest admirans ait quis igitur ille est qui dudum captam venationem adtulit mihi et comedi ex omnibus priusquam tu venires benedixique ei et erit benedictus
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 auditis Esau sermonibus patris inrugiit clamore magno et consternatus ait benedic etiam mihi pater mi
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 qui ait venit germanus tuus fraudulenter et accepit benedictionem tuam
But his father said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing!”
36 at ille subiunxit iuste vocatum est nomen eius Iacob subplantavit enim me en altera vice primogenita mea ante tulit et nunc secundo subripuit benedictionem meam rursumque ad patrem numquid non reservasti ait et mihi benedictionem
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 respondit Isaac dominum tuum illum constitui et omnes fratres eius servituti illius subiugavi frumento et vino stabilivi eum tibi post haec fili mi ultra quid faciam
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 cui Esau num unam inquit tantum benedictionem habes pater mihi quoque obsecro ut benedicas cumque heiulatu magno fleret
Esau said to his father, “My father, do you have only one blessing? My father, bless me, too!” Then Esau cried very loudly.
39 motus Isaac dixit ad eum in pinguedine terrae et in rore caeli desuper
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 erit benedictio tua vives gladio et fratri tuo servies tempusque veniet cum excutias et solvas iugum eius de cervicibus tuis
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 oderat ergo semper Esau Iacob pro benedictione qua benedixerat ei pater dixitque in corde suo veniant dies luctus patris mei ut occidam Iacob fratrem meum
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 nuntiata sunt haec Rebeccae quae mittens et vocans Iacob filium suum dixit ad eum ecce Esau frater tuus minatur ut occidat te
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 nunc ergo fili audi vocem meam et consurgens fuge ad Laban fratrem meum in 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 habitabisque cum eo dies paucos donec requiescat furor fratris tui
Stay with him a while, until your older brother is no longer angry.
45 et cesset indignatio eius obliviscaturque eorum quae fecisti in eum postea mittam et adducam te inde huc cur utroque orbabor filio in una die
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 dixit quoque Rebecca ad Isaac taedet me vitae meae propter filias Heth si acceperit Iacob uxorem de stirpe huius terrae nolo vivere
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!”
