18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”

“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”(A)

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn.(B) I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game,(C) so that you may give me your blessing.”(D)

20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The Lord your God gave me success,(E)” he replied.

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you,(F) my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”

22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac,(G) who touched(H) him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau;(I) so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“I am,” he replied.

25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”(J)

Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”

27 So he went to him and kissed(K) him(L). When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes,(M) he blessed him and said,

“Ah, the smell of my son
    is like the smell of a field
    that the Lord has blessed.(N)
28 May God give you heaven’s dew(O)
    and earth’s richness(P)
    an abundance of grain(Q) and new wine.(R)
29 May nations serve you
    and peoples bow down to you.(S)
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.(T)
May those who curse you be cursed
    and those who bless you be blessed.(U)

30 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”(V)

32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”(W)

“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.(X)

33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me?(Y) I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!(Z)

34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry(AA) and said to his father, “Bless(AB) me—me too, my father!”

35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully(AC) and took your blessing.”(AD)

36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob[a]?(AE) This is the second time he has taken advantage of(AF) me: He took my birthright,(AG) and now he’s taken my blessing!”(AH) Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”

37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine.(AI) So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”

38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.(AJ)

39 His father Isaac answered him,(AK)

“Your dwelling will be
    away from the earth’s richness,
    away from the dew(AL) of heaven above.(AM)
40 You will live by the sword
    and you will serve(AN) your brother.(AO)
But when you grow restless,
    you will throw his yoke
    from off your neck.(AP)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 27:36 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.

18 And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

19 And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; 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 And Isaac said unto 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 And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

25 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 did eat: and he brought him wine and he drank.

26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

27 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 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

29 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 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.

32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

33 And Isaac trembled very 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 And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.

36 And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: 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 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

38 And Esau said unto 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 And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

40 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.

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