Genesis 27:1-29 (Contemporary English Version)

Genesis 27

Isaac Blesses Jacob

 ¹After Isaac had become old and almost blind, he called in his first-born son Esau, who asked him, "Father, what can I do for you?"

    ²Isaac replied, "I am old and might die at any time. ³So take your bow and arrows, then go out in the fields, and kill a wild animal. ⁴Cook some of that tasty food that I love so much and bring it to me. I want to eat it once more and give you my blessing before I die."

    ⁵Rebekah had been listening, and as soon as Esau left to go hunting, ⁶she said to Jacob, "I heard your father tell Esau ⁷to kill a wild animal and cook some tasty food for your father before he dies. Your father said this because he wants to bless your brother with the LORD as his witness. ⁸Now, my son, listen carefully to what I want you to do. ⁹Go and kill two of your best young goats and bring them to me. I'll cook the tasty food that your father loves so much. ¹⁰Then you can take it to him, so he can eat it and give you his blessing before he dies."

    ¹¹"My brother Esau is a hairy man," Jacob reminded her. "And I am not. ¹²If my father touches me and realizes I am trying to trick him, he will put a curse on me instead of giving me a blessing."

    ¹³Rebekah insisted, "Let his curse fall on me! Just do what I say and bring me the meat." ¹⁴So Jacob brought the meat to his mother, and she cooked the tasty food that his father liked. ¹⁵Then she took Esau's best clothes and put them on Jacob. ¹⁶She also covered the smooth part of his hands and neck with goatskins ¹⁷and gave him some bread and the tasty food she had cooked.

    ¹⁸Jacob went to his father and said, "Father, here I am."

   "Which one of my sons are you?" his father asked.

    ¹⁹Jacob replied, "I am Esau, your first-born, and I have done what you told me. Please sit up and eat the meat I have brought. Then you can give me your blessing."

    ²⁰Isaac asked, "My son, how did you find an animal so quickly?"

   "The LORD your God was kind to me," Jacob answered.

    ²¹"My son," Isaac said, "come closer, where I can touch you and find out if you really are Esau." ²²Jacob went closer. His father touched him and said, "You sound like Jacob, but your hands feel hairy like Esau's." ²³And so Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he was Esau.

    ²⁴Isaac asked, "Are you really my son Esau?"

   "Yes, I am," Jacob answered.

    ²⁵So Isaac told him, "Serve me the wild meat, and I can give you my blessing."

   Jacob gave him some meat, and he ate it. He also gave him some wine, and he drank it. ²⁶Then Isaac said, "Son, come over here and kiss me." ²⁷While Jacob was kissing him, Isaac caught the smell of his clothes and said:

   "The smell of my son

   is like a field

   the LORD has blessed.

    ²⁸God will bless you, my son,

   with dew from heaven

   and with fertile fields,

   rich with grain and grapes.

    ²⁹Nations will be your servants

   and bow down to you.

   You will rule over your brothers,

   and they will kneel

   at your feet.

   Anyone who curses you

   will be cursed;

   anyone who blesses you

   will be blessed."