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Genesis 27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Genesis 27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 27
Jacob’s Deception.[a] 1 When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” he replied. 2 Isaac then said, “Now I have grown old. I do not know when I might die. 3 So now take your hunting gear—your quiver and bow—and go out into the open country to hunt some game for me. 4 Then prepare for me a dish in the way I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you[b] before I die.”
5 Rebekah had been listening while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. So when Esau went out into the open country to hunt some game for his father,(A) 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father tell your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I may bless you with the Lord’s approval before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, obey me in what I am about to order you. 9 Go to the flock and get me two choice young goats so that with these I might prepare a dish for your father in the way he likes. 10 Then bring it to your father to eat, that he may bless you before he dies.” 11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am smooth-skinned!(B) 12 Suppose my father feels me? He will think I am making fun of him, and I will bring on myself a curse instead of a blessing.” 13 His mother, however, replied: “Let any curse against you, my son, fall on me! Just obey me. Go and get me the young goats.”
14 So Jacob went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared a dish in the way his father liked. 15 Rebekah then took the best clothes of her older son Esau that she had in the house, and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear; 16 and with the goatskins she covered up his hands and the hairless part of his neck. 17 Then she gave her son Jacob the dish and the bread she had prepared.
18 Going to his father, Jacob said, “Father!” “Yes?” replied Isaac. “Which of my sons are you?” 19 Jacob answered his father: “I am Esau, your firstborn. I did as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How did you get it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “The Lord, your God, directed me.” 21 Isaac then said to Jacob, “Come closer, my son, that I may feel you, to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob moved up closer to his father. When Isaac felt him, he said, “Although the voice is Jacob’s, the hands are Esau’s.” 23 (He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy, like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.) 24 Again Isaac said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And Jacob said, “I am.” 25 Then Isaac said, “Serve me, my son, and let me eat of the game so that I may bless you.” Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate; he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Finally his father Isaac said to him, “Come closer, my son, and kiss me.” 27 As Jacob went up to kiss him, Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes. With that, he blessed him, saying,
“Ah, the fragrance of my son
is like the fragrance of a field
that the Lord has blessed!(C)
28 May God give to you
of the dew of the heavens
And of the fertility of the earth
abundance of grain and wine.
29 (D)May peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
and blessed be those who bless you.”
30 Jacob had scarcely left his father after Isaac had finished blessing him, when his brother Esau came back from his hunt. 31 Then he too prepared a dish, and bringing it to his father, he said, “Let my father sit up and eat some of his son’s game, that you may then give me your blessing.” 32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?” He said, “I am your son, your firstborn son, Esau.” 33 Isaac trembled greatly. “Who was it, then,” he asked, “that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all just before you came, and I blessed him. Now he is blessed!” 34 As he heard his father’s words, Esau burst into loud, bitter sobbing and said, “Father, bless me too!” 35 When Isaac said, “Your brother came here by a ruse and carried off your blessing,” 36 Esau exclaimed, “He is well named Jacob, is he not! He has supplanted me[c] twice! First he took away my right as firstborn, and now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not saved a blessing for me?”(E) 37 Isaac replied to Esau: “I have already appointed him your master, and I have assigned to him all his kindred as his servants; besides, I have sustained him with grain and wine. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38 But Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me too, father!” and Esau wept aloud.(F) 39 His father Isaac said in response:
“See, far from the fertile earth
will be your dwelling;
far from the dew of the heavens above!(G)
40 By your sword you will live,
and your brother you will serve;
But when you become restless,
you will throw off his yoke from your neck.”(H)
41 Esau bore a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. Esau said to himself, “Let the time of mourning for my father come, so that I may kill my brother Jacob.”(I) 42 When Rebekah got news of what her older son Esau had in mind, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him: “Listen! Your brother Esau intends to get his revenge by killing you. 43 So now, my son, obey me: flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay with him a while until your brother’s fury subsides— 45 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back. Why should I lose both of you in a single day?”
Jacob Sent to Laban. 46 Rebekah said to Isaac: “I am disgusted with life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob also should marry a Hittite woman, a native of the land, like these women, why should I live?”(J)
Footnotes
- 27:1–45 The chapter, a literary masterpiece, is the third and climactic wresting away of the blessing of Esau. Rebekah manages the entire affair, using perhaps her privileged information about Jacob’s status (25:23); Jacob’s only qualm is that if his father discovers the ruse, he will receive a curse instead of a blessing (vv. 11–12). Isaac is passive as he was in chaps. 22 and 24. The deception is effected through clothing (Jacob wears Esau’s clothing), which points ahead to a similar deception of a patriarch by means of clothing in the Joseph story (37:21–33). Such recurrent acts and scenes let the reader know a divine purpose is moving the story forward even though the human characters are unaware of it.
- 27:4 I may bless you: Isaac’s blessing confers fertility (vv. 27–28) and dominion (v. 29). The “dew of heaven” is rain that produces grain and wine, two of the principal foodstuffs of the ancient Near East. The “fertility of the earth” may allude to oil, the third basic foodstuff. The full agricultural year may be implied here: the fall rains are followed by the grain harvests of the spring and the grape harvest of late summer, and then the olive harvest of the fall (cf. Dt 11:14; Ps 104:13–15).
- 27:36 He has supplanted me: in Hebrew, wayyaqebeni, a wordplay on the name Jacob, ya‘aqob; see Jer 9:3 and Gn 25:26. There is also a play between the Hebrew words bekorah (“right of the firstborn”) and berakah (“blessing”).
Genesis 27
New International Version
Genesis 27
New International Version
27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see,(A) he called for Esau his older son(B) and said to him, “My son.”
“Here I am,” he answered.
2 Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death.(C) 3 Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country(D) to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like(E) and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing(F) before I die.”(G)
5 Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country(H) to hunt game and bring it back, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob,(I) “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’(J) 8 Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you:(K) 9 Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats,(L) so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it.(M) 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing(N) before he dies.”
11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man(O) while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me?(P) I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse(Q) on myself rather than a blessing.”
13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me.(R) Just do what I say;(S) go and get them for me.”
14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it.(T) 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes(U) of Esau her older son,(V) which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.(W) 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father.”
“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”(X)
19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn.(Y) I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game,(Z) so that you may give me your blessing.”(AA)
20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God gave me success,(AB)” he replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you,(AC) my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac,(AD) who touched(AE) 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;(AF) 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.”(AG)
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(AH) him(AI). When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes,(AJ) he blessed him and said,
“Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the Lord has blessed.(AK)
28 May God give you heaven’s dew(AL)
and earth’s richness(AM)—
an abundance of grain(AN) and new wine.(AO)
29 May nations serve you
and peoples bow down to you.(AP)
Be lord over your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.(AQ)
May those who curse you be cursed
and those who bless you be blessed.(AR)”
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.”(AS)
32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”(AT)
“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.(AU)”
33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me?(AV) I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!(AW)”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry(AX) and said to his father, “Bless(AY) me—me too, my father!”
35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully(AZ) and took your blessing.”(BA)
36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob[a]?(BB) This is the second time he has taken advantage of(BC) me: He took my birthright,(BD) and now he’s taken my blessing!”(BE) 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.(BF) 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.(BG)
39 His father Isaac answered him,(BH)
“Your dwelling will be
away from the earth’s richness,
away from the dew(BI) of heaven above.(BJ)
40 You will live by the sword
and you will serve(BK) your brother.(BL)
But when you grow restless,
you will throw his yoke
from off your neck.(BM)”
41 Esau held a grudge(BN) against Jacob(BO) because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning(BP) for my father are near; then I will kill(BQ) my brother Jacob.”(BR)
42 When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau(BS) had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you.(BT) 43 Now then, my son, do what I say:(BU) Flee at once to my brother Laban(BV) in Harran.(BW) 44 Stay with him for a while(BX) until your brother’s fury subsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him,(BY) I’ll send word for you to come back from there.(BZ) Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite(CA) women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land,(CB) from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”(CC)
Footnotes
- Genesis 27:36 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
Psalm 18:31-51
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 18:31-51
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
31 God’s way is unerring;
the Lord’s promise is refined;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.(A)
IV
32 Truly, who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is the rock?(B)
33 This God who girded me with might,
kept my way unerring,
34 Who made my feet like a deer’s,
and set me on the heights,(C)
35 Who trained my hands for war,
my arms to string a bow of bronze.[a](D)
V
36 You have given me your saving shield;
your right hand has upheld me;
your favor made me great.
37 You made room for my steps beneath me;
my ankles never twisted.(E)
38 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
I did not turn back till I destroyed them.
39 I decimated them; they could not rise;
they fell at my feet.
40 You girded me with valor for war,
subjugated my opponents beneath me.
41 You made my foes expose their necks to me;
those who hated me I silenced.
42 They cried for help, but no one saved them;
cried to the Lord but received no answer.
43 I ground them to dust before the wind;
I left them like mud in the streets.
44 You rescued me from the strife of peoples;
you made me head over nations.
A people I had not known served me;
45 as soon as they heard of me they obeyed.
Foreigners submitted before me;
46 foreigners cringed;
they came cowering from their dungeons.(F)
VI
47 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock!(G)
Exalted be God, my savior!
48 O God who granted me vengeance,
made peoples subject to me,(H)
49 and saved me from my enemies,
Truly you have elevated me above my opponents,
from a man of lawlessness you have rescued me.
50 Thus I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing praises to your name.(I)
51 You have given great victories to your king,
and shown mercy to his anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.(J)
Footnotes
- 18:35 Bow of bronze: hyperbole for a bow difficult to bend and therefore capable of propelling an arrow with great force.
Psalm 18:31-50
New International Version
Psalm 18:31-50
New International Version
31 For who is God besides the Lord?(A)
And who is the Rock(B) except our God?
32 It is God who arms me with strength(C)
and keeps my way secure.(D)
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;(E)
he causes me to stand on the heights.(F)
34 He trains my hands for battle;(G)
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You make your saving help my shield,
and your right hand sustains(H) me;
your help has made me great.
36 You provide a broad path(I) for my feet,
so that my ankles do not give way.(J)
37 I pursued my enemies(K) and overtook them;
I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them(L) so that they could not rise;(M)
they fell beneath my feet.(N)
39 You armed me with strength(O) for battle;
you humbled my adversaries(P) before me.
40 You made my enemies turn their backs(Q) in flight,
and I destroyed(R) my foes.
41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them(S)—
to the Lord, but he did not answer.(T)
42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;(U)
I trampled them[a] like mud in the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
you have made me the head of nations.(V)
People I did not know(W) now serve me,
44 foreigners(X) cower before me;
as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
45 They all lose heart;(Y)
they come trembling(Z) from their strongholds.(AA)
46 The Lord lives!(AB) Praise be to my Rock!(AC)
Exalted be God(AD) my Savior!(AE)
47 He is the God who avenges(AF) me,
who subdues nations(AG) under me,
48 who saves(AH) me from my enemies.(AI)
You exalted me above my foes;
from a violent man(AJ) you rescued me.
49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;(AK)
I will sing(AL) the praises of your name.(AM)
Footnotes
- Psalm 18:42 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Targum (see also 2 Samuel 22:43); Masoretic Text I poured them out
Matthew 11:16-30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Matthew 11:16-30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
16 (A)“To what shall I compare this generation?[a] It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’(B) 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”(C)
Reproaches to Unrepentant Towns. 20 (D)Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon,[b] they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.(E) 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 [c]And as for you, Capernaum:
‘Will you be exalted to heaven?(F)
You will go down to the netherworld.’
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”(G)
The Praise of the Father. 25 (H)At that time Jesus said in reply,[d] “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. 26 Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.(I)
The Gentle Mastery of Christ. 28 [e]“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,[f] and I will give you rest. 29 [g](J)Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 11:16–19 See Lk 7:31–35. The meaning of the parable (Mt 11:16–17) and its explanation (Mt 11:18–19b) is much disputed. A plausible view is that the children of the parable are two groups, one of which proposes different entertainments to the other that will not agree with either proposal. The first represents John, Jesus, and their disciples; the second those who reject John for his asceticism and Jesus for his table association with those despised by the religiously observant. Mt 11:19c (her works) forms an inclusion with Mt 11:2 (“the works of the Messiah”). The original form of the saying is better preserved in Lk 7:35 “…wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” There John and Jesus are the children of Wisdom; here the works of Jesus the Messiah are those of divine Wisdom, of which he is the embodiment. Some important textual witnesses, however, have essentially the same reading as in Luke.
- 11:21 Tyre and Sidon were pagan cities denounced for their wickedness in the Old Testament; cf. Jl 4:4–7.
- 11:23 Capernaum’s pride and punishment are described in language taken from the taunt song against the king of Babylon (Is 14:13–15).
- 11:25–27 This Q saying, identical with Lk 10:21–22 except for minor variations, introduces a joyous note into this section, so dominated by the theme of unbelief. While the wise and the learned, the scribes and Pharisees, have rejected Jesus’ preaching and the significance of his mighty deeds, the childlike have accepted them. Acceptance depends upon the Father’s revelation, but this is granted to those who are open to receive it and refused to the arrogant. Jesus can speak of all mysteries because he is the Son and there is perfect reciprocity of knowledge between him and the Father; what has been handed over to him is revealed only to those whom he wishes.
- 11:28–29 These verses are peculiar to Matthew and are similar to Ben Sirach’s invitation to learn wisdom and submit to her yoke (Sir 51:23, 26).
- 11:28 Who labor and are burdened: burdened by the law as expounded by the scribes and Pharisees (Mt 23:4).
- 11:29 In place of the yoke of the law, complicated by scribal interpretation, Jesus invites the burdened to take the yoke of obedience to his word, under which they will find rest; cf. Jer 6:16.
Matthew 11:16-30
New International Version
Matthew 11:16-30
New International Version
16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
17 “‘We played the pipe for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not mourn.’
18 For John came neither eating(A) nor drinking,(B) and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’(C) But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”
Woe on Unrepentant Towns(D)
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!(E) For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon,(F) they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.(G) 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.(H) 23 And you, Capernaum,(I) will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.[a](J) For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”(K)
The Father Revealed in the Son(L)
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father,(M) Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.(N) 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
27 “All things have been committed to me(O) by my Father.(P) No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.(Q)
28 “Come to me,(R) all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.(S) 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,(T) for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.(U) 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”(V)
Footnotes
- Matthew 11:23 That is, the realm of the dead
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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