¹² What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”

¹⁸ ‘Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

²² Stay away from every kind of evil.

⁸ We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors.

¹⁴ “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!

³⁶ Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice.^[a] First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁷ As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.

²¹ Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” ²² So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said.