Esau's Descendants

36 These are the generations of Esau (that is, ^(A)Edom).

¹⁷ I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring ^(A)as the stars of heaven and ^(B)as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess ^(C)the gate of his^[a] enemies,

^35 (A)The sons of Esau: Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

The Lord's Day of Vengeance

⁷ “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for ^(A)he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because ^(B)you were a sojourner in his land.

Edom Refuses Passage

^14 (A)Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to ^(B)the king of Edom: “Thus says ^(C)your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: ^15 (D)how our fathers went down to Egypt, ^(E)and we lived in Egypt a long time. ^(F)And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. ¹⁶ And ^(G)when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and ^(H)sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. ^17 (I)Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, ^(J)or drink water from a well. We will go along the King's Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” ¹⁸ But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” ¹⁹ And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, ^(K)and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, ^(L)then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” ²⁰ But he said, ^(M)“You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. ²¹ Thus Edom ^(N)refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel ^(O)turned away from him.

²⁴ When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ The first came out red, ^(A)all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out with ^(B)his hand holding Esau's heel, so ^(C)his name was called Jacob.^[a] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ When the boys grew up, Esau was ^(D)a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, ^(E)dwelling in tents. ²⁸ Isaac loved Esau because ^(F)he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. ³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.^[b]) ³¹ Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” ³² Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” ³³ Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and ^(G)sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

³ And Jacob sent^[a] messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of ^(A)Seir, the country of Edom, ⁴ instructing them, “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob, ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed until now. ⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants. I have sent to tell my lord, in order that ^(B)I may find favor in your sight.’”

⁶ And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and ^(C)he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.” ⁷ Then Jacob was ^(D)greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,

³⁵ But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” ³⁶ Esau said, ^(A)“Is he not rightly named Jacob?^[a] For he has cheated me these two times. ^(B)He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, ^(C)I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and ^(D)with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” ³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” And ^(E)Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

⁴¹ Now Esau ^(I)hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ^(J)“The days of mourning for my father are approaching; ^(K)then I will kill my brother Jacob.”