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27 And it came to pass when Isaac had become old, and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, that he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, My son! And he said to him, Here am I.

And he said, Behold now, I am become old; I know not the day of my death.

And now, I pray thee, take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and hunt me venison,

and prepare me a savoury dish such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, in order that my soul may bless thee before I die.

And Rebecca heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt venison, to bring it.

And Rebecca spoke to Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak to Esau thy brother, saying,

Bring me venison, and prepare me a savoury dish, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah, before my death.

And now, my son, hearken to my voice in that which I command thee.

Go, I pray thee, to the flock, and fetch me thence two good kids of the goats. And I will make of them a savoury dish for thy father, such as he loves.

10 And thou shalt bring [it] to thy father, that he may eat, in order that he may bless thee before his death.

11 And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

12 My father perhaps will feel me, and I shall be in his sight as one who mocks [him], and I shall bring a curse on me, and not a blessing.

13 And his mother said to him, On me [be] thy curse, my son! Only hearken to my voice, and go, fetch [them].

14 And he went, and fetched and brought [them] to his mother. And his mother prepared a savoury dish such as his father loved.

15 And Rebecca took the clothes of her elder son Esau, the costly ones which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son;

16 and she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck;

17 and she gave the savoury dishes and the bread that she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.

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

19 And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau, thy firstborn. I have done according as thou didst say to me. Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, in order that thy soul may bless me.

20 And Isaac said to his son, How is it that thou hast found [it] so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God put [it] in my way.

21 And Isaac said to Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be really my son Esau or not.

22 And Jacob drew near to 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 did not discern him, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands; and he blessed him.

24 And he said, Art thou really my son Esau? And he said, It is I.

25 And he said, Bring [it] near to me, that I may eat of my son's venison, in order that my soul may bless thee. And he brought [it] near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

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

27 And he came near, and kissed him. And he smelt the smell of his clothes, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed.

28 And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of corn and new wine.

29 Let peoples serve thee, And races bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be they that curse thee, And blessed be they that bless thee.

30 And it came to pass when Isaac had ended blessing Jacob, and when Jacob was only just gone out from Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came from his hunting.

31 And he also had prepared savoury dishes, and he brought [them] in to his father, and said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son's venison, in order that thy soul may bless me.

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

33 Then Isaac trembled with exceeding great trembling, and said, Who was he, then, that hunted venison and brought [it] to me? And I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him; also blessed he shall be.

34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me—me also, my father!

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

36 And he said, Is it not therefore he was named Jacob, for he has supplanted me now twice? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

37 And Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him lord over thee, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and new wine have I supplied him—and what can I do now for thee, my son?

38 And Esau said to his father, Hast thou then but one blessing, my father? bless me—me also, my father! And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

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

40 And by thy sword shalt thou live; And thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass when thou rovest about, That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand, and I will slay my brother Jacob.

42 And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebecca. And she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, comforts himself that he will kill thee.

43 And now, my son, hearken to my voice, and arise, flee to Laban my brother, to Haran;

44 and abide with him some days, until thy brother's fury turn away—

45 until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget what thou hast done to him; then I will send and fetch thee thence. Why should I be bereaved even of you both in one day?

46 And Rebecca said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good should my life do me?

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.

Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death.(C) Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country(D) to hunt some wild game for me. 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)

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, Rebekah said to her son Jacob,(I) “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘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) Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you:(K) 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

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