¹⁹ This is the ^(A)genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. ^(B)Abraham begot Isaac. ²⁰ Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, ^(C)the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, ^(D)the sister of Laban the Syrian. ²¹ Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; ^(E)and the Lord granted his plea, ^(F)and Rebekah his wife conceived. ²² But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” ^(G)So she went to inquire of the Lord.

²³ And the Lord said to her:

²⁴ So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. ²⁵ And the first came out red. He was ^(K)like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name ^[a]Esau. ²⁶ Afterward his brother came out, and ^(L)his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so ^(M)his name was called ^[b]Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

²⁷ So the boys grew. And Esau was ^(N)a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was ^(O)a ^[c]mild man, ^(P)dwelling in tents. ²⁸ And Isaac loved Esau because he ^(Q)ate of his game, ^(R)but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright^(S)

²⁹ Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. ³⁰ And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called ^[d]Edom.

³¹ But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

³² And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so ^(T)what is this birthright to me?”

³³ Then Jacob said, ^[e]“Swear to me as of this day.”

So he swore to him, and ^(U)sold his birthright to Jacob. ³⁴ And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then ^(V)he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau ^(W)despised his birthright.

²⁷ So the boys grew. And Esau was ^(A)a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was ^(B)a ^[a]mild man, ^(C)dwelling in tents.

Esau Marries Mahalath

⁶ Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” ⁷ and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. ⁸ Also Esau saw ^(A)that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. ⁹ So Esau went to Ishmael and ^(B)took ^(C)Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, ^(D)the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

³ Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother ^(A)in the land of Seir, ^(B)the ^[a]country of Edom. ⁴ And he commanded them, saying, ^(C)“Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now. ^5 (D)I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that ^(E)I may find favor in your sight.” ’ ”

⁶ Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and ^(F)he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” ⁷ So Jacob was greatly afraid and ^(G)distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. ⁸ And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and ^[b]attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”

^9 (H)Then Jacob said, ^(I)“O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord ^(J)who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: ¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the ^(K)mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with ^(L)my staff, and now I have become two companies. ^11 (M)Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and ^[c]attack me and ^(N)the mother with the children. ¹² For ^(O)You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the ^(P)sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”

¹³ So he lodged there that same night, and took what ^[d]came to his hand as ^(Q)a present for Esau his brother: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals. ¹⁶ Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.” ¹⁷ And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose are these in front of you?’ ¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s. It is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also is behind us.’ ” ¹⁹ So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him; ²⁰ and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will ^(R)appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.” ²¹ So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

Jacob and Esau Meet

33 Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and there, ^(A)Esau was coming, and with him were four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants. ² And he put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³ Then he crossed over before them and ^(B)bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.

^4 (C)But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, ^(D)and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. ⁵ And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children, and said, “Who are these with you?”

So he said, “The children ^(E)whom God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶ Then the maidservants came near, they and their children, and bowed down. ⁷ And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near, and they bowed down.

⁸ Then Esau said, “What do you mean by ^(F)all this company which I met?”

And he said, “These are ^(G)to find favor in the sight of my lord.”

⁹ But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”

¹⁰ And Jacob said, “No, please, if I have now found favor in your sight, then receive my present from my hand, inasmuch as I ^(H)have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God, and you were pleased with me. ¹¹ Please, take ^(I)my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt ^(J)graciously with me, and because I have ^[a]enough.” ^(K)So he urged him, and he took it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us take our journey; let us go, and I will go before you.”

¹³ But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are weak, and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me. And if the men should drive them hard one day, all the flock will die. ¹⁴ Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant. I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me, and the children, ^[b]are able to endure, until I come to my lord ^(L)in Seir.”

¹⁵ And Esau said, “Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.”

But he said, “What need is there? ^(M)Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” ¹⁶ So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.