Genesis 25
English Standard Version
Abraham's Death and His Descendants
25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. 2 (A)She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 (B)Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. 6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he (C)sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward (D)to the east country.
7 These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years. 8 Abraham (E)breathed his last and (F)died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael (G)his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, 10 the field (H)that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. (I)There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at (J)Beer-lahai-roi.
12 These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, (K)whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham. 13 (L)These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: (M)Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and (N)Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, (O)Tema, (P)Jetur, (Q)Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, (R)twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He (S)breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) 18 (T)They settled from Havilah to (U)Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled[a] over against all his kinsmen.
The Birth of Esau and Jacob
19 These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: (V)Abraham fathered Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, (W)the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of (X)Paddan-aram, (Y)the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. 21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And (Z)the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”[b] So she went (AA)to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,
(AB)“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you[c] shall be divided;
(AC)the one shall be stronger than the other,
(AD)the older shall serve the younger.”
24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, (AE)all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with (AF)his hand holding Esau's heel, so (AG)his name was called Jacob.[d] Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
27 When the boys grew up, Esau was (AH)a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, (AI)dwelling in tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau because (AJ)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.[e]) 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 (AK)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.
Footnotes
- Genesis 25:18 Hebrew fell
- Genesis 25:22 Or why do I live?
- Genesis 25:23 Or from birth
- Genesis 25:26 Jacob means He takes by the heel, or He cheats
- Genesis 25:30 Edom sounds like the Hebrew for red
Genesis 25
Contemporary English Version
Abraham Marries Keturah
25 Abraham married Keturah, 2 and they had six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Later, Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan, and when Dedan grew up, he had three sons: Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 Midian also had five sons: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah.
5-6 While Abraham was still alive, he gave gifts to the sons of Hagar and Keturah. He also sent their sons to live in the east far from his son Isaac, and when Abraham died, he left everything to Isaac.
The Death of Abraham
7-8 Abraham died at the ripe old age of 175. 9-10 (A) His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him east of Hebron[a] in Machpelah Cave that was part of the field Abraham had bought from Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. Abraham was buried there beside his wife Sarah. 11 God blessed Isaac after this, and Isaac moved to a place called “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.”[b]
Ishmael's Descendants
12 Ishmael was the son of Abraham and Hagar, the slave woman of Sarah. 13 Ishmael had twelve sons, in this order: Nebaioth, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 Each of Ishmael's sons was a tribal chief, and a village was named after each of them.
17-18 Ishmael had settled in the land east of his brothers, and his sons[c] settled everywhere from Havilah to Shur, east of Egypt on the way to Asshur.[d] Ishmael was 137 when he died.
The Birth of Esau and Jacob
19 Isaac was the son of Abraham, 20 and he was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel. She was also the sister of Laban, the Aramean from northern Syria.[e]
Almost 20 years later, 21 Rebekah still had no children. So Isaac asked the Lord to let her have a child, and the Lord answered his prayer.
22 Before Rebekah gave birth, she knew she was going to have twins, because she could feel them inside her, fighting each other. She thought, “Why is this happening to me?” Finally, she asked the Lord why her twins were fighting, 23 (B) and he told her:
“Your two sons will become
two separate nations.[f]
The younger of the two
will be stronger,
and the older son
will be his servant.”
24 When Rebekah gave birth, 25 the first baby was covered with red hair, so he was named Esau.[g] 26 The second baby grabbed on to his brother's heel, so they named him Jacob.[h] Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.
Esau Sells His Rights as the First-Born Son
27 As Jacob and Esau grew older, Esau liked the outdoors and became a good hunter, while Jacob lived the quiet life of a shepherd.[i] 28 Esau would take the meat of wild animals to his father Isaac, so Isaac loved him more, but Jacob was his mother's favorite son.
29 One day, when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came home hungry 30 and said, “I'm starving to death! Here and now give me some of that red stew!” That's how Esau got the name “Edom.”[j]
31 Jacob replied, “Sell me your rights as the first-born son.”[k]
32 “I'm about to die,” Esau answered. “What good will those rights do me?”
33 (C) But Jacob said, “Promise me your birthrights, here and now!” And that's what Esau did. 34 Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the bean stew, and when Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the first-born.
Footnotes
- 25.9,10 Hebron: See the note at 23.16-18.
- 25.11 The Well … Sees Me: Or “Beer-Lahai-Roi,” (see 16.14).
- 25.17,18 sons: Or “descendants.”
- 25.17,18 Havilah to Shur … Asshur: The exact location of these places is not known.
- 25.20 northern Syria: See the note at 24.10.
- 25.23 two separate nations: Or “two nations always in conflict.”
- 25.25 Esau: In Hebrew “Esau” sounds like “hairy.”
- 25.26 Jacob: In Hebrew “Jacob” sounds like “heel.”
- 25.27 of a shepherd: Hebrew “in tents.”
- 25.30 Edom: In Hebrew “Edom” sounds like “red.”
- 25.31 rights … son: The first-born son inherited the largest amount of property, as well as the leadership of the family.
Genesis 25
King James Version
25 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
2 And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim.
4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.
8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;
10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.
12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, bare unto Abraham:
13 And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
15 Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah:
16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people.
18 And they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is before Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria: and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begat Isaac:
20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.
21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the Lord.
23 And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
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