Genesis 25
Young's Literal Translation
25 And Abraham addeth and taketh a wife, and her name [is] Keturah;
2 and she beareth to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 And Jokshan hath begotten Sheba and Dedan; and the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim;
4 and the sons of Midian [are] Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah: all these [are] sons of Keturah.
5 And Abraham giveth all that he hath to Isaac;
6 and to the sons of the concubines whom Abraham hath, Abraham hath given gifts, and sendeth them away from Isaac his son (in his being yet alive) eastward, unto the east country.
7 And these [are] the days of the years of the life of Abraham, which he lived, a hundred and seventy and five years;
8 and Abraham expireth, and dieth in a good old age, aged and satisfied, and is gathered unto his people.
9 And Isaac and Ishmael his sons bury him at the cave of Machpelah, at the field of Ephron, son of Zoar the Hittite, which [is] before Mamre --
10 the field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth -- there hath Abraham been buried, and Sarah his wife.
11 And it cometh to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blesseth Isaac his son; and Isaac dwelleth by the Well of the Living One, my Beholder.
12 And these [are] births of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handmaid, hath borne to Abraham;
13 and these [are] the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their births: first-born 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 sons of Ishmael, and these their names, by their villages, and by their towers; twelve princes according to their peoples.
17 And these [are] the years of the life of Ishmael, a hundred and thirty and seven years; and he expireth, and dieth, and is gathered unto his people;
18 and they tabernacle from Havilah unto Shur, which [is] before Egypt, in [thy] going towards Asshur; in the presence of all his brethren hath he fallen.
19 And these [are] births of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham hath begotten Isaac;
20 and Isaac is a son of forty years in his taking Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramaean, from Padan-Aram, sister of Laban the Aramaean, to him for a wife.
21 And Isaac maketh entreaty to Jehovah before his wife, for she [is] barren: and Jehovah is entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceiveth,
22 and the children struggle together within her, and she saith, `If [it is] right -- why [am] I thus?' and she goeth to seek Jehovah.
23 And Jehovah saith to her, `Two nations [are] in thy womb, and two peoples from thy bowels are parted; and the [one] people than the [other] people is stronger; and the elder doth serve the younger.'
24 And her days to bear are fulfilled, and lo, twins [are] in her womb;
25 and the first cometh out all red as a hairy robe, and they call his name Esau;
26 and afterwards hath his brother come out, and his hand is taking hold on Esau's heel, and one calleth his name Jacob; and Isaac [is] a son of sixty years in her bearing them.
27 And the youths grew, and Esau is a man acquainted [with] hunting, a man of the field; and Jacob [is] a plain man, inhabiting tents;
28 and Isaac loveth Esau, for [his] hunting [is] in his mouth; and Rebekah is loving Jacob.
29 And Jacob boileth pottage, and Esau cometh in from the field, and he [is] weary;
30 and Esau saith unto Jacob, `Let me eat, I pray thee, some of this red red thing, for I [am] weary;' therefore hath [one] called his name Edom [Red];
31 and Jacob saith, `Sell to-day thy birthright to me.'
32 And Esau saith, `Lo, I am going to die, and what is this to me -- birthright?'
33 and Jacob saith, `Swear to me to-day:' and he sweareth to him, and selleth his birthright to Jacob;
34 and Jacob hath given to Esau bread and pottage of lentiles, and he eateth, and drinketh, and riseth, and goeth; and Esau despiseth the birthright.
Genesis 25
International Children’s Bible
Abraham’s Family
25 Abraham married again. His new wife was Keturah. 2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the people of Assyria, Letush and Leum. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah. 5 Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. 6 But before Abraham died, he did give gifts to the sons of his other wives. Abraham sent them to the East to be away from Isaac.
7 Abraham lived to be 175 years old. 8 He breathed his last breath and died at an old age. He had lived a long and satisfying life. 9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah. This cave is in the field of Ephron east of Mamre. Ephron was the son of Zohar the Hittite. 10 This is the same field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah. 11 After Abraham died, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac was now living at Beer Lahai Roi.
12 This is the family history of Ishmael, Abraham’s son. (Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant, was Ishmael’s mother.) 13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons in the order they were born. The first son was Nebaioth. Then came Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. 16 These were Ishmael’s sons. And these are the names of the tribal leaders. They are listed according to their settlements and camps. 17 Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he breathed his last breath and died. 18 Ishmael’s descendants lived from Havilah to Shur. This is east of Egypt stretching toward Assyria. Ishmael’s descendants often attacked the descendants of his brothers.
Isaac’s Family
19 This is the family history of Isaac. Abraham had a son named Isaac. 20 When Isaac was 40 years old, he married Rebekah. Rebekah was from Northwest Mesopotamia. She was Bethuel’s daughter and the sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac’s wife could not have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant.
22 While she was pregnant, the babies struggled inside her. She asked, “Why is this happening to me?” Then she went to get an answer from the Lord.
23 The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your body.
Two groups of people will be taken from you.
One group will be stronger than the other.
The older will serve the younger.”
24 And when the time came, Rebekah gave birth to twins. 25 The first baby was born red. His skin was like a hairy robe. So he was named Esau.[a] 26 When the second baby was born, he was holding on to Esau’s heel. So that baby was named Jacob.[b] Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.
27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled hunter. He loved to be out in the fields. But Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed among the tents. 28 Isaac loved Esau. Esau hunted the wild animals that Isaac enjoyed eating. But Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 One day Jacob was boiling a pot of vegetable soup. Esau came in from hunting in the fields. He was weak from hunger. 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red soup. I am weak with hunger.” (That is why people call him Edom.[c])
31 But Jacob said, “You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son.”[d]
32 Esau said, “I am almost dead from hunger. If I die, all of my father’s wealth will not help me.”
33 But Jacob said, “First, promise me that you will give it to me.” So Esau made a promise to Jacob. In this way he sold his part of their father’s wealth to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and vegetable soup. Esau ate and drank and then left. So Esau showed how little he cared about his rights as the firstborn son.
Footnotes
- 25:25 Esau This name may mean “hairy.”
- 25:26 Jacob This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “heel.” “Grabbing someone’s heel” is a Hebrew saying for tricking someone.
- 25:30 Edom This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “red.”
- 25:31 rights . . . son Usually the firstborn son had a high rank in the family. The firstborn son usually became the new head of the family.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
