Genesis 27:1-40
Legacy Standard Bible
Isaac Calls to Bless Esau
27 Now it happened that when Isaac was old and (A)his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his (B)older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 2 [a](C)And Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old, and I do not know the day of my death. 3 So now, please take up your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and (D)hunt game for me; 4 and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that (E)my soul may bless you before I die.”
5 Now Rebekah was listening while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. Then Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring to Isaac. 6 (F)But Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob, saying, “Behold, I heard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying, 7 ‘Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat and bless you in the presence of Yahweh before my death.’ 8 So now, my son, (G)listen to my voice [b]as I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and [c]get for me two choice [d]young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11 Then Jacob [e]answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a (H)hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 (I)Perhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a mocker in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only (J)listen to my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a savory dish such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the [f]best (K)garments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and she put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the [g]young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 She also gave the savory dish and the bread, which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.
Isaac Blesses Jacob and Esau
18 Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. (L)Rise up, please, sit and eat of my game, that (M)your soul may bless me.” 20 Then Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “(N)Because Yahweh your God caused it to happen to me.” 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that (O)I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob came near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him because his hands were (P)hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” 25 So he said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that (Q)my soul may bless you.” And he brought it near to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and then he (R)blessed him and said,
“See, (S)the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field (T)which Yahweh has blessed;
28 Now may (U)God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the (V)fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
29 (W)May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
(X)Be master of your brothers,
(Y)And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
(Z)Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”
30 Now it happened that as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 Then he also made a savory dish and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “(AA)Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that (AB)your soul may bless me.” 32 And Isaac his father said to him, “(AC)Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, (AD)your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac [h]trembled exceedingly violently and said, “(AE)Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate of all of it before you came and blessed him? (AF)Indeed, he shall be blessed.” 34 As Esau heard the words of his father, (AG)he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, me also, O my father!” 35 And he said, “(AH)Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36 Then he said, “[i]Is he not rightly named (AI)Jacob, for he has supplanted me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 But Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him (AJ)your master, and all his fellow brothers I have given to him [j]as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?” 38 And Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” So Esau lifted his voice and (AK)wept.
39 Then (AL)Isaac his father answered and said to him,
“Behold, [k](AM)away from the fatness of the earth shall be your habitation,
And [l]away from the dew of heaven from above.
40 By your sword you shall live,
And your brother (AN)you shall serve;
But it shall be (AO)when you become restless,
That you will [m]break his yoke from your neck.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 27:2 Lit He
- Genesis 27:8 Lit according to what
- Genesis 27:9 Lit take
- Genesis 27:9 Lit kids of goats
- Genesis 27:11 Lit said to
- Genesis 27:15 Or choice, cf. 3:6; lit desirable
- Genesis 27:16 Lit kids of the goats
- Genesis 27:33 Lit trembled with a very great trembling
- Genesis 27:36 Or Was he then named Jacob that he has
- Genesis 27:37 Lit for
- Genesis 27:39 Or of
- Genesis 27:39 Or of
- Genesis 27:40 Lit tear off
Genesis 27:1-40
New Living Translation
Jacob Steals Esau’s Blessing
27 One day when Isaac was old and turning blind, he called for Esau, his older son, and said, “My son.”
“Yes, Father?” Esau replied.
2 “I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and I don’t know when I may die. 3 Take your bow and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the open country to hunt some wild game for me. 4 Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before I die.”
5 But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob, “Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau, 7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ 8 Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats. I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite dish. 10 Then take the food to your father so he can eat it and bless you before he dies.”
11 “But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. 12 What if my father touches me? He’ll see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll curse me instead of blessing me.”
13 But his mother replied, “Then let the curse fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go out and get the goats for me!”
14 So Jacob went out and got the young goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac liked it. 15 Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes, which were there in the house, and gave them to her younger son, Jacob. 16 She covered his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skin of the young goats. 17 Then she gave Jacob the delicious meal, including freshly baked bread.
18 So Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said.
“Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”
19 Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me your blessing.”
20 Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God put it in my path!” Jacob replied.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so I can touch you and make sure that you really are Esau.” 22 So Jacob went closer to his father, and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau’s,” Isaac said. 23 But he did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared to bless Jacob. 24 “But are you really my son Esau?” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” Jacob replied.
25 Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food to his father, and Isaac ate it. He also drank the wine that Jacob served him. 26 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss me, my son.”
27 So Jacob went over and kissed him. And when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he was finally convinced, and he blessed his son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has blessed!
28 “From the dew of heaven
and the richness of the earth,
may God always give you abundant harvests of grain
and bountiful new wine.
29 May many nations become your servants,
and may they bow down to you.
May you be the master over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
All who curse you will be cursed,
and all who bless you will be blessed.”
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau returned from his hunt. 31 Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so you can give me your blessing.”
32 But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn son, Esau.”
33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!”
34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what about me? Bless me, too!” he begged.
35 But Isaac said, “Your brother was here, and he tricked me. He has taken away your blessing.”
36 Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice.[a] First he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me?”
37 Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?”
38 Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then Esau broke down and wept.
39 Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him,
“You will live away from the richness of the earth,
and away from the dew of the heaven above.
40 You will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you decide to break free,
you will shake his yoke from your neck.”
Footnotes
- 27:36 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
