Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

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.

^7 (A)What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? ^(B)May it never be! Rather, ^(C)I would not have come to know sin except ^[a]through the Law. For I would not have known about ^[b]coveting if the Law had not said, “^(D)You shall not ^[c]covet.” ⁸ But sin, ^(E)taking opportunity ^(F)through the commandment, worked out in me ^[d]coveting of every kind. For ^(G)apart ^[e]from the Law sin is dead. ⁹ Now I was once alive apart ^[f]from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; ¹⁰ and this commandment, which was ^[g](H)to lead to life, was found ^[h]to lead to death for me. ¹¹ For sin, ^(I)taking an opportunity ^(J)through the commandment, ^(K)deceived me and through it killed me. ^12 (L)So, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

The Conflict of Two Natures

¹³ Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? ^(M)May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by working out my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would ^[i]become utterly sinful.

¹⁴ For we know that the Law is ^(N)spiritual, but I am ^(O)fleshly, ^(P)having been sold ^[j](Q)into bondage under sin. ¹⁵ For what I am working out, ^(R)I do not understand; for I am not practicing ^(S)what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ But if I do the very thing I do not want, I agree with ^(T)the Law, that it is good. ¹⁷ So now, ^(U)no longer am I the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my ^(V)flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the working out of the good is not. ¹⁹ For ^(W)the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. ²⁰ But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, ^(X)I am no longer the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me.