Genesis 27

CHAPTER 27

1Forsooth Isaac waxed eld [or old], and his eyes dimmed, and he might not see. And he called Esau, his more or older son, and said to him, My son! Which answered, I am present.

2To whom the father said, Thou seest that I have waxed eld, and I know not the day of my death#27:2 Isaac would still be alive more than 20 years after this event(!)..

3Take thine arms, an arrow case, and a bow, and go out; and when thou hast taken anything by hunting,

4make me a stew thereof, as thou knowest that I will or desire, and bring it to me that I eat, that my soul bless thee before that I die.

5And when Rebecca had heard this thing, and he had gone forth into the field that he fulfill the behest of his father,

6she said to her son Jacob, I heard thy father speaking with Esau, thy brother, and saying to him,

7Bring thou to me of thine hunting, and make thou meats, that I eat, and that I bless thee before the Lord before that I die.

8Now therefore, my son, assent to my counsels,

9and go to the flock, and bring to me twain [or two] of the best kids, that I make meats of those to thy father, which he shall eat gladly;

10and that when thou hast brought in those meats, and he hath eaten, he bless thee before that he die.

11To whom Jacob answered, Thou knowest that Esau my brother is an hairy man, and I am smooth;

12if my father shall touch or draw me to him, and feel me, I dread lest he guess that I would scorn him, and he bring in cursing on me for blessing.

13To whom his mother said, My son, this cursing be in me; only hear thou my voice, and go, and bring that that I said.

14He went, and brought it, and gave it to his mother. She made ready meats, as she knew that his father would have,

15and she clothed Jacob in [the] full good clothes of Esau, which she had at home with herself.

16And she wrapped his hands about with little skins of goat kids, and covered the nakedness of his neck;

17and she gave to him the stew, and betook him [the] loaves, which she had baked.

18And when these were brought in, he said, My father! And he answered, I am here; who art thou, my son?

19And Jacob said, I am Esau, thy first begotten son. I have done to thee as thou commandedest to me; rise thou up, and sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul bless me.

20Again Isaac said to his son, My son, how mightest thou find this venison so soon? Which answered, It was God’s will, that this thing that I would, should come soon to me.

21And Isaac said, My son, come thou hither, that I touch thee, and that I prove whether thou be my son Esau, or nay.

22Jacob nighed to his father; and when Isaac had feeled him, he said, Soothly the voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands be the hands of Esau.

23And Isaac knew not Jacob, for the hairy hands showed the likeness of the elder son. Therefore Isaac blessed Jacob,

24and said again, Art thou my son Esau? Jacob answered, I am.

25And Isaac said, My son, bring thou to me meats of thine hunting, that my soul bless thee. And when Isaac had eaten these meats brought, Jacob brought also wine to Isaac, and when this was drunken,

26Isaac said to him, My son, come thou hither, and give to me a kiss.

27Jacob nighed, and kissed him; and anon as Isaac feeled the odour of his clothes, he blessed him, and said, Lo! the odour of my son as the odour of a plenteous field which the Lord hath blessed.

28God give to thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of [the] earth, abundance [or plenty] of wheat, and of wine, and of oil;

29and peoples serve thee, and lineages worship thee; be thou lord of thy brethren, and the sons of thy mother be bowed before thee; be he cursed that curseth thee, and he that blesseth thee, be he [full-]filled with blessings.

30Scarcely Isaac had filled the word, and when Jacob was gone out, Esau came,

31and brought in meats sodden of the hunting to the father, and said, My father, rise thou, and eat of the hunting of thy son, that thy soul bless me.

32And Isaac said, Who art thou? Which answered, I am Esau, thy first begotten son.

33Isaac dreaded with a great aston-ishing; and he wondered more than it may be believed, and said, Who therefore is he which a while ago brought to me venison taken, and I ate of all things before that thou camest; and I blessed him? and he shall be blessed.

34When the words of the father were heard, Esau roared with a great cry, and was astonied, and said, My father, bless thou also me.

35Which said, Thy brother came prudently [or beguilingly], and took thy blessing.

36And Esau added, Justly his name is called Jacob, for lo! he [hath] supplanted me another time; before he took away my first begotten things, and now the second time, he [hath] ravished privily my blessing. And again he said to the father, Whether thou hast not reserved a blessing also to me?

37Isaac answered, I have made him thy lord, and I have made subject all his brethren to his servage; I have stablished him in wheat, and wine, and oil; and so, my son, what shall I do to thee after these things?

38To whom Esau said, Father, whether thou hast only one blessing? I beseech thee, that also thou bless me. And when Esau wept with great yelling,

39Isaac was stirred, and said to him, Thy blessing shall not be in the fatness of [the] earth, and in the dew of heaven from above;

40thou shalt live by sword, and thou shalt serve thy brother, and time shall come when thou shalt shake away, and unbind his yoke from [off] thy nolls.

41Therefore Esau hated evermore Jacob for the blessing by which the father had blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning of my father shall come, and I shall slay Jacob, my brother.

42These things were told to Rebecca, and she sent, and called her son Jacob, and said to him, Lo! Esau, thy brother, menaceth [or threateneth] to slay thee;

43now therefore, my son, hear thou my voice, and rise thou up, and flee to Laban, my brother, into Haran;

44and thou shalt dwell with him a few days, till the strong vengeance of thy brother rest, and his indignation cease,

45and till he forget those things which thou hast done against him. Afterward I shall send, and I shall bring thee from thence hither. Why shall I be made sonless of ever either son in one day?

46And Rebecca said to Isaac, It annoyeth or vexeth me of my life for the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the kindred of this land, I will not live.

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Genesis 27

Jacob acquires his father’s blessing

1When Isaac had grown old and his eyesight was failing, he summoned his older son Esau and said to him, “My son?”

And Esau said, “I’m here.”

2He said, “I’m old and don’t know when I will die. 3So now, take your hunting gear, your bow and quiver of arrows, go out to the field, and hunt game for me. 4Make me the delicious food that I love and bring it to me so I can eat. Then I can bless you before I die.”

5Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau went out to the field to hunt game to bring back, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I just heard your father saying to your brother Esau, 7‘Bring me some game and make me some delicious food so I can eat, and I will bless you in the LORD’s presence before I die.’ 8Now, my son, listen to me, to what I’m telling you to do. 9Go to the flock and get me two healthy young goats so I can prepare them as the delicious food your father loves. 10You can bring it to your father, he will eat, and then he will bless you before he dies.”

11Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, but I have smooth skin. 12What if my father touches me and thinks I’m making fun of him? I will be cursed instead of blessed.”

13His mother said to him, “Your curse will be on me, my son. Just listen to me: go and get them for me.” 14So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food that his father loved. 15Rebekah took her older son Esau’s favorite clothes that were in the house with her, and she put them on her younger son Jacob. 16On his arms and smooth neck she put the hide of young goats, 17and the delicious food and the bread she had made she put into her son’s hands.

18Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.”

And he said, “I’m here. Who are you, my son?”

19Jacob said to his father, “I’m Esau your oldest son. I’ve made what you asked me to. Sit up and eat some of the game so you can bless me.”

20Isaac said to his son, “How could you find this so quickly, my son?”

He said, “The LORD your God led me right to it.”#27.20 Or made something good happen for me

21Isaac said to Jacob, “Come here and let me touch you, my son. Are you my son Esau or not?” 22So Jacob approached his father Isaac, and Isaac touched him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the arms are Esau’s arms.” 23Isaac didn’t recognize him because his arms were hairy like Esau’s arms, so he blessed him.

24Isaac said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

And he said, “I am.”

25Isaac said, “Bring some food here and let me eat some of my son’s game so I can bless you.” Jacob put it before him and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank. 26His father Isaac said to him, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” 27So he came close and kissed him. When Isaac smelled the scent of his clothes, he blessed him,

“See, the scent of my son

is like the scent of the field

that the LORD has blessed.

28May God give you

showers from the sky,

olive oil from the earth,

plenty of grain and new wine.

29May the nations serve you,

may peoples bow down to you.

Be the most powerful man among your brothers,

and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.

Those who curse you will be cursed,

and those who bless you will be blessed.”

Esau receives a secondary blessing

30After Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and just as Jacob left his father Isaac, his brother Esau came back from his hunt. 31He too made some delicious food, brought it to his father, and said, “Let my father sit up and eat from his son’s game so that you may bless me.”

32His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

And he said, “I’m your son, your oldest son, Esau.”

33Isaac was so shocked that he trembled violently. He said, “Who was the hunter just here with game? He brought me food, and I ate all of it before you came. I blessed him, and he will stay blessed!”

34When Esau heard what his father said, he let out a loud agonizing cry and wept bitterly. He said to his father, “Bless me! Me too, my father!”

35Isaac said, “Your brother has already come deceitfully and has taken your blessing.”

36Esau said, “Isn’t this why he’s called Jacob? He’s taken me#27.36 Heb ya’acob, a wordplay on Jacob twice now: he took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing.” He continued, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

37Isaac replied to Esau, “I’ve already made him more powerful than you, and I’ve made all of his brothers his servants. I’ve made him strong with grain and wine. What can I do for you, my son?”

38Esau said to his father, “Do you really have only one blessing, Father? Bless me too, my father!” And Esau wept loudly.

39His father Isaac responded and said to him,

“Now, you will make a home

far away from the olive groves of the earth,

far away from the showers of the sky above.

40You will live by your sword;

you will serve your brother.

But when you grow restless,#27.40 Heb uncertain

you will tear away his harness

from your neck.”

Jacob sent away for protection

41Esau was furious at Jacob because his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, When the period of mourning for the death of my father is over, I will kill my brother.

42Rebekah was told what her older son Esau was planning, so she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Esau your brother is planning revenge. He plans to kill you. 43So now, my son, listen to me: Get up and escape to my brother Laban in Haran. 44Live with him for a short while until your brother’s rage subsides, 45until your brother’s anger at you goes away and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I suffer the loss of both of you on one day?”

46Rebekah then said to Isaac, “I really loathe these Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women, like the women of this land, why should I go on living?”

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