Genesis 27
27
Jacob’s Deception
1Now it came about, when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, that he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 2Then #27:2 Lit heIsaac said, “Behold now, I am old and I do not know the day of my death. 3Now then, please take your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me; 4and prepare a delicious meal for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die.”
5Now Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring home, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, saying, 7‘Bring me some game and prepare a delicious meal for me, so that I may eat, and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8So now, my son, listen to #27:8 Lit my voiceme #27:8 Lit according to whatas I command you. 9Go now to the flock and #27:9 Lit takebring me two choice #27:9 Lit kids of goatsyoung goats from there, so that I may prepare them as a delicious meal for your father, such as he loves. 10Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” 11But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. 12Perhaps my father will touch me, then I will be like a #27:12 Lit mockerdeceiver in his sight, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.” 13But his mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get the goats for me.” 14So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a delicious meal such as his father loved. 15Then Rebekah took the #27:15 Lit desirable; or choicebest garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16And she put the skins of the #27:16 Lit kids of the goatsyoung goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17She also gave the delicious meal and the bread which she had made #27:17 Lit into the hand ofto her son Jacob.
18Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. Come now, sit and eat of my game, so that #27:19 Lit your soulyou may bless me.” 20Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God made it #27:20 Lit meet mecome to me.” 21Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come close, so that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, and he touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.” 25So he said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that #27:25 Lit my soulI may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank. 26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come close and kiss me, my son.” 27So he came close and kissed him; and when he smelled the smell of his garments, he blessed him and said,
“See, the smell of my son
Is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed;
28Now may God give you of the dew of heaven,
And of the fatness of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine;
29May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
And blessed be those who bless you.”
The Stolen Blessing
30Now it came about, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had hardly gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, that his brother Esau came in from his hunting. 31Then he also made a delicious meal, and brought it to his father; and he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that #27:31 Lit your soulyou may bless me.” 32His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33Then Isaac #27:33 Lit trembled with a very great tremblingtrembled violently, and said, “Who then was he who hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate from all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, me as well, my father!” 35And he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has taken away your blessing.” 36Then Esau said, “#27:36 Or Was he then named Jacob that he hasIs he not rightly named #27:36 Fr Heb verb meaning to seize someone by the heel, and so to betrayJacob, for he has betrayed 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?” 37But Isaac replied to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your master, and I have given to him all his relatives #27:37 Lit foras servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, me as well, my father.” So Esau raised his voice and wept.
39Then his father Isaac answered and said to him,
“Behold, #27:39 Or ofaway from the #27:39 Lit fatnessfertility of the earth shall be your dwelling,
And #27:39 Or ofaway from the dew of heaven from above.
40“And by your sword you shall live,
And you shall serve your brother;
But it shall come about when you become restless,
That you will #27:40 Lit tear offbreak his yoke from your neck.”
41So Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esau said #27:41 Lit in his heartto himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42Now when the words of her elder son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent word and called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “Behold your brother Esau is consoling himself concerning you by planning to kill you. 43Now then, my son, obey my voice, and arise, #27:43 Lit flee for yourselfflee to Haran, to my brother Laban! 44Stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury #27:44 Lit turns awaysubsides, 45until your brother’s anger #27:45 Lit turns away from youagainst you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send word and get you from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?”
46And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of #27:46 Lit my lifeliving because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth like these from the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
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Genesis 27
27
Isaac Blesses Jacob
(Hebrews 11:20)
1When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.”
“Here I am,” Esau replied.
2“Look,” said Isaac, “I am now old, and I do not know the day of my death. 3Take your weapons—your quiver and bow—and go out into the field to hunt some game for me. 4Then prepare a tasty dish that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
5Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac told his son Esau. So when Esau went into the field to hunt game and bring it back, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I overheard your father saying to your brother Esau, 7‘Bring me some game and prepare me a tasty dish to eat, so that I may bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.’
8Now, my son, listen to my voice and do exactly as I tell you. 9Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so that I can make them into a tasty dish for your father—the kind he loves. 10Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”
11Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am smooth-skinned. 12What if my father touches me? Then I would be revealed to him as a deceiver, and I would bring upon myself a curse rather than a blessing.”
13His mother replied, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey my voice and go get them for me.”
14So Jacob went and got two goats and brought them to his mother, who made the tasty food his father loved. 15And Rebekah took the finest clothes in the house that belonged to her older son Esau, and she put them on her younger son Jacob. 16She also put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17Then she handed her son Jacob the tasty food and bread she had made.
18So Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.”
“Here I am!” he answered. “Which one are you, my son?”
19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”
20But Isaac asked his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?”
“Because the Lord your God brought it to me,” he replied.
21Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau, or not?”
22So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23Isaac did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him.
24Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau?”
And he replied, “I am.”
25“Serve me,” said Isaac, “and let me eat some of my son’s game, so that I may bless you.”
Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; then he brought him wine, and he drank.
26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come near and kiss me, my son.”
27So he came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothing, he blessed him and said:
“Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the Lord has blessed.
28May God give to you the dew of heaven
and the richness of the earth—
an abundance of grain and new wine.
29May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
May you be the master of your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
Esau’s Lost Hope
30As soon as Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had left his father’s presence, his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 31He too made some tasty food, brought it to his father, and said to him, “My father, sit up and eat of your son’s game, so that you may bless me.”
32But his father Isaac replied, “Who are you?”
“I am Esau, your firstborn son,” he answered.
33Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”
34When Esau heard his father’s words, he let out a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, O my father!”
35But Isaac replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
36So Esau declared, “Is he not rightly named Jacob?#27:36 Jacob means he grasps the heel or he deceives. For he has cheated me twice. He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”
37But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him your master and given him all his relatives as servants; I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”
38Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, O my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.
39His father Isaac answered him:
“Behold, your dwelling place shall be
away from the richness of the land,
away from the dew of heaven above.
40You shall live by the sword
and serve your brother.
But when you rebel,
you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
42When the words of her older son Esau were relayed to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is consoling himself by plotting to kill you. 43So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran. 44Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s fury subsides— 45until your brother’s rage against you wanes and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of these Hittite women.#27:46 Or daughters of Heth If Jacob takes a Hittite wife from among them, what good is my life?”
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