1Now it came to pass, when Isaac was #Gen. 35:28old and #Gen. 48:10; 1 Sam. 3:2his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered him, “Here I am.”

2Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I #(Prov. 27:1; James 4:14)do not know the day of my death. 3#Gen. 25:27, 28Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul #Gen. 27:19, 25, 27, 31; 48:9, 15, 16; 49:28; Deut. 33:1; Heb. 11:20may bless you before I die.”

5Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8Now therefore, my son, #Gen. 27:13, 43obey my voice according to what I command you. 9Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make #Gen. 27:4savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he #Gen. 27:4; 48:16may bless you before his death.”

11And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, #Gen. 25:25Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12Perhaps my father will #Gen. 27:21, 22feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring #Gen. 9:25; Deut. 27:18a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

13But his mother said to him, #Gen. 43:9; 1 Sam. 25:24; 2 Sam. 14:9; Matt. 27:25“Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother #Prov. 23:3; Luke 21:34made savory food, such as his father loved. 15Then Rebekah took the #Gen. 27:27choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18So he went 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 just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, #Gen. 27:4that your soul may bless me.”

20But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”

And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

21Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I #Gen. 27:12may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23And he did not recognize him, because #Gen. 27:16his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

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

He said, “I am.”

25He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so #Gen. 27:4, 10, 19, 31that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27And he came near and #Gen. 29:13kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

“Surely, #Song 4:11; Hos. 14:6the smell of my son

Is like the smell of a field

Which the Lord has blessed.

28Therefore may #Heb. 11:20God give you

Of #Gen. 27:39; Deut. 33:13, 28; 2 Sam. 1:21; Ps. 133:3; Prov. 3:20; Mic. 5:7; Zech. 8:12the dew of heaven,

Of #Gen. 45:18; Num. 18:12the fatness of the earth,

And #Deut. 7:13; 33:28plenty of grain and wine.

29#Gen. 9:25; 25:23; Is. 45:14; 49:7; 60:12, 14Let peoples serve you,

And nations bow down to you.

Be master over your brethren,

And #Gen. 37:7, 10; 49:8let your mother’s sons bow down to you.

#Gen. 12:2, 3; Zeph. 2:8, 9Cursed be everyone who curses you,

And blessed be those who bless you!”

Esau’s Lost Hope

30Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and #Gen. 27:4eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”

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

So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

33Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—#Gen. 25:23; 28:3, 4; Num. 23:20; Rom. 11:29and indeed he shall be blessed.”

34When Esau heard the words of his father, #(Heb. 12:17)he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

35But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

36And Esau said, #Gen. 25:26, 32–34“Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

37Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, #2 Sam. 8:14“Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with #Gen. 27:28, 29grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

38And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice #Heb. 12:17and wept.

39Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

“Behold, #Gen. 27:28; Heb. 11:20your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth,

And of the dew of heaven from above.

40By your sword you shall live,

And #Gen. 25:23; 27:29; 2 Sam. 8:14; (Obad. 18–20)you shall serve your brother;

And #2 Kin. 8:20–22it shall come to pass, when you become restless,

That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

Jacob Escapes from Esau

41So Esau #Gen. 26:27; 32:3–11; 37:4, 5, 8hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, #Gen. 50:2–4, 10“The days of mourning for my father are at hand; #Obad. 10then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

42And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau #Ps. 64:5comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban #Gen. 11:31; 25:20; 28:2, 5in Haran. 44And stay with him a #Gen. 31:41few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, 45until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”

46And Rebekah said to Isaac, #Gen. 26:34, 35; 28:8“I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; #Gen. 24:3if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

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Genesis 27

Jacob Tricks Isaac

1Isaac grew old, and his eyes became so weak that he could not see clearly. One day he called his older son Esau to him and said, “Son!”

Esau answered, “Here I am.”

2Isaac said, “I am old. Maybe I will die soon. 3So take your bow and arrows and go hunting. Kill an animal for me to eat. 4Prepare the food that I love. Bring it to me, and I will eat it. Then I will bless you before I die.” 5So Esau went hunting.

Rebekah was listening when Isaac told this to his son Esau. 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen, I heard your father talking to your brother Esau. 7Your father said, ‘Kill an animal for me to eat. Prepare the food for me, and I will eat it. Then, with the Lord as witness, I will bless you before I die.’ 8So listen, son, and do what I tell you. 9Go out to our goats and bring me two young ones. I will prepare them the way your father loves them. 10Then you will carry the food to your father, and he will bless you before he dies.”

11But Jacob told his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man. I am not hairy like him. 12If my father touches me, he will know that I am not Esau. Then he will not bless me—he will curse me because I tried to trick him.”

13So Rebekah said to him, “I will accept the blame if there is trouble. Do what I said. Go get the goats for me.”

14So Jacob went out and got two goats and brought them to his mother. His mother cooked the goats in the special way that Isaac loved. 15Then Rebekah took the clothes that her older son Esau loved to wear. She put these clothes on the younger son Jacob. 16She took the skins of the goats and put them on Jacob’s hands and on his neck. 17Then she got the food she had cooked and gave it to Jacob.

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

His father answered, “Yes, son. Who are you?”

19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your first son. I have done what you told me. Now sit up and eat the meat from the animals that I hunted for you. Then you can bless me.”

20But Isaac said to his son, “How have you hunted and killed the animals so quickly?”

Jacob answered, “Because the Lord your God allowed me to find the animals quickly.”

21Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near to me so that I can feel you, my son. If I can feel you, I will know if you are really my son Esau.”

22So Jacob went to Isaac his father. Isaac felt him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob’s voice, but your arms are hairy like the arms of Esau.” 23Isaac did not know it was Jacob, because his arms were hairy like Esau’s. So Isaac blessed Jacob.

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

Jacob answered, “Yes, I am.”

The Blessing for Jacob

25Then Isaac said, “Bring me the food. I will eat it and bless you.” So Jacob gave him the food, and he ate it. Then Jacob gave him some wine, and he drank it.

26Then Isaac said to him. “Son, come near and kiss me.” 27So Jacob went to his father and kissed him. When Isaac smelled Esau’s clothes, he blessed him and said,

“My son smells like the fields

the Lord has blessed.

28May God give you plenty of rain,

good crops, and wine.

29May the nations serve you

and many people bow down to you.

You will rule over your brothers.

Your mother’s sons will bow down to you and obey you.

Whoever curses you will be cursed.

Whoever blesses you will be blessed.”

Esau’s “Blessing”

30Isaac finished blessing Jacob. Then, just as Jacob left his father Isaac, Esau came in from hunting. 31Esau prepared the food in the special way his father loved. He brought it to his father and said, “Father, I am your son. Get up and eat the meat from the animals that I killed for you. Then you can bless me.”

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

He answered, “I am your son—your first son—Esau.”

33Then Isaac became so upset that he began to shake. He said, “Then who was it that cooked and brought me food before you came? I ate it all, and I blessed him. Now it is too late to take back my blessing.”

34When Esau heard his father’s words, he became very angry and bitter. He cried out and said to his father, “Then bless me also, father!”

35Isaac said, “Your brother tricked me! He came and took your blessing!”

36Esau said, “His name is Jacob.#27:36 Jacob This name is like the Hebrew word meaning “heel.” It also means “the one who follows” or “tricky.” That is the right name for him. He has tricked me twice. He took away my rights as the firstborn son. And now he has taken away my blessing.” Then Esau said, “Have you saved any blessing for me?”

37Isaac answered, “I have already given Jacob the power to rule over you. And I said all his brothers would be his servants. I have given him the blessing for much grain and wine. There is nothing left to give you, my son.”

38But Esau continued to beg his father. “Do you have only one blessing, father? Bless me also, father!” Esau began to cry.

39Then Isaac said to him,

“You will not live on good land.

You will not have much rain.

40You will have to fight to live,

and you will be a slave to your brother.

But when you fight to be free,

you will break away from his control.”

Jacob Leaves the Country

41After that Esau hated Jacob because of this blessing. Esau said to himself, “My father will soon die, and after we are finished with that, I will kill Jacob.”

42Rebekah heard about Esau’s plan to kill Jacob. She sent for Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is planning to kill you. 43So, son, do what I say. My brother Laban is living in Haran. Go to him and hide. 44Stay with him for a short time until your brother stops being angry. 45When your brother forgets what you did to him, I will send a servant to bring you back. I don’t want to lose both of my sons the same day.”

46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “Your son Esau married Hittite women. I am very upset about this, because they are not our people. I’ll have nothing to live for if Jacob marries one of these women!”

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Genesis 27

Genesis 27