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Isaac Prays for Good to Come to Jacob

27 Isaac was now old, and had become blind. He called to his older son Esau, saying, “My son.” And Esau answered, “Here I am.” Isaac said, “See, I am old. I do not know when I will die. Take your bow and arrows, and go out to the field to get meat for me. Get some food ready for me that I love. Bring it to me to eat, so that before I die I will pray that good will come to you.”

And Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for meat to bring home, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father talking to your brother Esau. He said, ’Bring me some meat. Make good-tasting food for me to eat. And before I die I will pray to the Lord for good to come to you.’ So now, my son, listen to what I tell you to do. Go to the flock and bring me two fat young goats. I will cook them into good-tasting food, just what your father loves to eat. 10 Then you will take it to your father for him to eat. So before he dies he will pray for good to come to you.”

11 Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “But my brother Esau has much hair. And my skin is smooth. 12 If my father touches me, he will think of me as one trying to fool him. Then he will bring a curse upon me instead of good.” 13 His mother said to him, “The curse will come upon me instead of you, my son. You do what I say, and go get them for me.” 14 So Jacob went and got them, and brought them to his mother. And his mother made good-tasting food, just what his father loved to eat. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes that belonged to her older son Esau, that were with her in the house. And she put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 And she gave her son Jacob the bread and the good-tasting food she had made.

18 Then he went to his father and said, “My father.” Isaac said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your first-born. I have done as you told me. Sit up and eat the meat I brought, so you will pray that good will come to me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How have you found it so fast, my son?” And Jacob said, “Because the Lord your God made it happen.”

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know for sure if you are my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob came near his father Isaac. Isaac touched him, and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice. But the hands are Esau’s hands.” 23 He did not know who he was, because his hands were covered with hair like his brother Esau’s hands. So Isaac prayed that good would come to him. 24 Isaac said, “Is it true that you are my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “I am.” 25 So Isaac said, “Bring it to me so I may eat the meat my son has made ready. And I will pray that good will come to you.” He brought it to him, and he ate. He brought him wine also, and he drank.

26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27 So Jacob came near and kissed him. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he prayed that good would come to him. He said, “The smell of my son is like the smell of a field that has received good from the Lord. 28 May God give you from heaven water on the grass in the early morning, and the riches of the earth, and more than enough grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you, and the people bow down in front of you. Be the ruler of your brothers. May your mother’s sons bow down in front of you. Cursed be those who curse you, and may good come to those who honor you.”

30 When Isaac had finished praying that good would come to Jacob, Jacob left his father Isaac. Just then his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 Then Esau made good-tasting food and brought it to his father, and said, “Sit up, my father, and eat the meat your son has made ready, so you will pray that good will come to me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your first-born, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac shook all over, and he said, “Who was it then who killed an animal and brought meat to me? I ate all of it before you came! And I prayed that good would come to him! Yes, and good will come to him!”

34 When he heard what his father said, Esau cried out with a loud and sad cry. He said to his father, “Pray that good will come to me also, O my father!” 35 But Isaac said, “Your brother came in and fooled me. He has taken away the good that was to come to you.”

36 Then Esau said, “Was it not right that he was given the name Jacob? Two times now he has taken what should have been mine. He took away my right as a first-born. And now he has taken away the good that was to come to me.” Then he said, “Can you not pray that good will come to me also?”

37 Isaac answered Esau, “See, I have made him to rule over you. I have given him all his brothers as servants. I have given him grain and new wine to keep him alive and well. What then can I do for you, my son?”

38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one prayer for good to come, my father? Pray that good will come to me also, O my father.” And Esau gave out a loud cry. 39 Then his father Isaac answered him: “See, the place where you live will be away from the riches of the earth, and away from the water on the grass in the early morning. 40 You will live by your sword and you will serve your brother. But when you break loose, you will throw his load off your back.”

Jacob Goes to Laban

41 Esau hated Jacob because his father had prayed that good would come to Jacob. Esau said to himself, “The days when I will have sorrow for the loss of my father are soon. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42 But the words of her older son Esau were told to Rebekah. She called her younger son Jacob, and said to him, “See, your brother Esau comforts himself by planning to kill you. 43 So now, my son, do what I tell you. Get ready, and go at once to my brother Laban at Haran. 44 Stay with him for a few days, until your brother’s anger goes away. 45 When your brother’s anger against you is gone and he forgets what you did to him, then I will send for you and have you return from there. Why should I have sorrow for both of you in one day?”

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob marries one of the daughters of Heth, like these, from the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see,(A) he called for Esau his older son(B) and said to him, “My son.”

“Here I am,” he answered.

Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death.(C) Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country(D) to hunt some wild game for me. Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like(E) and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing(F) before I die.”(G)

Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau left for the open country(H) to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob,(I) “Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, ‘Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.’(J) Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you:(K) Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats,(L) so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it.(M) 10 Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing(N) before he dies.”

11 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man(O) while I have smooth skin. 12 What if my father touches me?(P) I would appear to be tricking him and would bring down a curse(Q) on myself rather than a blessing.”

13 His mother said to him, “My son, let the curse fall on me.(R) Just do what I say;(S) go and get them for me.”

14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she prepared some tasty food, just the way his father liked it.(T) 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes(U) of Esau her older son,(V) which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 16 She also covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with the goatskins.(W) 17 Then she handed to her son Jacob the tasty food and the bread she had made.

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

“Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?”(X)

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn.(Y) I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game,(Z) so that you may give me your blessing.”(AA)

20 Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”

“The Lord your God gave me success,(AB)” he replied.

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near so I can touch you,(AC) my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.”

22 Jacob went close to his father Isaac,(AD) who touched(AE) him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau;(AF) so he proceeded to bless him. 24 “Are you really my son Esau?” he asked.

“I am,” he replied.

25 Then he said, “My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.”(AG)

Jacob brought it to him and he ate; and he brought some wine and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”

27 So he went to him and kissed(AH) him(AI). When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes,(AJ) he blessed him and said,

“Ah, the smell of my son
    is like the smell of a field
    that the Lord has blessed.(AK)
28 May God give you heaven’s dew(AL)
    and earth’s richness(AM)
    an abundance of grain(AN) and new wine.(AO)
29 May nations serve you
    and peoples bow down to you.(AP)
Be lord over your brothers,
    and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.(AQ)
May those who curse you be cursed
    and those who bless you be blessed.(AR)

30 After Isaac finished blessing him, and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting. 31 He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Then he said to him, “My father, please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”(AS)

32 His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”(AT)

“I am your son,” he answered, “your firstborn, Esau.(AU)

33 Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me?(AV) I ate it just before you came and I blessed him—and indeed he will be blessed!(AW)

34 When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst out with a loud and bitter cry(AX) and said to his father, “Bless(AY) me—me too, my father!”

35 But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully(AZ) and took your blessing.”(BA)

36 Esau said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob[a]?(BB) This is the second time he has taken advantage of(BC) me: He took my birthright,(BD) and now he’s taken my blessing!”(BE) Then he asked, “Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”

37 Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine.(BF) So what can I possibly do for you, my son?”

38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud.(BG)

39 His father Isaac answered him,(BH)

“Your dwelling will be
    away from the earth’s richness,
    away from the dew(BI) of heaven above.(BJ)
40 You will live by the sword
    and you will serve(BK) your brother.(BL)
But when you grow restless,
    you will throw his yoke
    from off your neck.(BM)

41 Esau held a grudge(BN) against Jacob(BO) because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning(BP) for my father are near; then I will kill(BQ) my brother Jacob.”(BR)

42 When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau(BS) had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you.(BT) 43 Now then, my son, do what I say:(BU) Flee at once to my brother Laban(BV) in Harran.(BW) 44 Stay with him for a while(BX) until your brother’s fury subsides. 45 When your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him,(BY) I’ll send word for you to come back from there.(BZ) Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living because of these Hittite(CA) women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land,(CB) from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living.”(CC)

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 27:36 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.