27Genesis 27

Isaac Blesses Jacob

1Isaac was old and almost blind, when he called in his first-born son Esau, who asked him, “Father, what can I do for you?”Select Genesis 27:1

2Isaac replied, “I am old and might die at any time.Select Genesis 27:2

3So go hunting with your bow and arrows and kill a wild animal.Select Genesis 27:3

4Cook some of that tasty food that I love so much and bring it to me. I want to eat it once more and give you my blessing before I die.”Select Genesis 27:4

5Rebekah had been listening, and as soon as Esau left to go hunting,Select Genesis 27:5

6she said to Jacob, “I heard your father tell EsauSelect Genesis 27:6

7to kill a wild animal and cook some tasty food for him before he dies. Your father said this because he wants to bless your brother with the Lord as his witness.Select Genesis 27:7

8Now, my son, listen carefully to what I want you to do.Select Genesis 27:8

9Go and kill two of your best young goats and bring them to me. I'll cook the tasty food that your father loves so much.Select Genesis 27:9

10Then you can take it to him, so he can eat it and give you his blessing before he dies.”Select Genesis 27:10

11“My brother Esau is a hairy man,” Jacob reminded her. “And I am not.Select Genesis 27:11

12If my father touches me and realizes I am trying to trick him, he will put a curse on me instead of giving me a blessing.”Select Genesis 27:12

13Rebekah insisted, “Let his curse fall on me! Just do what I say and bring me the meat.”Select Genesis 27:13

14So Jacob brought the meat to his mother, and she cooked the tasty food that his father liked.Select Genesis 27:14

15Then she took Esau's best clothes and put them on Jacob.Select Genesis 27:15

16She also covered the smooth part of his hands and neck with goatskinsSelect Genesis 27:16

17and gave him some bread and the tasty food she had cooked.Select Genesis 27:17

18Jacob went to his father and said, “Father, here I am.” “Which one of my sons are you?” his father asked.Select Genesis 27:18

19Jacob replied, “I am Esau, your first-born, and I have done what you told me. Please sit up and eat the meat I have brought. Then you can give me your blessing.”Select Genesis 27:19

20Isaac asked, “My son, how did you find an animal so quickly?” “The Lord your God was kind to me,” Jacob answered.Select Genesis 27:20

21“My son,” Isaac said, “come closer, where I can touch you and find out if you really are Esau.”Select Genesis 27:21

22Jacob went closer. His father touched him and said, “You sound like Jacob, but your hands feel hairy like Esau's.”Select Genesis 27:22

23And so Isaac blessed Jacob, thinking he was Esau.Select Genesis 27:23

24Isaac asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” “Yes, I am,” Jacob answered.Select Genesis 27:24

25So Isaac told him, “Serve me the wild meat, and I can give you my blessing.” Jacob gave him some meat, and he ate it. He also gave him some wine, and he drank it.Select Genesis 27:25

26Then Isaac said, “Son, come over here and kiss me.”Select Genesis 27:26

27While Jacob was kissing him, Isaac caught the smell of his clothes and said: “The smell of my son is like a field the Lord has blessed.Select Genesis 27:27

28God will bless you, my son, with dew from heaven and with fertile fields, rich with grain and grapes.Select Genesis 27:28

29Nations will be your servants and bow down to you. You will rule over your brothers, and they will kneel at your feet. Anyone who curses you will be cursed; anyone who blesses you will be blessed.”Select Genesis 27:29

30Right after Isaac had given Jacob his blessing and Jacob had gone, Esau came back from hunting.Select Genesis 27:30

31He cooked the tasty food, brought it to his father, and said, “Father, please sit up and eat the meat I have brought you, so you can give me your blessing.”Select Genesis 27:31

32“Who are you?” Isaac asked. “I am Esau, your first-born son.”Select Genesis 27:32

33Isaac started trembling and said, “Then who brought me some wild meat right before you came in? I ate it and gave him a blessing that cannot be taken back.”Select Genesis 27:33

34Esau cried out in great distress, “Father, give me a blessing too!”Select Genesis 27:34

35Isaac answered, “Your brother tricked me and stole your blessing.”Select Genesis 27:35

36Esau replied, “My brother deserves the name Jacob, because he has already cheated me twice. The first time he cheated me out of my rights as the first-born son, and now he has cheated me out of my blessing.” Then Esau asked his father, “Don't you have any blessing left for me?”Select Genesis 27:36

37“My son,” Isaac answered, “I have made Jacob the ruler over you and your brothers, and all of you will be his servants. I have also promised him all the grain and grapes that he needs. There's nothing left that I can do for you.”Select Genesis 27:37

38“Father,” Esau asked, “don't you have more than one blessing? You can surely give me a blessing too!” Then Esau started crying again.Select Genesis 27:38

39So his father said: “Your home will be far from that fertile land, where dew comes down from the heavens.Select Genesis 27:39

40You will live by the power of your sword and be your brother's slave. But when you decide to be free, you will break loose.”Select Genesis 27:40

41Esau hated his brother Jacob because he had stolen the blessing that was supposed to be his. So he said to himself, “Just as soon as my father dies, I'll kill Jacob.”Select Genesis 27:41

42When Rebekah found out what Esau planned to do, she sent for Jacob and told him, “Son, your brother Esau is just waiting for a chance to kill you.Select Genesis 27:42

43Now listen carefully and do what I say. Go to the home of my brother Laban in HaranSelect Genesis 27:43

44and stay with him for a while. When Esau stops being angrySelect Genesis 27:44

45and forgets what you have done to him, I'll send for you to come home. Why should I lose both of my sons on the same day?”Select Genesis 27:45

46Rebekah later told Isaac, “Those Hittite wives of Esau are making my life miserable! If Jacob marries a Hittite woman, I'd be better off dead.”Select Genesis 27:46