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Genesis 25:21–26

21 And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And ithe Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?”2 So she went jto inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

k“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you3 shall be divided;

lthe one shall be stronger than the other,

mthe older shall serve the younger.”

24 When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, nall his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out with ohis hand holding Esau’s heel, so phis name was called Jacob.4 Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

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Genesis 25:21–26 — The New International Version (NIV)

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples from within you will be separated;

one people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

Genesis 25:21–26 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said unto her,

Two nations are in thy womb,

And two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels;

And the one people shall be stronger than the other people;

And the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

Genesis 25:21–26 — New Living Translation (NLT)

21 Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. 22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.

23 And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”

24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! 25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. 26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

Genesis 25:21–26 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said to her:

“Two nations are in your womb,

Two peoples shall be separated from your body;

One people shall be stronger than the other,

And the older shall serve the younger.”

24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

Genesis 25:21–26 — New Century Version (NCV)

21 Isaac’s wife could not have children, so Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. The Lord heard Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant.

22 While she was pregnant, the babies struggled inside her. She asked, “Why is this happening to me?” Then she went to get an answer from the Lord.

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your body,

and two groups of people will be taken from you.

One group will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.”

24 When the time came, Rebekah gave birth to twins. 25 The first baby was born red. Since his skin was like a hairy robe, he was named Esau.26 

Genesis 25:21–26 — American Standard Version (ASV)

21 And Isaac entreated Jehovah for his wife, because she was barren: and Jehovah was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, wherefore do I live? And she went to inquire of Jehovah. 23 And Jehovah said unto her,

Two nations are in thy womb,

And two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels:

And the one people shall be stronger than the other people;

And the elder shall serve the younger.

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.

Genesis 25:21–26 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

21 And Isaac entreated Jehovah for his wife, because she was barren; and Jehovah was entreated of him, and Rebecca his wife conceived. 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of Jehovah. 23 And Jehovah said to her, Two nations are in thy womb, And two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; And one people shall be stronger than the other people, And the elder shall serve the younger. 24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red—all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out; and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

Genesis 25:21–26 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 When the children inside her were struggling with each other, she said, “If it’s like this now, what will become of me?”So she went to ask the Lord

23 The Lord said to her, 

“Two countries are in your womb. 

Two nations will go their separate ways from birth. 

One nation will be stronger than the other, 

and the older will serve the younger.” 

24 When the time came for her to give birth, she had twins. 25 The first one born was red. His whole body was covered with hair, so they named him Esau [Hairy]. 26 Afterwards, his brother was born with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, and so he was named Jacob [Heel]. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born. 

Genesis 25:21–26 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her:

Two nations are in your womb;

two people will come from you and be separated.

One people will be stronger than the other,

and the older will serve the younger.

24 When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb. 25 The first one came out red-looking, covered with hair like a fur coat, and they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel with his hand. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

Genesis 25:21–26 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 And the Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your womb,

and two peoples born of you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other,

the elder shall serve the younger.”

24 When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. 25 The first came out red, all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

Genesis 25:21–26 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

21 And Isaac prayed to Yahweh on behalf of his wife, for she was barren. And Yahweh responded to his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 And the children in her womb jostled each other, and she said, “If it is going to be like this, why be pregnant?” And she went to inquire of Yahweh. 23 And Yahweh said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from birth shall be divided. And one people shall be stronger than the other. And the elder shall serve the younger.” 24 And when her days to give birth were completed, then—behold—twins were in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, all his body was like a hairy coat, so they called his name Esau. 26 And afterward his brother came out, and his hand grasped the heel of Esau, so his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old at their birth.

Genesis 25:21–26 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

21 Rebekah couldn’t have children. So Isaac prayed to the Lord for her. And the Lord answered his prayer. His wife Rebekah became pregnant.

22 The babies struggled with each other inside her. She said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to ask the Lord what she should do.

23 The Lord said to her,

“Two nations are in your body.

Two tribes that are now inside you will be separated.

One nation will be stronger than the other.

The older son will serve the younger one.”

24 The time came for Rebekah to have her babies. There were twin boys in her body. 25 The first one to come out was red. His whole body was covered with hair. So they named him Esau.

26 Then his brother came out. His hand was holding onto Esau’s heel. So he was named Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when Rebekah had them.

Genesis 25:21–26 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.

22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 The Lord said to her,

Two nations are in your womb;

And two peoples will be separated from your body;

And one people shall be stronger than the other;

And the older shall serve the younger.”

24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.

25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.

26 Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.


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