Genesis 27:1–29

Isaac Calls to Bless Esau

¹Now it happened that when Isaac was old and ^ahis eyes were too dim to see, that he called his ^bolder son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”

^21aAnd Isaac said, “Behold now, I am old, and I do not know the day of my death.

³“So now, please take up your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and ^ahunt game for me;

⁴and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that ^amy soul may bless you before I die.”

⁵Now Rebekah was listening while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. Then Esau went to the field to hunt for game to bring to Isaac.

^6aBut Rebekah spoke to her son Jacob, saying, “Behold, I heard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying,

⁷‘Bring me some game and prepare a savory dish for me, that I may eat and bless you in the presence of Yahweh before my death.’

⁸“So now, my son, ^alisten to my voice ¹as I command you.

⁹“Go now to the flock and ¹get for me two choice ²young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves.

¹⁰“Then you shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.”

¹¹Then Jacob ¹answered his mother Rebekah, “Behold, Esau my brother is a ^ahairy man, and I am a smooth man.

¹²“^aPerhaps my father will feel me, then I will be as a mocker 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 ^alisten to my voice, and go, get them for me.”

¹⁴So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother made a savory dish such as his father loved.

¹⁵Then Rebekah took the ¹best ^agarments of Esau her elder son, which were with her in the house, and she put them on Jacob her younger son.

¹⁶And she put the skins of the ¹young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.

¹⁷She also gave the savory dish and the bread, which she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.

Isaac Blesses Jacob and Esau

¹⁸Then he came to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹And Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me. ^aRise up, please, sit and eat of my game, that ^byour soul may bless me.”

²⁰Then Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “^aBecause Yahweh your God caused it to happen to me.”

²¹Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that ^aI may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.”

²²So Jacob came near to Isaac his father, and he felt 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 ^ahairy 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 near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that ^amy soul may bless you.” And he brought it near to him, and he ate; he also 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; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and then he ^ablessed him and said,

“See, ^bthe smell of my son

Is like the smell of a field ^cwhich Yahweh has blessed;

²⁸Now may ^aGod give you of the dew of heaven,

And of the ^bfatness of the earth,

And an abundance of grain and new wine;

^29aMay peoples serve you,

And nations bow down to you;

^bBe master of your brothers,

^cAnd may your mother’s sons bow down to you.

^dCursed be those who curse you,

And blessed be those who bless you.”