Genesis 27

₁Isaac was now old and had become blind. He sent for his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son!”

“Yes,” he answered.

₂Isaac said, “You see that I am old and may die soon. ₃Take your bow and arrows, go out into the country, and kill an animal for me. ₄Cook me some of that tasty food that I like, and bring it to me. After I have eaten it, I will give you my final blessing before I die.”

₅While Isaac was talking to Esau, Rebecca was listening. So when Esau went out to hunt, ₆she said to Jacob, “I have just heard your father say to Esau, ₇‘Bring me an animal and cook it for me. After I have eaten it, I will give you my blessing in the presence of the LORD before I die.’ ₈Now, my son,” Rebecca continued, “listen to me and do what I say. ₉Go to the flock and pick out two fat young goats, so that I can cook them and make some of that food your father likes so much. ₁₀You can take it to him to eat, and he will give you his blessing before he dies.”

₁₁But Jacob said to his mother, “You know that Esau is a hairy man, but I have smooth skin. ₁₂Perhaps my father will touch me and find out that I am deceiving him; in this way I will bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.”

₁₃His mother answered, “Let any curse against you fall on me, my son; just do as I say, and go and get the goats for me.” ₁₄So he went to get them and brought them to her, and she cooked the kind of food that his father liked. ₁₅Then she took Esau's best clothes, which she kept in the house, and put them on Jacob. ₁₆She put the skins of the goats on his arms and on the hairless part of his neck. ₁₇She handed him the tasty food, together with the bread she had baked.

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

“Yes,” he answered. “Which of my sons are you?”

₁₉Jacob answered, “I am your elder son Esau; I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of the meat that I have brought you, so that you can give me your blessing.”

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

Jacob answered, “The LORD your God helped me to find it.”

₂₁Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so that I can touch you. Are you really Esau?” ₂₂Jacob moved closer to his father, who felt him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob's voice, but your arms feel like Esau's arms.” ₂₃He did not recognize Jacob, because his arms were hairy like Esau's. He was about to give him his blessing, ₂₄but asked again, “Are you really Esau?”

“I am,” he answered.

₂₅Isaac said, “Bring me some of the meat. After I have eaten it, I will give you my blessing.” Jacob brought it to him, and he also brought him some wine to drink. ₂₆Then his father said to him, “Come closer and kiss me, my son.” ₂₇As he came up to kiss him, Isaac smelt his clothes — so he gave him his blessing. He said, “The pleasant smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed. ₂₈May God give you dew from heaven and make your fields fertile! May he give you plenty of corn and wine! ₂₉May nations be your servants, and may peoples bow down before you. May you rule over all your relatives, and may your mother's descendants bow down before you. May those who curse you be cursed, and may those who bless you be blessed.”

₃₀Isaac finished giving his blessing, and as soon as Jacob left, his brother Esau came in from hunting. ₃₁He also cooked some tasty food and took it to his father. He said, “Please, father, sit up and eat some of the meat that I have brought you, so that you can give me your blessing.”

₃₂“Who are you?” Isaac asked.

“Your elder son Esau,” he answered.

₃₃Isaac began to tremble and shake all over, and he asked, “Who was it, then, who killed an animal and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came. I gave him my final blessing, and so it is his for ever.”

₃₄When Esau heard this, he cried out loudly and bitterly and said, “Give me your blessing also, father!”

₃₅Isaac answered, “Your brother came and deceived me. He has taken away your blessing.”

₃₆Esau said, “This is the second time that he has cheated me. No wonder his name is Jacob. He took my rights as the firstborn son, and now he has taken away my blessing. Haven't you saved a blessing for me?”

₃₇Isaac answered, “I have already made him master over you, and I have made all his relatives his slaves. I have given him corn and wine. Now there is nothing that I can do for you, my son!”

₃₈Esau continued to plead with his father: “Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me too, father!” He began to cry.

₃₉Then Isaac said to him,

₄₁Esau hated Jacob, because his father had given Jacob the blessing. He thought, “The time to mourn my father's death is near; then I will kill Jacob.”

₄₂But when Rebecca heard about Esau's plan, she sent for Jacob and said, “Listen, your brother Esau is planning to get even with you and kill you. ₄₃Now, my son, do what I say. Go at once to my brother Laban in Haran, ₄₄and stay with him for a while, until your brother's anger cools down ₄₅and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send someone to bring you back. Why should I lose both my sons on the same day?”

₄₆Rebecca said to Isaac, “I am sick and tired of Esau's foreign wives. If Jacob also marries one of these Hittite women, I might as well die.”