Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 48
42
Genesis 27
2
“I am an old man now,” Isaac said, “and
I don’t know when I may die. 3 Take your bow
and a quiver full of arrows, and go out into the
open country to hunt some wild game for me.
4
Prepare my favorite dish, and bring it here for
me to eat. Then I will pronounce the blessing
that belongs to you, my firstborn son, before
I die.”
5
But Rebekah overheard what Isaac had
said to his son Esau. So when Esau left to hunt
for the wild game, 6 she said to her son Jacob,
“Listen. I overheard your father say to Esau,
7
‘Bring me some wild game and prepare me
a delicious meal. Then I will bless you in the
Lord’s presence before I die.’ 8 Now, my son,
listen to me. Do exactly as I tell you. 9 Go out to
the flocks, and bring me two fine young goats.
I’ll use them to prepare your father’s favorite
dish. 10 Then take the food to your father so he
can eat it and bless you before he dies.”
11
“But look,” Jacob replied to Rebekah, “my
brother, Esau, is a hairy man, and my skin is
smooth. 12 What if my father touches me? He’ll
see that I’m trying to trick him, and then he’ll
curse me instead of blessing me.”
13
But his mother replied, “Then let the curse
fall on me, my son! Just do what I tell you. Go
out and get the goats for me!”
14
So Jacob went out and got the young
goats for his mother. Rebekah took them and
prepared a delicious meal, just the way Isaac
liked it. 15 Then she took Esau’s favorite clothes,
which were there in the house, and gave them
to her younger son, Jacob. 16 She covered his
arms and the smooth part of his neck with the
skin of the young goats. 17 Then she gave Jacob
the delicious meal, including freshly baked
bread.
18
So Jacob took the food to his father. “My
father?” he said.
“Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are
you—Esau or Jacob?”
19
Jacob replied, “It’s Esau, your firstborn
son. I’ve done as you told me. Here is the wild
game. Now sit up and eat it so you can give me
your blessing.”
20
Isaac asked, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?”
“The Lord your God put it in my path!”
Jacob replied.
21
Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer so
I can touch you and make sure that you really
are Esau.” 22 So Jacob went closer to his father,
and Isaac touched him. “The voice is Jacob’s,
but the hands are Esau’s,” I saac said. 23 But he
did not recognize Jacob, because Jacob’s hands
felt hairy just like Esau’s. So Isaac prepared
to bless Jacob. 24 “But are you really my son
Esau?” he asked.
“Yes, I am,” Jacob replied.
25
Then Isaac said, “Now, my son, bring me
the wild game. Let me eat it, and then I will
give you my blessing.” So Jacob took the food
to his father, and I saac ate it. He also drank the
wine that Jacob served him. 26 Then I saac said
to Jacob, “Please come a little closer and kiss
me, my son.”
27
So Jacob went over and kissed him. And
when Isaac caught the smell of his clothes,
he was finally convinced, and he blessed his
son. He said, “Ah! The smell of my son is like
the smell of the outdoors, which the Lord has
blessed!
28
29
“From the dew of heaven
and the richness of the earth,
may God always give you abundant
harvests of grain
and bountiful new wine.
May many nations become your servants,
and may they bow down to you.
May you be the master over your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down
to you.
All who curse you will be cursed,
and all who bless you will be blessed.”
30
As soon as I saac had finished blessing Jacob,
and almost before Jacob had left his father, Esau
returned from his hunt. 31 Esau prepared a delicious meal and brought it to his father. Then he
said, “Sit up, my father, and eat my wild game so
you can give me your blessing.”
32
But Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”
Esau replied, “It’s your son, your firstborn
son, Esau.”
33
Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and
said, “Then who just served me wild game? I
have already eaten it, and I blessed him just
before you came. And yes, that blessing must
stand!”
34
When Esau heard his father’s words, he let
out a loud and bitter cry. “Oh my father, what
about me? Bless me, too!” he begged.
35
But Isaac said, “Your brother was here,
and he tricked me. He has taken away your
blessing.”
36
Esau exclaimed, “No wonder his name is
Jacob, for now he has cheated me twice.* First
he took my rights as the firstborn, and now he
has stolen my blessing. Oh, h
aven’t you saved
even one blessing for me?”
37
Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your
master and have declared that all his brothers
will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an
abundance of grain and wine—what is left for
me to give you, my son?”
38
Esau pleaded, “But do you have only one
blessing? Oh my father, bless me, too!” Then
Esau broke down and wept.
39
Finally, his father, Isaac, said to him,
27:36 Jacob sounds like the Hebrew words for “heel” and “deceiver.”
