The Stolen Blessing

1When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see,a he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered, “Here I am.”

2He said, “Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death. 3So now take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me.a 4Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die.”a

5Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said, 7‘Bring me game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord’s presence before I die.’ 8Now, my son, listen to me and do what I tell you. 9Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father — the kind he loves. 10Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.”

11Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.a 12Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself.”

13His mother said to him, “Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me.”

14So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved. 15Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them. 16She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. 17Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

18When he came to his father, he said, “My father.”

And he answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son? ”

19Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.”

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

He replied, “Because the Lord your God made it happen for me.”

21Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not? ”

22So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. 24Again he asked, “Are you really my son Esau? ”

And he replied, “I am.”

25Then he said, “Bring it closer to me, and let me eat some of my son’s game so that I can bless you.” Jacob brought it closer to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come closer and kiss me, my son.” 27So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelledA his clothes, he blessed him and said:

Ah, the smell of my son

is like the smell of a field

that the Lord has blessed.

28May God give to you —

from the dew of the skya

and from the richness of the landb —

an abundance of grain and new wine.c

29May peoples serve youa

and nations bow in worship to you.

Be master over your relatives;

may your mother’s sons bow in worship to you.

Those who curse you will be cursed,

and those who bless you will be blessed.b

30As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from his hunting. 31He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. He said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”

32But his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you? ”

He answered, “I am Esau your firstborn son.”

33Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. “Who was it then,” he said, “who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed! ”

34When Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, my father! ”a

35But he replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”

36So he said, “Isn’t he rightly named Jacob?a a For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing.” Then he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me? ”

37But Isaac answered Esau, “Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son? ”

38Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father! ” And Esau wept loudly.A

39His father Isaac answered him,

Look, your dwelling place will be

away from the richness of the land,

away from the dew of the sky above.

40You will live by your sword,

and you will serve your brother.

But when you rebel,A

you will break his yoke from your neck.

Esau’s Anger

41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

42When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44and stay with him for a few days until your brother’s anger subsides —  45until your brother’s rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day? ”

46So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick of my life because of these Hethite girls.a If Jacob marries someone from around here,A like these Hethite girls, what good is my life? ”b