Isaac Blesses Jacob

Genesis 27

1 When Isaac was old and z his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am." 2 He said, "Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 a Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul b may bless you before I die."

5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father speak to your brother Esau, 7 'Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the Lord before I die.' 8 Now therefore, my son, c obey my voice as I command you. 9 Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves. 10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, d so that he may bless you before he dies." 11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, e my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father f will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring g a curse upon myself and not a blessing." 13 His mother said to him, h "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me."

14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the i best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 So he went in to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me." 20 But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the Lord your God granted me success." 21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I j may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 And he did not recognize him, because k his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. l So he blessed him. 24 He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answered, "I am." 25 Then he said, "Bring it near to me, m that I may eat of my son's game and bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son."

27 So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments l and blessed him and said,
"See, n the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed!
 28 May God give you of o the dew of heaven
and of the fatness of the earth
and p plenty of grain and wine.
 29 Let peoples serve you,
and nations q bow down to you.
r Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother's sons bow down to you.
s Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!"

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me." 32 His father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau." 33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, "Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed." 34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, t he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!" 35 But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing." 36 Esau said, u "Is he not rightly named Jacob? 1 For he has cheated me these two times. v He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" 37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Behold, w I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and x with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?" 38 Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And t Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:
"Behold, y away from 2 the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be,
and away from 3 the dew of heaven on high.
 40 By your sword you shall live,
and you z shall serve your brother;
but when you grow restless
a you shall break his yoke from your neck."

41 Now Esau b hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, c "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; d then I will kill my brother Jacob." 42 But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away - 45 until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?"

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, e "I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. 4 f If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?"

  1. Cross References
    Genesis 48:10
    Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
    1 Samuel 3:2
    At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.
  2. Cross References
    Genesis 25:27 - 28
    When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.
  3. Cross References
    Genesis 10:25
    To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and his brother's name was Joktan.
    Genesis 48:9
    Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." And he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.
    Genesis 48:15
    And he blessed Joseph and said, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day.
    Genesis 49:28
    All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.
    Deuteronomy 33:1
    This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death.
  4. Cross References
    Genesis 27:13
    His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me.
  5. Cross References
    Genesis 27:4
    And prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.
  6. Cross References
    Genesis 25:25
    The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau.
  7. Cross References
    Genesis 27:21 - 22
    Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.
  8. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 27:18
    "'Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.'
  9. Cross References
    1 Samuel 25:24
    She fell at his feet and said, "On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.
    2 Samuel 14:9
    And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, "On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father's house; let the king and his throne be guiltless.
    Matthew 27:25
    And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!
  10. Cross References
    Genesis 27:27
    So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed!
  11. Cross References
    Genesis 27:12
    Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing.
  12. Cross References
    Genesis 27:16
    And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
  13. Cross References
    Hebrews 11:20
    By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau.
  14. Cross References
    Genesis 27:10
    And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.
  15. Cross References
    Genesis 27:23
    And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him.
  16. Cross References
    Hosea 14:6
    His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.
  17. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 33:13
    And of Joseph he said, "Blessed by the Lord be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath.
    Zechariah 8:12
    For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
    Genesis 49:25
    By the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
    2 Samuel 1:21
    You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fields of offerings! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
  18. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 7:13
    He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.
    Deuteronomy 33:28
    So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew.
    Joel 2:19
    The Lord answered and said to his people, "Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
  19. Cross References
    Genesis 49:8
    Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.
  20. Cross References
    2 Samuel 8:14
    Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
  21. Cross References
    Genesis 12:3
    I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
    Numbers 24:9
    He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.
  22. Cross References
    Hebrews 12:17
    For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
  23. Cross References
    Genesis 25:26
    Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
  24. Cross References
    Genesis 25:33
    Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.
  25. Cross References
    Genesis 27:29
    Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!
    2 Samuel 8:14
    Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
  26. Cross References
    Genesis 27:28
    May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.
  27. Cross References
    Genesis 27:34
    As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!
  28. Cross References
    Genesis 27:28
    May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.
    Genesis 36:6 - 7
    Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob.
  29. Cross References
    Genesis 25:23
    And the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.
    2 Samuel 8:14
    Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.
    Obadiah 1:18 - 21
    The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.
  30. Cross References
    2 Kings 8:20 - 22
    In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.
  31. Cross References
    Genesis 37:4
    But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
  32. Cross References
    Genesis 50:3 - 4
    Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
    Genesis 50:10
    When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
  33. Cross References
    Amos 1:11
    Thus says the Lord : "For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.
    Obadiah 1:10
    Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever.
  34. Cross References
    Genesis 26:34 - 35
    When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.
    Genesis 28:8
    So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father.
  35. Cross References
    Genesis 24:3
    That I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Next Book Next Book