Now when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his elder [and favorite] son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And Esau answered him, “Here I am.” Isaac said, “See here, I am old; I do not know when I may die. So now, please take your [hunting] gear, your quiver [of arrows] and your bow, and go out into the open country and hunt game for me; and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], the kind I love, and bring it to me to eat, so that my soul may bless you [as my firstborn son] before I die.”
But Rebekah overheard what Isaac said to Esau his son; and when Esau had gone to the open country to hunt for game that he might bring back, Rebekah said to Jacob her [younger and favorite] son, “Listen carefully: I heard your father saying to Esau your brother, ‘Bring me some game and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], so that I may eat it, and declare my blessing on you in the presence of the LORD before my death.’ So now, my son, listen [carefully] to me [and do exactly] as I command you. Go now to the flock and bring me two good and suitable young goats, and I will make them into a savory dish [of meat] for your father, the kind he loves [to eat]. Then you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Listen, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth [skinned] man. Suppose my father touches me and feels my skin; then I will be seen by him as a cheat (imposter), and I will bring his curse on me and not a blessing.” But his mother said to him, “May your curse be on me, my son; only listen and obey me, and go, bring the young goats to me.” So Jacob went and got the two young goats, and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared a delicious dish of food [with a delightful aroma], the kind his father loved [to eat]. Then Rebekah took her elder son Esau’s best clothes, which were with her in her house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she gave her son Jacob the delicious meat and the bread which she had prepared.
So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And Isaac said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done what you told me to do. Now please, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.” Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found the game so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God caused it to come to me.” But Isaac [wondered and] said to Jacob, “Please come close [to me] so that I may touch you, my son, and determine if you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob approached Isaac, and his father touched him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He could not recognize him [as Jacob], because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. But he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “I am.” Then Isaac said, “Bring the food to me, and I will eat some of my son’s game, so that I may bless you.” He brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come, my son, and kiss me.” So he came and kissed him; and Isaac smelled his clothing and blessed him and said,
“The scent of my son [Esau]
Is like the aroma of a field which the LORD has blessed;
Now may God give you of the dew of heaven [to water your land],
And of the fatness (fertility) of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and new wine; [Gen 27:39; Deut 33:13, 28]
May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be lord and master over your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed,
And may those who bless you be blessed.”
Now as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
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