Now Isaac was old and his eyes had grown so dim that he couldn’t see. And he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son.”
And he said, “Yes.”
And he said, “I am an old man now, and I may die any day. Take your quiver and bow, and go out to the open country and hunt me some venison. And cook me a stew, the way I like it, and bring it for me to eat, so that I can give you my blessing before I die.”
Now Rebecca had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. And when Esau went out to hunt venison for his father, Rebeccasaid to her son Jacob, “I just overheard your father telling your brother Esau to bring him some venison and cook him a stew so that he could eat and give him his blessing. Now listen and do exactly as I tell you. Go out to the flock and get me two tender kids, and I will cook them into a stew, the way your father likes it. Then you will take it in to your father, so that he can eat it and give you his blessing before he dies.”
And Jacob said, “But Esau’s skin is hairy, and mine is smooth. What if my father touches me and discovers the trick? I will bring a curse on myself, not a blessing.”
And his mother said, “Let the curse be on me, my son. Just do as I say and get the kids.”
So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and she cooked a stew, the way his father liked it. And she took Esau’s clothes and had Jacob put them on. And she covered his hands and the bare part of his neck with the goatskins. And she gave him the stew and the bread that she had baked.
And he went to his father and said, “Father.”
And he said, “Yes? Who are you, my son?”
And Jacob said, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me to; sit up now and eat some of my venison, so that you can give me your blessing.”
And Isaac said, “How did you get it so quickly, my son?”
And he said, “The Lord your God brought me good luck.”
And Isaac said, “Come here and let me touch you, my son, to make sure that you are my son Esau.”
And Jacob came close, and Isaac touched him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And
Isaac didn’t recognize him, because his hands were hairy like Esau’s hands. And he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”
And he said, “I am.”
And he said, “Bring me the stew, my son, and I will eat and give you my blessing.”
And he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And Isaac said, “Come here and kiss me, my son.” And he came close and kissed him. And Isaac smelled his clothes, and he blessed him and said,
“How fragrant is my son’s smell,
like the smell of the open country
that the Lord has blessed.
May God give you the dew of heaven
and the richness of the dark earth:
an abundance of grain and wine.
May you rule over your brother,
and may your mother’s son bow before you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
and may those who bless you be blessed.”
No sooner had Jacob left his father Isaac than Esau came back from hunting. And he cooked a stew and brought it to his father and said, “Sit up, Father, and eat some of my venison, so that you can give me your blessing.”
And Isaac said, “Who are you?”
And he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”
And Isaac shuddered violently and said, “Then who was it that brought me the other stew? I just finished eating it before you came, and I blessed him, and the blessing cannot be taken back.”
And when Esau heard his father’s words, he cried out loudly and bitterly and said, “Bless me, bless me too, Father.”
And he said, “Your brother came and deceived me and took your blessing.”
And he said, “Didn’t you save a blessing for me?”
And Isaac said, “I gave him power over you, and made him your master, and granted him an abundance of grain and wine. What is left for you, my son?”
And Esau said, “Do you have just one blessing? Bless me too, Father.” And he burst into tears.
And Isaac said,
“Far from the richness of the dark earth
your home shall be,
far from the dew of heaven.
By your sword you shall live,
and you shall be a servant to your brother.”
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him, and he said to himself, “I will kill my brother Jacob, as soon as my father dies.”
And when Rebecca guessed what her elder son Esau was thinking, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to kill you in revenge. Listen to me now: you must leave right away and go to my brother Laban in Haran and stay with him for a while, until your brother’s anger has died down and he has forgotten what you did to him. Then I will send for you and you can come back. Why should I lose you both in one day?”