Genesis 27

¹Forsothe Isaac wexe eld, and hise iyen dasewiden, and he miyte not se. And he clepide Esau, his more sone, and seide to hym, My sone! Which answerde, Y am present.

²To whom the fadir seide, Thou seest that Y haue woxun eld, and Y knowe not the dai of my deeth.

³Take thin armeres, `arewe caas, and a bowe, and go out; and whanne thou hast take ony thing bi huntyng,

⁴make to me a seew therof, as thou knowist that Y wole, and brynge that Y ete, and my soule blesse thee bifore that Y die.

⁵And whanne Rebecca hadde herd this thing, and he hadde go in to the feeld to fille the comaundment of the fadir,

⁶sche seide to hir sone Jacob, Y herde thi fadir spekynge with Esau, thi brothir, and seiynge to him, Brynge thou me of thin huntyng,

⁷and make thow metis, that Y ete, and that Y blesse thee bifor the Lord bifor that Y die.

⁸Now therfor, my sone, assent to my counsels,

⁹and go to the floc, and brynge to me tweyne the beste kidis, that Y make metis of tho to thi fadir, whiche he etith gladli;

¹⁰and that whanne thow hast brouyt in tho metis, and he hath ete, he blesse thee bifore that he die.

¹¹To whom Jacob answerde, Thou knowist that Esau my brother is an heeri man, and Y am smethe; if my fadir `touchith and feelith me,

¹²Y drede lest he gesse that Y wolde scorne him, and lest he brynge in cursyng on me for blessyng.

¹³To whom the modir seide, My sone, this cursyng be in me; oonly here thou my vois, and go, and brynge that that Y seide.

¹⁴He yede, and brouyte, and yaf to his modir. Sche made redi metis, as sche knewe that his fadir wolde,

¹⁵and sche clothide Jacob in ful goode clothis of Esau, whiche sche hadde at home anentis hir silf.

¹⁶And sche `compasside the hondis with litle skynnys of kiddis, and kyuerede the `nakide thingis of the necke;

¹⁷and sche yaf seew, and bitook the loouys whiche sche hadde bake.

¹⁸And whanne these weren brouyt in, he seide, My fadir! And he answerde, Y here; who art thou, my sone?

¹⁹And Jacob seide, Y am Esau, thi first gendrid sone. Y haue do to thee as thou comaundist to me; rise thou, sitte, and ete of myn huntyng, that thi soule blesse me.

²⁰Eft Ysaac seide to his sone, My sone, hou miytist thou fynde so soone? Which answerde, It was Goddis wille, that this that Y wolde schulde come soone to me.

²¹And Isaac seide, My sone, come thou hidir, that Y touche thee, and that Y preue wher thou art my sone Esau, ethir nay.

²²He neiyede to the fadir; and whanne he hadde feelid hym, Isaac seide, Sotheli the vois is the vois of Jacob, but the hondis ben the hondis of Esau.

²³And Isaac knew not Jacob, for the heery hondis expressiden the licnesse of the more sone.

²⁴Therfor Isaac blesside him, and seide, Art thou my sone Esau? Jacob answerde, Y am.

²⁵And Isaac seide, My sone, brynge thou to me metis of thin huntyng, that my soule blesse thee. And whanne Isaac hadde ete these metis brouyt, Jacob brouyte also wyn to Isaac, and whanne this was drunkun,

²⁶Isaac seide to him, My sone, come thou hidir, and yyue to me a cos.

²⁷Jacob neiyede, and kisside hym; and anoon as Isaac feelide the odour of hise clothis, he blesside him, and seide, Lo! the odour of my sone as the odour of a `feeld ful which the Lord hath blessid.

²⁸God yyue to thee of the dewe of heuene, and of the fatnesse of erthe, aboundaunce of whete, and of wyn, and of oile;

²⁹and puplis serue thee, and lynagis worschipe thee; be thou lord of thi britheren, and the sones of thi modir be bowid bifor thee; be he cursid that cursith thee, and he that blessith thee, be fillid with blessyngis.

³⁰Vnnethis Isaac hadde fillid the word, and whanne Jacob was gon out,

³¹Esau cam, and brouyte in metis sodun of the huntyng to the fadir, and seide, My fadir, rise thou, and ete of the huntyng of thi sone, that thi soule blesse me.

³²And Isaac seide, Who forsothe art thou? Which answerde, Y am Esau, thi firste gendrid sone.

³³Isaac dredde bi a greet astonying; and he wondride more, than it mai be bileued, and seide, Who therfor is he which a while ago brouyte to me huntyng takun, and Y eet of alle thingis bifor that thou camest; and Y blesside him? and he schal be blessid.

³⁴Whanne the wordis of the fadir weren herd, Esau rorid with a greet cry, and was astonyed, and seide, My fadir, blesse thou also me.

³⁵Which seide, Thy brother cam prudentli, and took thi blessyng.

³⁶And Esau addide, Justli his name is clepid Jacob, for lo! he supplauntide me another tyme; bifor he took awei `my firste gendride thingis, and now the secounde tyme he rauyschide priueli my blessyng. And eft he seide to the fadir, Wher thou hast not reserued a blessyng also to me?

³⁷Ysaac answeride, Y haue maad him thi lord, and Y haue maad suget alle hise britheren to his seruage; Y haue stablischid him in whete, and wyn, and oile; and, my sone, what schal Y do to thee aftir these thingis?

³⁸To whom Esau saide, Fadir, wher thou hast oneli o blessyng? Y biseche that also thou blesse me. And whanne Esau wepte with greet yellyng,

³⁹Isaac was stirid, and seide to hym, Thi blessyng schal be in the fatnesse of erthe, and in the dew of heuene fro aboue;

⁴⁰thou schalt lyue bi swerd, and thou schalt serue thi brothir, and tyme schal come whanne thou schalt shake awei, and vnbynde his yok fro thi nollis.

⁴¹Therfor Esau hatide euer Jacob for the blessyng bi which the fadir hadde blessid hym; and Esau seide in his herte, The daies of morenyng of my fadir schulen come, and Y schal sle Jacob, my brothir.

⁴²These thingis weren teld to Rebecca, and sche sente, and clepide hir sone Jacob, and seide to hym, Lo ! Esau, thi brothir, manaasith to sle thee;

⁴³now therfor, my sone, here thou my vois, and rise thou, and fle to Laban, my brother, in Aran;

⁴⁴and thou schalt dwelle with hym a fewe daies, til the woodnesse of thi brother reste,

⁴⁵and his indignacioun ceesse, and til he foryite tho thingis whiche thou hast don ayens hym. Aftirward Y schal sende, and Y schal brynge thee fro thennus hidir. Whi schal Y be maad soneles of euer eithir sone in o dai?

⁴⁶And Rebecca seide to Isaac, It anoieth me of my lijf for the douytris of Heth; if Jacob takith a wijf of the kynrede of this lond, Y nyle lyue.

Genesis 27

¹And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.

²And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:

³Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison;

⁴And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

⁵And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

⁶And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying,

⁷Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.

⁸Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.

⁹Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:

¹⁰And thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.

¹¹And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man:

¹²My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.

¹³And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them.

¹⁴And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved.

¹⁵And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:

¹⁶And she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck:

¹⁷And she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son?

¹⁹And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.

²⁰And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.

²¹And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not.

²²And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.

²³And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he blessed him.

²⁴And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

²⁵And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

²⁷And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:

²⁸Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:

²⁹Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

³⁰And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

³¹And he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me.

³²And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau.

³³And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.

³⁴And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.

³⁵And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.

³⁶And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?

³⁷And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?

³⁸And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

³⁹And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;

⁴⁰And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

⁴¹And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.

⁴²And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.

⁴³Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran;

⁴⁴And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away;

⁴⁵Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?

⁴⁶And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?