Genesis 27:1-25

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 27

Jacob Supplants His Brother.^{[a] 1} Isaac had grown old, and his eyes had failed so much that he could no longer see. He called his older son, Esau, and said to him, “My son.”

He answered, “Here I am.”

² He continued, “See, I am old and do not know when I will die. ³ Take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out into the countryside and hunt for some wild game for me. ⁴ Then prepare me a plate of delicious meat and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”

⁵ Rebekah overheard Isaac speaking to his son Esau. When Esau went out into the countryside to hunt game and to bring it home, ⁶ Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Behold, I have heard your father speaking to your brother Esau. ⁷ He said, ‘Bring me some game and prepare me a plate to eat it so that I may give you the Lord’s blessing before I die.’ ⁸ Now, my son, obey my instructions: ⁹ Go immediately to the flock and take two choice kids. I will prepare them to make a plate for your father just the way he likes it. ¹⁰ Then you can carry it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.”

¹¹ Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, “You know that my brother Esau is hairy, while my skin is smooth. ¹² My father might touch me and realize that I am playing a trick on him and place a curse on me instead of a blessing.”

¹³ But his mother said, “Let that curse fall on me, my son! Only obey me and go and bring the kid goats.”

¹⁴ He went to get them and brought them back to his mother, and his mother prepared them to make a meal the way his father liked it. ¹⁵ Rebekah then took the best clothes of her older son, Esau, which were in the house with her. She put them on her younger son, Jacob. ¹⁶ She put the skins of the kid goats on the smooth parts of his arms and neck. ¹⁷ Then she gave the meal that she had prepared to her son Jacob.

¹⁸ He went to his father and said, “My father.” He answered, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done everything you ordered. Please get up, sit down, and eat the game so that you may bless me.”

²⁰ Isaac said to his son, “How did you prepare it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “The Lord placed the game right in front of me.”

²¹ Then Isaac said, “Draw near and let me touch you, my son, so that I may know if you are really my son Esau or not.”

²² Jacob drew near, and Isaac, his father, touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the arms are the arms of Esau.” ²³ He did not recognize him, because his arms were hairy like the arms of his brother Esau, and he blessed him. ²⁴ Then he said to him one more time, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”

²⁵ He said, “Bring me the game to eat, my son, so that I can bless you.”

Jacob served him the meal and Isaac ate; and he brought him wine and he drank.