New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am."
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Now when Isaac was old and his eyes had become clouded so that he was not able to see, he sent for Esau, his first son, and said to him, My son: and he said, Here am I.
2 He said, "See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.
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And he said, See now, I am old, and my death may take place at any time:
3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me.
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So take your arrows and your bow and go out to the field and get meat for me;
4 Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die."
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And make me food, good to the taste, such as is pleasing to me, and put it before me, so that I may have a meal and give you my blessing before death comes to me.
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,
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Now Isaac's words to his son were said in Rebekah's hearing. Then Esau went out to get the meat.
6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father say to your brother Esau,
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And Rebekah said to Jacob, her son, Your father said to your brother Esau in my hearing,
7 "Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the Lord before I die.'
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Go and get some roe's meat and make me a good meal, so that I may be full, and give you my blessing before the Lord before my death.
8 Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you.
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Now, my son, do what I say.
9 Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes;
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Go to the flock and get me two fat young goats; and I will make of them a meal to your father's taste:
10 and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies."
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And you will take it to him, so that he may have a good meal and give you his blessing before his death.
11 But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, "Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin.
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And Jacob said to Rebekah, his mother, But Esau my brother is covered with hair, while I am smooth:
12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing."
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If by chance my father puts his hand on me, it will seem to him that I am tricking him, and he will put a curse on me in place of a blessing.
13 His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me."
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And his mother said, Let the curse be on me, my son: only do as I say, and go and get them for me.
14 So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved.
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So he went and got them and took them to his mother: and she made a meal to his father's taste.
15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob;
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And Rebekah took the fair robes of her oldest son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son:
16 and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
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And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck:
17 Then she handed the savory food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob.
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And she gave into the hand of Jacob, her son, the meat and the bread which she had made ready.
18 So he went in to his father, and said, "My father"; and he said, "Here I am; who are you, my son?"
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And he came to his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I: 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, so that you may bless me."
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And Jacob said, I am Esau, your oldest son; I have done as you said: come now, be seated and take of my meat, so that you may give me a blessing.
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."
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And Isaac said, How is it that you have got it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the Lord your God made it come my way.
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not."
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And Isaac said, Come near so that I may put my hand on you, my son, and see if you are truly my son Esau or not.
22 So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
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And Jacob went near his father Isaac: and he put his hands on him; and he said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.
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And he did not make out who he was, because his hands were covered with hair like his brother Esau's hands: so he gave him a blessing.
24 He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answered, "I am."
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And he said, Are you truly my son Esau? And he said, I am.
25 Then he said, "Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you." So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.
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And he said, Put it before me and I will take of my son's meat, so that I may give you a blessing. And he put it before him and he took it; and he gave him wine, and he had a drink.
26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son."
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And his father Isaac said to him, Come near now, my son, and give me a kiss.
27 So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, "Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
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And he came near and gave him a kiss; and smelling the smell of his clothing, he gave him a blessing, and said, See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field on which the blessing of the Lord has come:
28 May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine.
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May God give you the dew of heaven, and the good things of the earth, and grain and wine in full measure:
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!"
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Let peoples be your servants, and nations go down before you: be lord over your brothers, and let your mother's sons go down before you: a curse be on everyone by whom you are cursed, and a blessing on those who give you a blessing.
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting.
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And when Isaac had come to the end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had not long gone away from Isaac his father, Esau came in from the field.
31 He also prepared savory food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, "Let my father sit up and eat of his son's game, so that you may bless me."
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And he made ready a meal, good to the taste, and took it to his father, and said to him, Let my father get up and take of his son's meat, so that you may give me a blessing.
32 His father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your firstborn son, Esau."
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And Isaac his father said to him, Who are you? And he said, I am your oldest son, Esau.
33 Then Isaac trembled 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 blessed he shall be!"
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And in great fear Isaac said, Who then is he who got meat and put it before me, and I took it all before you came, and gave him a blessing, and his it will be?
34 When Esau heard his father's words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, me also, father!"
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And hearing the words of his father, Esau gave a great and bitter cry, and said to his father, Give a blessing to me, even to me, O my father!
35 But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing."
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And he said, Your brother came with deceit, and took away your blessing.
36 Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and look, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"
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And he said, Is it because he is named Jacob that he has twice taken my place? for he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Have you not kept a blessing for me?
37 Isaac answered Esau, "I have already made him your lord, and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?"
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And Isaac answering said, But I have made him your master, and have given him all his brothers for servants; I have made him strong with grain and wine: what then am I to do for you, my son?
38 Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
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And Esau said to his father, Is that the only blessing you have, my father? give a blessing to me, even me! And Esau was overcome with weeping.
39 Then his father Isaac answered him: "See, away from the fatness of the earth shall your home be, and away from the dew of heaven on high.
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Then Isaac his father made answer and said to him, Far from the fertile places of the earth, and far from the dew of heaven on high will your living-place be:
40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you break loose, you shall break his yoke from your neck."
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By your sword will you get your living and you will be your brother's servant; but when your power is increased his yoke will be broken from off your neck.
41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
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So Esau was full of hate for Jacob because of his father's blessing; and he said in his heart, The days of weeping for my father are near; then I will put my brother Jacob to death.
42 But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you.
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Then Rebekah, hearing what Esau had said, sent for Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, It seems that your brother Esau is purposing to put you to death.
43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran,
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So now, my son, do what I say: go quickly to Haran, to my brother Laban;
44 and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away—
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And be there with him for a little time, till your brother's wrath is turned away;
45 until your brother's anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send, and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?"
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Till the memory of what you have done to him is past and he is no longer angry: then I will send word for you to come back; are the two of you to be taken from me in one day?
46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?"
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Then Rebekah said to Isaac, My life is a weariness to me because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob takes a wife from among the daughters of Heth, such as these, the women of this land, of what use will my life be to me?
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.