Genesis chapter .xxvij.
¶ And it came to pass that Isaac waxed old and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. Then called he Esau his eldest son and said unto him: my son. And he said unto him: here am I.
And he said: behold, I am old and know not the day of my death:
Now therefore take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and get thee to the fields, and take me some venison,
and make me meat such as I love, and bring it me and let me eat that my soul may bless thee before that I die.
But Rebecca heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And as soon as Esau was gone to the field to catch venison, and to bring it,
¶ she spake unto Iacob her son saying: Behold I have heard thy father talking with Esau thy brother and saying:
bring me venison and make me meat, that I may eat and bless thee before the LORD yer I die.
Now therefore my son hear my voice in that which I command thee:
get thee to the flock, and bring me thence two good kids, and I will make meat of them for thy father, such as he loveth.
And thou shalt bring it to thy father and he shall eat, that he may bless thee before his death.
Then said Iacob to Rebecca his mother: Behold Esau my brother is rough and I am smooth.
My father shall peradventure feel me, and I shall seem unto him as though I went about to beguile him, and so shall he bring a curse upon me and not a blessing:
and his mother said unto him. Upon me be thy curse my son, only hear my voice, and go and fetch me them.
And Iacob went and fetched them and brought them to his mother. And his mother made meat of them, according as his father loved.
And she went and fetched goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau which she had in the house with her, and put them upon Iacob her youngest son,
and she put the skins upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck.
And she put the meat and bread which she had made in the hand of her son Iacob.
¶ And he went in to his father saying: my father. And he answered: here am I, who art thou my son?
And Iacob said unto his father: I am Esau thy eldest son, I have done according as thou baddest me, up and sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
But Isaac said unto his son: How cometh it that thou hast found it so quickly my son? He answered: The LORD thy God brought it to my hand.
Then said Isaac unto Iacob: come near and let me feel thee my son, whether thou be my son Esau or not.
Then went Iacob to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said the voice is Iacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
And he knew him not, because his hands were rough as his brother Esau's hands and so he blessed him.
And he asked him, art thou my son Esau? And he said: that I am.
Then said he: bring me and let me eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought him, and he ate. And he brought him wine also, and he drank.
And his father Isaac said unto him: come near and kiss me my son.
And he went to him and kissed him. And he smelled the savour 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.
God give thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine.
People be thy servants and nations bow unto thee. Be lord over thy brethren, and thy mother's children stoop unto thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
¶ As soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Iacob, and Iacob was scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father: then came Esau his brother from his hunting:
and had made also meat, and brought it in unto his father and said unto him: Arise my father and eat of thy son's venison, that thy soul may bless me.
Then his father Isaac said unto him: Who art thou? he answered I am thy eldest son Esau.
And Isaac was greatly astonied out of measure, and said: Where is he then that hath hunted venison and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him, and he shall be blessed still.
When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out greatly and bitterly above measure, and said unto his father: bless me also my father.
And he said thy brother came with subtlety, and hath taken away thy blessing.
Then said he: He may well be called Iacob, for he hath undermined me now two times, first he took away my birthright: and see, now hath he taken away my blessing also. And he said, hast thou kept never a blessing for me?
Isaac answered and said unto Esau: behold I have made him thy lord, and all his mother's children have I made his servants. Moreover with corn and wine have I stablished him, what can I do unto thee now my son?
And Esau said unto his father: hast thou but that one blessing my father? bless me also my father: so lifted up Esau his voice and wept.
Then Isaac his father answered and said unto him: Behold thy dwelling place shall have of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.
And with thy sword shalt thou live and shalt be thy brother's servant; But the time will come, when thou shalt get the mastery, and lowse his yoke from off thy neck.
¶ And Esau hated Iacob, because of the blessing that his father blessed him withal, and said in his heart: The days of my father's sorrow are at hand, for I will slay my brother Iacob.
And these words of Esau her eldest son, were told to Rebecca. And she sent and called Iacob her youngest son, and said unto him: behold thy brother Esau threateneth to kill thee:
Now therefore my son hear my voice, make thee ready, and flee to Laban my brother at Haran:
And tarry with him a while, until thy brother's fierceness be swaged,
and until thy brother's wrath turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him. Then will I send and fetch thee away from thence. Why should I lose you both in one day?
And Rebecca spake to Isaac: I am weary of my life, for fear of the daughters of Heth. If Iacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such one as these are, or of the daughters of the land, what lust should I have to live?
Praise the Everlasting Lord for His Faithful Word.