Jacob Obtains Isaac's Blessing

271 And it came to pass when Isaac had become old, and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, that he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, My son! And he said to him, Here am I. 2 And he said, Behold now, I am become old; I know not the day of my death. 3 And now, I pray thee, take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and hunt me venison, 4 and prepare me a savoury dish such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, in order that my soul may bless thee before I die. 5 And Rebecca heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt venison, to bring it.

6 And Rebecca spoke to Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak to Esau thy brother, saying, 7 Bring me venison, and prepare me a savoury dish, that I may eat, and bless thee before Jehovah, before my death. 8 And now, my son, hearken to my voice in that which I command thee. 9 Go, I pray thee, to the flock, and fetch me thence two good kids of the goats. And I will make of them a savoury dish for thy father, such as he loves. 10 And thou shalt bring [it] to thy father, that he may eat, in order that he may bless thee before his death. 11 And Jacob said to Rebecca his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12 My father perhaps will feel me, and I shall be in his sight as one who mocks [him], and I shall bring a curse on me, and not a blessing. 13 And his mother said to him, On me [be] thy curse, my son! Only hearken to my voice, and go, fetch [them]. 14 And he went, and fetched and brought [them] to his mother. And his mother prepared a savoury dish such as his father loved. 15 And Rebecca took the clothes of her elder son Esau, the costly ones which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son; 16 and she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck; 17 and she gave the savoury dishes and the bread that she had prepared into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 And he came to his father, and said, My father! And he said, Here am I: who art thou, my son? 19 And Jacob said to his father, I am Esau, thy firstborn. I have done according as thou didst say to me. Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, in order that thy soul may bless me. 20 And Isaac said to his son, How is it that thou hast found [it] so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Jehovah thy God put [it] in my way. 21 And Isaac said to Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be really my son Esau or not. 22 And Jacob drew near to Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he did not discern him, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands; and he blessed him. 24 And he said, Art thou really my son Esau? And he said, It is I. 25 And he said, Bring [it] near to me, that I may eat of my son's venison, in order that my soul may bless thee. And he brought [it] near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 And his father Isaac said to him, Come near, now, and kiss me, my son. 27 And he came near, and kissed him. And he smelt the smell of his clothes, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed. 28 And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of corn and new wine. 29 Let peoples serve thee, And races bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be they that curse thee, And blessed be they that bless thee.

30 And it came to pass when Isaac had ended blessing Jacob, and when Jacob was only just gone out from Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came from his hunting. 31 And he also had prepared savoury dishes, and he brought [them] in to his father, and said to his father, Let my father arise and eat of his son's venison, in order that thy soul may bless me. 32 And Isaac his father said to him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau. 33 Then Isaac trembled with exceeding great trembling, and said, Who was he, then, that hunted venison and brought [it] to me? And I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him; also blessed he shall be. 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said to his father, Bless me—me also, my father! 35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and has taken away thy blessing. 36 And he said, Is it not therefore he was named Jacob, for he has supplanted me now twice? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? 37 And Isaac answered and said to Esau, Behold, I have made him lord over thee, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and new wine have I supplied him—and what can I do now for thee, my son? 38 And Esau said to his father, Hast thou then but one blessing, my father? bless me—me also, my father! And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 And Isaac his father answered and said to him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above; 40 And by thy sword shalt thou live; And thou shalt serve thy brother; And it shall come to pass when thou rovest about, That thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.

Jacob Flees from Esau

41 And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand, and I will slay my brother Jacob. 42 And the words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebecca. And she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, comforts himself that he will kill thee. 43 And now, my son, hearken to my voice, and arise, flee to Laban my brother, to Haran; 44 and abide with him some days, until thy brother's fury turn away— 45 until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget what thou hast done to him; then I will send and fetch thee thence. Why should I be bereaved even of you both in one day? 46 And Rebecca 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, of the daughters of the land, what good should my life do me?

281 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father, and take a wife thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. 3 And the Almighty God bless thee, and make thee fruitful and multiply thee, that thou mayest become a company of peoples. 4 And may he give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee and to thy seed with thee, in order that thou mayest possess the land of thy sojourning, which God gave to Abraham! 5 And Isaac sent away Jacob; and he went to Padan-Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

6 And Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-Aram, to take a wife thence, blessing him, and giving him a charge saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7 and [that] Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padan-Aram. 8 And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the sight of Isaac his father. 9 And Esau went to Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.

God Appears to Jacob at Beth-el

10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went towards Haran. 11 And he lighted on a certain place, and lodged there, because the sun had set. And he took [one] of the stones of the place, and made [it] his pillow, and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to the heavens. And behold, angels of God ascended and descended upon it. 13 And behold, Jehovah stood above it. And he said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. 14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 15 And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all [places] to which thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done what I have spoken to thee of.

16 And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place, and I knew [it] not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18 And Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had made his pillow, and set it up [for] a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. 19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el; but the name of that city was Luz at the first. 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and keep me on this road that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and a garment to put on, 21 and I come again to my father's house in peace—then shall Jehovah be my God. 22 And this stone, which I have set up [for] a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou wilt give me I will without fail give the tenth to thee.

Jacob Serves Laban for Rachel and Leah

291 And Jacob continued his journey, and went into the land of the children of the east. 2 And he looked, and behold, there was a well in the fields, and behold there, three flocks of sheep were lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks, and a great stone was at the mouth of the well. 3 And when all the flocks were gathered there, they rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again on the mouth of the well in its place. 4 And Jacob said to them, My brethren, whence are ye? And they said, Of Haran are we. 5 And he said to them, Do ye know Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We do know [him]. 6 And he said to them, Is he well? And they said, [He is] well; and behold, there comes Rachel his daughter with the sheep. 7 And he said, Behold, it is yet high day; it is not time that the cattle should be gathered together; water the sheep, and go, feed [them]. 8 And they said, We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and we water the sheep.

9 While he was still speaking to them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. 10 And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of Laban his mother's brother. 11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was a brother of her father, and that he was Rebecca's son; and she ran and told her father. 13 And it came to pass when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house; and he told Laban all these things. 14 And Laban said to him, Thou art indeed my bone and my flesh. And he abode with him a month's time.

15 And Laban said to Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou serve me for nothing? tell me, what shall be thy wages? 16 And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger, Rachel. 17 And the eyes of Leah were tender; but Rachel was of beautiful form and beautiful countenance. 18 And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. 19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee than that I should give her to another man: abide with me. 20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they were in his eyes as single days, because he loved her. 21 And Jacob said to Laban, Give [me] my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her. 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave to her Zilpah, his maidservant, to be maidservant to Leah his daughter. 25 And it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done to me? Have I not served thee for Rachel? Why then hast thou deceived me? 26 And Laban said, It is not so done in our place, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfil the week [with] this one: then we will give thee the other one also, for the service that thou shalt serve me yet seven other years. 28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled the week [with] this one, and he gave him Rachel his daughter to be his wife. 29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, Bilhah, his maidservant, to be her maidservant. 30 And he went in also to Rachel; and he loved also Rachel more than Leah. And he served with him yet seven other years.

The Children Born to Jacob

31 And when Jehovah saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. 32 And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and called his name Reuben; for she said, Because Jehovah has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me. 33 And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, Because Jehovah has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this one also; and she called his name Simeon. 34 And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, Now this time will my husband be united to me, for I have borne him three sons; therefore was his name called Levi. 35 And she again conceived, and bore a son, and said, This time will I praise Jehovah; therefore she called his name Judah. And she ceased to bear.