Genesis 27:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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!”

NIV: May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed.'

NASB: May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.'

CSB: May peoples serve you and nations bow in worship to you. Be master over your relatives; may your mother's sons bow in worship to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.

NLT: May many nations become your servants, and may they bow down to you. May you be the master over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. All who curse you will be cursed, and all who bless you will be blessed.'

KJV: Let 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.

NKJV: Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”

The scam concocted by Rebekah and Jacob, to steal Esau's blessing from Isaac, is successful (Genesis 27:6–10). Isaac completes his inadvertent blessing of Jacob with this verse. The blessing intended for Esau began in the previous verse with a prayer and/or prediction of God's gifts of material wealth. This verse refers to political power and influence over other peoples and nations, but also over brothers who would bow to the receiver of these words.

Isaac believes the irrevocable blessing which he is praying is being spoken to Esau. Instead, it will be the younger twin, Jacob, and his offspring who will become lord over all. This is just as God's oracle to Rebekah predicted for her twin sons (Genesis 25:23).

Finally, Isaac concludes his prayer of blessing with one of God's earliest promises to Abraham, now passed on to Jacob: Those who blessed or cursed Jacob and his offspring would receive the same in return.

As the following passage will show, however, this fraud did not come without a price. Esau's rage will become murderous (Genesis 27:41), causing Jacob to flee from his family (Genesis 27:43–44), never to see his mother again (Genesis 35:27; 49:31). Also, God will give Jacob a taste of his own medicine later in life, both as the victim of fraud (Genesis 29) and by forcing him to be honest about his name in order to obtain a blessing (Genesis 32:26–28).

Genesis 27:1–29 describes how the Abrahamic family blessing came to second-born Jacob, instead of his firstborn brother, Esau. Isaac intends to give the blessing to his favored son, Esau. Rebekah commands Jacob to impersonate Esau, instead, in order to get the blessing for himself. Isaac almost catches on but is convinced by the smell of Esau on Jacob's borrowed clothes, and the hairy, Esau-like goat's skin on Jacob's hands. Isaac gives to Jacob the future-defining blessing of God.

Isaac's plan to pass the family blessing on to his favorite son, Esau, is thwarted by the deception of Isaac's wife Rebekah, and his other son Jacob. Old and blind, Isaac fails to recognize that the man claiming to be Esau is actually Jacob in a clever disguise. His prayer of blessing for wealth and rule over his brothers will remain valid though it is given under false pretense. Esau will be left with a blessing that sounds like a curse and a plan to murder his brother. Jacob will be forced to run for his life.

Prior chapters described the prosperity of Isaac, living in the Valley of Gerar. Genesis 27 leaps forward to near the end of Isaac's life. The time has come to pass on the family blessing. Isaac's intention to give that blessing to firstborn, Esau, is thwarted by the deception of Isaac's wife Rebekah and his other son Jacob. Isaac overcomes his suspicions that the man before him is not Esau and delivers the very blessing of God on Jacob. Esau is left with a near-curse and a murderous rage. Rebekah urges Jacob to go to her brother's household, a plan Isaac will endorse in the following chapter. There, he will ironically experience the sting of deception in his own life.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.