Genesis 25:31

Easy-to-Read Version

But Jacob said, "You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son."

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now."

Update Bible Version
And Jacob said, First sell me your birthright.

New Century Version
But Jacob said, "You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son."

New English Translation
But Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Jacob said, Sell to me this day thy birth-right.

World English Bible
Jacob said, "First, sell me your birthright."

Amplified Bible
Jacob answered, "First sell me your birthright (the rights of a firstborn)."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Jacob seide to him, Sille to me the riyt of the first gendrid childe.

Young's Literal Translation
and Jacob saith, `Sell to-day thy birthright to me.'

Berean Standard Bible
"First sell me your birthright," Jacob replied.

Contemporary English Version
Jacob replied, "Sell me your rights as the first-born son."

Complete Jewish Bible
Ya‘akov answered, "First sell me your rights as the firstborn."

American Standard Version
And Jacob said, Sell me first thy birthright.

Bible in Basic English
And Jacob said, First of all give me your birthright.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iacob saide: sell me this day thy byrthryght.

Darby Translation
And Jacob said, Sell me now thy birthright.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Jacob said: 'Sell me first thy birthright.'

King James Version (1611)
And Iacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

King James Version
And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

New Life Bible
But Jacob said, "First, sell me your birth-right."

New Revised Standard
Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Jacob said, - Come sell, just now, thy birthright unto me.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Iaakob sayd, Sell me euen nowe thy birthright.

George Lamsa Translation
And Jacob said, Sell me this day your birthright.

Good News Translation
Jacob answered, "I will give it to you if you give me your rights as the first-born son."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Jacob said to him: Sell me thy first birthright.

Revised Standard Version
Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Jacob said to Esau, Sell me this day thy birthright.

English Revised Version
And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.

Christian Standard Bible®
Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

Hebrew Names Version
Ya`akov said, "First, sell me your birthright."

Lexham English Bible
Then Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright first."

Literal Translation
And Jacob said, Sell me your birthright today.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Iacob sayde: Sell me this daye thy byrthright.

THE MESSAGE
Jacob said, "Make me a trade: my stew for your rights as the firstborn."

New American Standard Bible
But Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."

New King James Version
But Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright as of this day."

New Living Translation
"All right," Jacob replied, "but trade me your rights as the firstborn son."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."

Legacy Standard Bible
But Jacob said, "First sell me your birthright."

Contextual Overview

²⁹ One day Esau came back from hunting. He was tired and weak from hunger. Jacob was boiling a pot of beans. ³⁰ So Esau said to Jacob, "I am weak with hunger. Let me have some of that red soup." (That is why people call him "Red.") ³¹ But Jacob said, "You must sell me your rights as the firstborn son." ³² Esau said, "I am almost dead with hunger, so what good are these rights to me now?" ³³ But Jacob said, "First, promise me that you will give them to me." So Esau made an oath to him and sold his rights as the firstborn son to Jacob. ³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil soup. Esau ate the food, had something to drink, and then left. So Esau showed that he did not care about his rights as the firstborn son.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:36 - Jacob Genesis 32:28 - with men Deuteronomy 21:17 - the right Hebrews 12:16 - as Esau

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright. Which had many privileges annexed to it, as honour and authority in the family next to parents; a double portion of inheritance; some say the exercise of priesthood, but that is questioned; the parental blessing, and especially in this the promises of the Messiah, and of inheritance of the land of Canaan, and which was typical of the heavenly inheritance: all which Rebekah knew by the divine oracle were designed for Jacob, and which no doubt she had acquainted him with, and advised him to deal with his brother about parting with his birthright as he had opportunity; and very likely they had talked together about it before in a distant manner, and Esau had shown some indifference to his right, and made no great account of it; and now, an opportunity offering to get him in the mind to part with it, he takes it, and moves for a sale of it immediately, at once, without any more delay, and even before he had his pottage; thus taking the advantage of his brother's necessity: or, sell it me "as the day" x, let the bargain be as clear as the day, as Jarchi interprets it; let it be made in plain and full terms, that there may be no dispute about it hereafter, or any revocation of it: but the former sense seems best, as appears from Genesis 25:33, where the same way of speaking is used.

x כיום "juxta hunc diem", Fagius, Drusius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- LIII. Birth of Esau and Jacob

20. פדן padān, Paddan, “plowed field;” related: “cut, plow.”

25. עשׂי ‛êśâv, ‘Esaw, “hairy, or made.”

26. יעקב ya‛ăqôb, Ja’aqob, “he shall take the heel.”

27. תם tām, “perfect, peaceful, plain.” The epithet refers to disposition, and contrasts the comparatively civilized character of Jacob with the rude temper of Esau.

30. אדים 'ědôm, Edom, “red.”

The ninth document here begins with the usual phrase, and continues to the end of the thirty-fifth chapter. It contains the history of the second of the three patriarchs, or rather, indeed, as the opening phrase intimates, of the generations of Isaac; that is, of his son Jacob. Isaac himself makes little figure in the sacred history. Born when his mother was ninety, and his father a hundred years of age, he is of a sedate, contemplative, and yielding disposition. Consenting to be laid on the altar as a sacrifice to God, he had the stamp of submission early and deeply impressed on his soul. His life corresponds with these antecedents. Hence, in the spiritual aspect of his character he was the man of patience, of acquiescence, of susceptibility, of obedience. His qualities were those of the son, as Abraham’s were those of the father. He carried out, but did not initiate; he followed, but did not lead; he continued, but did not commence. Accordingly, the docile and patient side of the saintly character is now to be presented to our view.

Genesis 25:19-26

The birth of Esau and Jacob. “The son of forty years.” Hence, we learn that Isaac was married the third year after his mother’s death, when Abraham was in his hundred and fortieth year. “Bethuel the Aramaean.” As Bethuel was a descendant of Arpakshad, not of Aram, he is here designated, not by his descent, but by his adopted country Aram. By descent he was a Kasdi or Kaldee. Sarah was barren for at least thirty years; Rebekah for nineteen years. This drew forth the prayer of Isaac in regard to his wife. The heir of promise was to be a child of prayer, and accordingly when the prayer ascended the fruit of the womb was given. Rebekah had unwonted sensations connected with her pregnancy. She said to herself, “If it be so,” if I have conceived seed, “why am I thus,” why this strange struggle within me? In the artlessness of her faith she goes to the Lord for an explanation. We are not informed in what way she consulted God, or how he replied. The expression, “she went to inquire of the Lord,” implies that there was some place of worship and communion with God by prayer. We are not to suppose that she went to Abraham, or any other prophet, if such were then at hand, when we have no intimation of this in the text. Her communication with the Lord seems to have been direct. This passage conveys to us the intimation that there was now a fixed mode and perhaps place of inquiring at the Lord. The Lord answers the mother of the promised seed. Two children are in her womb, the parents of two nations, differing in their dispositions and destinies. The one is to be stronger than the other. The order of nature is to be reversed in them; for the older will serve the younger. Their struggles in the womb are a prelude to their future history.

Genesis 25:24-26

The twins are born in due time. The difference is manifest in the outward appearance. The first is red and hairy. These qualities indicate a passionate and precocious nature. He is called “Esau the hairy,” or “the made up,” the prematurely developed. His brother is like other children. An act takes place in the very birth foreshadowing their future history. The second has a hold of his brother’s heel, as if he would trip him up from his very birth. Hence, he is called “Jacob the wrestler,” who takes hold by the heel.

Genesis 25:27-34

The brothers prove to be different in disposition and habit. The rough fiery Esau takes to the field, and becomes skilled in all modes of catching game. Jacob is of a homely, peaceful, orderly turn, dwelling in tents and gathering round him the means and appliances of a quiet social life. The children please their parents according as they supply what is lacking in themselves. Isaac, himself so sedate, loves the wild, wandering hunter, because he supplies him with pleasures which his own quiet habits do not reach. Rebekah becomes attached to the gentle, industrious shepherd, who satisfies those social and spiritual tendencies in which she is more dependent than Isaac. Esau is destructive of game; Jacob is constructive of cattle.

Genesis 25:29-34

A characteristic incident in their early life is attended with very important consequences. “Jacob sod pottage.” He has become a sage in the practical comforts of life. Esau leaves the field for the tent, exhausted with fatigue. The sight and smell of Jacob’s savory dish of lentile soup are very tempting to a hungry man. “Let me feed now on that red, red broth.” He does not know how to name it. The lentile is common in the country, and forms a cheap and palatable dish of a reddish brown color, with which bread seems to have been eaten. The two brothers were not congenial. They would therefore act each independently of the other, and provide each for himself. Esau was no doubt occasionally rude and hasty. Hence, a selfish habit would grow up and gather strength. He was probably accustomed to supply himself with such fare as suited his palate, and might have done so on this occasion without any delay. But the free flavor and high color of the mess, which Jacob was preparing for himself, takes his fancy, and nothing will do but the red red. Jacob obviously regarded this as a rude and selfish intrusion on his privacy and property, in keeping with similar encounters that may have taken place between the brothers.

It is here added, “therefore was his name called Edom,” that is, “Red.” The origin of surnames, or second names for the same person or place, is a matter of some moment in the fair interpretation of an ancient document. It is sometimes hastily assumed that the same name can only owe its application to one occasion; and hence a record of a second occasion on which it was applied is regarded as a discrepancy. But the error lies in the interpreter, not in the author. The propriety of a particular name may be marked by two or more totally different circumstances, and its application renewed on each of these occasions. Even an imaginary cause may be assigned for a name, and may serve to originate or renew its application. The two brothers now before us afford very striking illustrations of the general principle. It is pretty certain that Esau would receive the secondary name of Edom, which ultimately became primary in point of use, from the red complexion of skin, even from his birth. But the exclamation “that red red,” uttered on the occasion of a very important crisis in his history, renewed the name, and perhaps tended to make it take the place of Esau in the history of his race. Jacob, too, the holder of the heel, received this name from a circumstance occurring at his birth. But the buying of the birthright and the gaining of the blessing, were two occasions in his subsequent life on which he merited the title of the supplanter or the holder by the heel Genesis 27:36. These instances prepare us to expect other examples of the same name being applied to the same object, for different reasons on different occasions.

“Sell me this day thy birthright.” This brings to light a new cause of variance between the brothers. Jacob was no doubt aware of the prediction communicated to his mother, that the older should serve the younger. A quiet man like him would not otherwise have thought of reversing the order of nature and custom. In after times the right of primogeniture consisted in a double portion of the father’s goods Deuteronomy 21:17, and a certain rank as the patriarch and priest of the house on the death of the father. But in the case of Isaac there was the far higher dignity of chief of the chosen family and heir of the promised blessing, with all the immediate and ultimate temporal and eternal benefits therein included. Knowing all this, Jacob is willing to purchase the birthright, as the most peaceful way of bringing about that supremacy which was destined for him. He is therefore cautious and prudent, even conciliating in his proposal.

He availed himself of a weak moment to accomplish by consent what was to come. Yet he lays no necessity on Esau, but leaves him to his own free choice. We must therefore beware of blaming him for endeavoring to win his brother’s concurrence in a thing that was already settled in the purpose of God. His chief error lay in attempting to anticipate the arrangements of Providence. Esau is strangely ready to dispose of his birthright for a trivial present gratification. He might have obtained other means of recruiting nature equally suitable, but he will sacrifice anything for the desire of the moment. Any higher import of the right he was prepared to sell so cheap seems to have escaped his view, if it had ever occurred to his mind. Jacob, however, is deeply in earnest. He will bring this matter within the range of heavenly influence. He will have God solemnly invoked as a witness of the transfer. Even this does not startle Esau. There is not a word about the price. It is plain that Esau’s thoughts were altogether on “the morsel of meat.” He swears unto Jacob. He then ate and drank, and rose up and went his way, as the sacred writer graphically describes his reckless course. Most truly did he despise his birthright. His mind did not rise to higher or further things. Such was the boyhood of these wondrous twins.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 25:31. Sell me this day thy birthright. — What the בחרה bechorah or birthright was, has greatly divided both ancient and modern commentators. It is generally supposed that the following rights were attached to the primogeniture:

1. Authority and superiority over the rest of the family.

2. A double portion of the paternal inheritance.

3. The peculiar benediction of the father.

4. The priesthood, previous to its establishment in the family of Aaron.

Calmet controverts most of these rights, and with apparent reason, and seems to think that the double portion of the paternal inheritance was the only incontestable right which the first-born possessed; the others were such as were rather conceded to the first-born, than fixed by any law in the family. However this may be, it appears,

1. That the first-born were peculiarly consecrated to God, Exodus 22:29.

2. Were next in honour to their parents, Genesis 49:3.

3. Had a double portion of their father's goods, Deuteronomy 21:17.

4. Succeeded him in the government of the family or kingdom, 2 Chronicles 21:3.

5. Had the sole right of conducting the service of God, both at the tabernacle and temple; and hence the tribe of Levi, which was taken in lieu of the first-born, had the sole right of administration in the service of God, Numbers 8:14-18; and hence we may presume, had originally a right to the priesthood previous to the giving of the law; but however this might have been, afterwards the priesthood is never reckoned among the privileges of the first-born.

That the birthright was a matter of very great importance, there can be no room to doubt; and that it was a transferable property, the transaction here sufficiently proves.