^25:19This is the history of the generations of Yitzchak, Avraham's son. Avraham became the father of Yitzchak. ^25:20Yitzchak was forty years old when he took Rivka, the daughter of Betu'el the Arammian of Paddan-Aram, the sister of Lavan the Arammian, to be his wife. ^25:21Yitzchak entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. The LORD was entreated by him, and Rivka his wife conceived. ^25:22The children struggled together within her. She said, "If it be so, why do I live?" She went to inquire of the LORD. ^25:23The LORD said to her,

 Two nations are in your womb,

 Two peoples will be separated from your body.

 The one people will be stronger than the other people.

 The elder will serve the younger.

^25:24When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. ^25:25The first came out red all over, like a hairy garment. They named him Esav. ^25:26After that, his brother came out, and his hand had hold on Esav's heel. He was named Ya`akov. Yitzchak was sixty years old when she bore them.

^25:27The boys grew. Esav was a skillful hunter, a man of the field. Ya`akov was a quiet man, living in tents. <sup>25:28</sup>Now Yitzchak loved Esav, because he ate his venison. Rivka loved Ya`akov. ^25:29Ya`akov boiled stew. Esav came in from the field, and he was famished. <sup>25:30</sup>Esav said to Ya`akov, "Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am famished." Therefore his name was called Edom.

^25:31Ya`akov said, "First, sell me your birthright."

^25:32Esav said, "Behold, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?"

^25:33Ya`akov said, "Swear to me first."

He swore to him. He sold his birthright to Ya`akov. <sup>25:34</sup>Ya`akov gave Esav bread and stew of lentils. He ate and drank, rose up, and went his way. So Esav despised his birthright.

^26:1There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Avraham. Yitzchak went to Avimelekh king of the Pelishtim, to Gerar. ^26:2The LORD appeared to him, and said, "Don't go down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I will tell you of. ^26:3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Avraham your father. ^26:4I will multiply your seed as the stars of the sky, and will give to your seed all these lands. In your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed, ^26:5because Avraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my mitzvot, my statutes, and my laws."

Sheni:

^26:6Yitzchak lived in Gerar. ^26:7The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, "She is my sister," for he was afraid to say, "My wife," lest, he thought, the men of the place might kill me for Rivka, because she was beautiful to look on. ^26:8It happened, when he had been there a long time, that Avimelekh king of the Pelishtim looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Yitzchak was caressing Rivka, his wife. ^26:9Avimelekh called Yitzchak, and said, "Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, 'She is my sister?'"

Yitzchak said to him, "Because I said, 'Lest I die because of her.'"

^26:10Avimelekh said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!"

^26:11Avimelekh charged all the people, saying, "He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death."

Shlishi:

^26:12Yitzchak sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. The LORD blessed him. ^26:13The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great. ^26:14He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Pelishtim envied him. ^26:15Now all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Avraham his father, the Pelishtim had stopped, and filled with earth. ^26:16Avimelekh said to Yitzchak, "Go from us, for you are much mightier than we."

^26:17Yitzchak departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.

^26:18Yitzchak dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Avraham his father. For the Pelishtim had stopped them after the death of Avraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them. ^26:19Yitzchak's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. ^26:20The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Yitzchak's herdsmen, saying, "The water is ours." He called the name of the well `Esek, because they contended with him. ^26:21They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. He called the name of it Sitnah. ^26:22He left that place, and dug another well. They didn't argue over that one. He called it Rechovot. He said, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land."

R'vi'i:

^26:23He went up from there to Be'er-Sheva. ^26:24The LORD appeared to him the same night, and said, "I am the G-d of Avraham your father. Don't be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed for my servant Avraham's sake."

^26:25He built an altar there, and called on the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there. There Yitzchak's servants dug a well.

^26:26Then Avimelekh went to him from Gerar, and Achuzzat his friend, and Pikhol the captain of his host. ^26:27Yitzchak said to them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?"

^26:28They said, "We saw plainly that the LORD was with you. We said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you, ^26:29that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in shalom.' You are now the blessed of the LORD."

Chamishi:

^26:30He made them a feast, and they ate and drink. ^26:31They rose up some time in the morning, and swore one to another. Yitzchak sent them away, and they departed from him in shalom. ^26:32It happened the same day, that Yitzchak's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water." ^26:33He called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Be'er-Sheva to this day.

^26:34When Esav was forty years old, he took as wife Yehudit, the daughter of Be'eri the Chittite, and Basemat, the daughter of Elon the Chittite. ^26:35They grieved Yitzchak and Rivka's spirits.

^27:1It happened, that when Yitzchak was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esav his elder son, and said to him, "My son?"

He said to him, "Here I am."

^27:2He said, "See now, I am old. I don't know the day of my death. ^27:3Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison. ^27:4Make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless you before I die."

^27:5Rivka heard when Yitzchak spoke to Esav his son. Esav went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. ^27:6Rivka spoke to Ya`akov her son, saying, "Behold, I heard your father speak to Esav your brother, saying, ^27:7'Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before the LORD before my death.' ^27:8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you. ^27:9Go now to the flock, and get me from there two good kids of the goats. I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves. ^27:10You shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death."

^27:11Ya`akov said to Rivka his mother, "Behold, Esav my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. ^27:12What if my father touches me? I will seem to him as a deceiver, and I would bring a curse on myself, and not a blessing."

^27:13His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son. Only obey my voice, and go get them for me."

^27:14He went, and got them, and brought them to his mother. His mother made savory food, such as his father loved. ^27:15Rivka took the good clothes of Esav, her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Ya`akov, her younger son. <sup>27:16</sup>She put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck. <sup>27:17</sup>She gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Ya`akov.

^27:18He came to his father, and said, "My father?"

He said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"

^27:19Ya`akov said to his father, "I am Esav your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me."

^27:20Yitzchak said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?"

He said, "Because the LORD your G-d gave me success."

^27:21Yitzchak said to Ya`akov, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esav or not."

^27:22Ya`akov went near to Yitzchak his father. He felt him, and said, "The voice is Ya`akov's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esav." ^27:23He didn't recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother, Esav's hands. So he blessed him. ^27:24He said, "Are you really my son Esav?"

He said, "I am."

^27:25He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless you."

He brought it near to him, and he ate. He brought him wine, and he drank. ^27:26His father Yitzchak said to him, "Come near now, and kiss me, my son." ^27:27He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said,

 "Behold, the smell of my son

 Is as the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed.

Shishi:

 ^27:28God give you of the dew of the sky,

 of the fatness of the earth,

 and plenty of grain and new wine.

 ^27:29Let peoples serve you,

 Nations bow down to you.

 Be lord over your brothers,

 Let your mother's sons bow down to you.

 Cursed be everyone who curses you,

 Blessed be everyone who blesses you."

^27:30It happened, as soon as Yitzchak had made an end of blessing Ya`akov, and Ya`akov had just gone out from the presence of Yitzchak his father, that Esav his brother came in from his hunting. ^27:31He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me."

^27:32Yitzchak his father said to him, "Who are you?"

He said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esav."

^27:33Yitzchak trembled violently, and said, "Who, then, is he who has taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yes, he will be blessed."

^27:34When Esav heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, my father."

^27:35He said, "Your brother came with deceit, and has taken away your blessing."

^27:36He said, "Isn't he rightly named Ya`akov? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. See, now he has taken away my blessing." He said, "Haven't you reserved a blessing for me?"

^27:37Yitzchak answered Esav, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers have I given to him for servants. With grain and new wine have I sustained him. What then will I do for you, my son?"

^27:38Esav said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father." Esav lifted up his voice, and wept.

^27:39Yitzchak his father answered him,

 "Behold, of the fatness of the earth will be your dwelling,

 and of the dew of the sky from above.

 ^27:40By your sword will you live, and you will serve your brother.

 It will happen, when you will break loose,

 That you shall shake his yoke from off your neck."

^27:41Esav hated Ya`akov because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esav said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I will kill my brother Ya`akov."

^27:42The words of Esav, her elder son, were told to Rivka. She sent and called Ya`akov her younger son, and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esav comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. ^27:43Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Lavan, my brother, in Charan. ^27:44Stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away; ^27:45until your brother's anger turn away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send, and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?"

^27:46Rivka said to Yitzchak, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Chet. If Ya`akov takes a wife of the daughters of Chet, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?"

^28:1Yitzchak called Ya`akov, blessed him, and commanded him, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Kana`an. ^28:2Arise, go to Paddan-Aram, to the house of Betu'el your mother's father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Lavan, your mother's brother. ^28:3May El Shaddai bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a company of peoples, ^28:4and give you the blessing of Avraham, to you, and to your seed with you, that you may inherit the land where you travel, which G-d gave to Avraham."

Shvi'i:

^28:5Yitzchak sent Ya`akov away. He went to Paddan-Aram to Lavan, son of Betu'el the Arammian, Rivka's brother, Ya`akov's and Esav's mother.

^28:6Now Esav saw that Yitzchak had blessed Ya`akov and sent him away to Paddan-Aram, to take him a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, "You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Kana`an," ^28:7and that Ya`akov obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-Aram.

Maftir:

^28:8Esav saw that the daughters of Kana`an didn't please Yitzchak, his father. ^28:9Esav went to Yishma'el, and took, besides the wives that he had, Machalat the daughter of Yishma'el, Avraham's son, the sister of Nevayot, to be his wife.

^1:1An oracle: the word of the LORD to Yisra'el by Mal'akhi.

^1:2"I have loved you," says the LORD.

Yet you say, "How have you loved us?"

"Wasn't Esav Ya`akov's brother?" says the LORD, "Yet I loved Ya`akov; ^1:3but Esav I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness." ^1:4Whereas Edom says, "We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places;" thus says the LORD of Hosts, "They shall build, but I will throw down; and men will call them 'The Wicked Land,' even the people against whom the LORD shows wrath forever."

^1:5Your eyes will see, and you will say, "The LORD is great--even beyond the border of Yisra'el!"

^1:6"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, then where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? Says the LORD of Hosts to you, kohanim, who despise my name. You say, 'How have we despised your name?' ^1:7You offer polluted bread on my altar. You say, 'How have we polluted you?' In that you say, 'The LORD's table contemptible.' ^1:8When you offer the blind for sacrifice, isn't that evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, isn't that evil? Present it now to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? Or will he accept your person?" says the LORD of Hosts.

^1:9"Now, please entreat the favor of G-d, that he may be gracious to us. With this, will he accept any of you?" says the LORD of Hosts.

^1:10"Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you," says the LORD of hosts, "neither will I accept an offering at your hand. ^1:11For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same, my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name is great among the nations," says the LORD of Hosts. ^1:12"But you profane it, in that you say, 'The LORD's table is polluted, and its fruit, even its food, is contemptible.' ^1:13You say also, 'Behold, what a weariness it is!' and you have sniffed at it," says the LORD of Hosts; "and you have brought that which was taken by violence, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring the offering. Should I accept this at your hand?" says the LORD.

^1:14"But the deceiver is cursed, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices to the Lord a blemished thing; for I am a great King," says the LORD of hosts, "and my name is awesome among the nations."

^2:1"Now, you kohanim, this mitzvah is for you. ^2:2If you will not listen, and if you will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name," says the LORD of Hosts, "then will I send the curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have cursed them already, because you do not lay it to heart. ^2:3Behold, I will rebuke your seed, and will spread dung on your faces, even the dung of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. ^2:4You will know that I have sent this mitzvah to you, that my covenant may be with Levi," says the LORD of Hosts. ^2:5"My covenant was with him of life and shalom; and I gave them to him who he might be reverent toward me; and he was reverent toward me, and stood in awe of my name. ^2:6The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips. He walked with me in shalom and uprightness, and turned many away from iniquity. ^2:7For the kohen's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.

^9:1I tell the truth in Messiah. I am not lying, my conscience testifying with me in the Holy Spirit, ^9:2that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. ^9:3For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Messiah for my brothers' sake, my relatives according to the flesh, ^9:4who are Yisra'elites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises; ^9:5of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Messiah as concerning the flesh, who is over all, G-d, blessed forever. Amein.

^9:6But it is not as though the word of G-d has come to nothing. For they are not all Yisra'el, that are of Yisra'el. ^9:7Neither, because they are Avraham's seed, are they all children. But, "In Yitzchak will your seed be called." ^9:8That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of G-d, but the children of the promise are counted as a seed. ^9:9For this is a word of promise, "At the appointed time I will come, and Sarah will have a son." ^9:10Not only so, but Rivka also conceived by one, by our father Yitzchak. ^9:11For being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of G-d according to election might stand, not of works, but of him who calls, ^9:12it was said to her, "The elder will serve the younger." ^9:13Even as it is written, "Ya`akov I loved, but Esav I hated."

^9:14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with G-d? May it never be! ^9:15For he said to Moshe, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." ^9:16So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of G-d who has mercy.