Genesis 25

¹Genesis 25:1. Now Abraham had taken another wife, named Keturah,²Genesis 25:2. and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.³Genesis 25:3. Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites.⁴Genesis 25:4. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.⁵Genesis 25:5. Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac.⁶Genesis 25:6. But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.⁷Genesis 25:7. Abraham lived a total of 175 years.⁸Genesis 25:8. And at a ripe old age he breathed his last and died, old and contented, and was gathered to his people.⁹Genesis 25:9. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.¹⁰Genesis 25:10. This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.¹¹Genesis 25:11. After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near Beer-lahai-roi.

¹²Genesis 25:12. This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.¹³Genesis 25:13. These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,¹⁴Genesis 25:14. Mishma, Dumah, Massa,¹⁵Genesis 25:15. Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.¹⁶Genesis 25:16. These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments—twelve princes of their tribes.¹⁷Genesis 25:17. Ishmael lived a total of 137 years. Then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.¹⁸Genesis 25:18. Ishmael’s descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

¹⁹Genesis 25:19. This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,²⁰Genesis 25:20. and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.²¹Genesis 25:21. Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.²²Genesis 25:22. But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So Rebekah went to inquire of the LORD,²³Genesis 25:23. and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”²⁴Genesis 25:24. When her time came to give birth, there were indeed twins in her womb.²⁵Genesis 25:25. The first one came out red, covered with hair like a fur coat; so they named him Esau.²⁶Genesis 25:26. After this, his brother came out grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.

²⁷Genesis 25:27. When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man who stayed at home.²⁸Genesis 25:28. Because Isaac had a taste for wild game, he loved Esau; but Rebekah loved Jacob.²⁹Genesis 25:29. One day, while Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the field and was famished.³⁰Genesis 25:30. He said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am famished.” (That is why he was also called Edom.)³¹Genesis 25:31. “First sell me your birthright,” Jacob replied.³²Genesis 25:32. “Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”³³Genesis 25:33. “Swear to me first,” Jacob said. So Esau swore to Jacob and sold him the birthright.³⁴Genesis 25:34. Then Jacob gave some bread and lentil stew to Esau, who ate and drank and then got up and went away. Thus Esau despised his birthright.