And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
Parallel translations
- WEB Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?”
- BSB “Look,” said Esau, “I am about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”
- NKJV And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”
- NASB Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?”
- NLT “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Esau dismisses the birthright as worthless, claiming he is about to die.
Overview
Esau's exaggerated despair reveals a profane indifference to his spiritual inheritance for the sake of a meal. Hebrews calls him godless for trading his birthright so carelessly. His attitude exposes the unbelief that values the temporal over God's lasting promise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Job 22:17Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
- Job 21:15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
- Job 34:9For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.
- Mal 3:14Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?
- Exod 22:9For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 25:32 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.