Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die. What good is the birthright to me?”
- KJV And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do 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?”
- 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 22:17who said to God, ‘Depart from us;’ and, ‘What can the Almighty do for us?’
- Job 21:15What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?’
- Job 34:9For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.’
- Mal 3:14You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God;’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed his instructions, and that we have walked mournfully before Yahweh of Armies?
- Exod 22:9For every matter of trespass, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, about which one says, ‘This is mine,’ the cause of both parties shall come before God. He whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.
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.