Isaac began to tremble violently and said, “Who was it, then, who hunted the game and brought it to me? Before you came in, I ate it all and blessed him—and indeed, he will be blessed!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Isaac 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.”
- KJV And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
- NKJV Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”
- NASB Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who then was he who hunted game and brought it to me, so that I ate from all of it before you came, and blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.”
- NLT Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably and said, “Then who just served me wild game? I have already eaten it, and I blessed him just before you came. And yes, that blessing must stand!”
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
Isaac trembles violently, realizing he was deceived, yet declares the blessing will stand.
Overview
Isaac's intense shaking shows his shock at the deception, but he affirms that the blessing is irrevocable: 'he will be blessed.' His acceptance suggests a recognition that God's hand was in the outcome, overruling his own plan to favor Esau. The episode displays God's sovereignty steering events according to His earlier word (25:23).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 28:3–4May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a company of peoples.
- Rom 11:29For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
- Job 21:6When I remember, terror takes hold, and my body trembles in horror.
- Eph 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
- John 10:28–29I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
- Job 37:1“At this my heart also pounds and leaps from its place.
- Ps 55:5Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me.
- John 10:10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
- Rom 5:20–21The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
- Heb 11:20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.
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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 27:33 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
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