You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
Parallel translations
- WEB By 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.”
- KJV And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
- NKJV By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
- NASB “And by your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck.”
- NLT You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother. But when you decide to break free, you will shake his yoke from your neck.”
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 will live by the sword and serve his brother, yet will one day break free of his yoke.
Overview
Isaac foretells a future of conflict and subjection for Esau, with an eventual breaking loose. This was fulfilled in the long history of Edom's relations with Israel, including periods of subjection and later revolt. The prophecy shows God's word over the brothers extending to their nations, all under His sovereign rule.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Kgs 8:20–22In the days of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against the hand of Judah and appointed their own king.
- Gen 25:23and 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.”
- 2 Sam 8:14He placed garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites were subject to David. So the LORD made David victorious wherever he went.
- 2 Chr 21:8In the days of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against the hand of Judah and appointed their own king.
- 2 Chr 25:11–12Amaziah, however, summoned his strength and led his troops to the Valley of Salt, where he struck down 10,000 men of Seir,
- 2 Chr 21:10So to this day Edom has been in rebellion against the hand of Judah. Likewise, Libnah rebelled against his rule at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the LORD, the God of his fathers.
- 2 Chr 28:17The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away captives.
- Ps 60:8Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
- 2 Kgs 14:10You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Glory in that and stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”
- Obad 1:17–21But on Mount Zion there will be deliverance, and it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will reclaim their possession.
- 2 Kgs 14:7Amaziah struck down 10,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He took Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, which is its name to this very day.
- 1 Kgs 11:15–17Earlier, when David was in Edom, Joab the commander of the army had gone to bury the dead and had struck down every male in Edom.
- Gen 32:6When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you—he and four hundred men with him.”
- 1 Chr 18:11–13and King David dedicated these to the LORD, along with the silver and gold he had carried off from all these nations—from Edom and Moab, and from the Ammonites, Philistines, and Amalekites.
- Matt 10:34Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
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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 27:40 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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