By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
Parallel translations
- WEB By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even concerning things to come.
- KJV By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
- BSB By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.
- NASB By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.
- NLT It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
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
By faith Isaac pronounced blessings on Jacob and Esau concerning their future. Faith trusts God's promises to extend beyond one's own lifetime.
Overview
Genesis 27 records Isaac blessing his sons, words that shaped events long after his death. That Jacob received the greater blessing reflects God's sovereign choice (Romans 9). Isaac's confidence that his blessings would come to pass shows faith reaching into the future, trusting the God who governs generations and fulfills his covenant purposes in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Gen 27:27–40He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said, “Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed.
- Gen 28:2–3Arise, go to Paddan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father. Take a wife from there from the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.
How Hebrews 11:20 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 Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.