New International Version
Genesis 27:40
40You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.”
Genesis 27:40 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck."
- New King James Version (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.”
- New Living Translation (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.”
Context of Genesis 27:40
38Esau said to his father, “Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!” Then Esau wept aloud. 39His father Isaac answered him, “Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck.” 41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is planning to avenge himself by killing you.
Read all of Genesis 27Genesis 27:40 word by word
וְעַל־חַרְבְּךָ֣ תִֽחְיֶ֔ה וְאֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ תַּעֲבֹ֑ד וְהָיָה֙ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר תָּרִ֔יד וּפָרַקְתָּ֥ עֻלּ֖וֹ מֵעַ֥ל צַוָּארֶֽךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And by thy swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- shalt thou liveחָיָהchâyâh · to liveH2421
- and shalt serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
- thy brotherאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominionרוּדrûd · to roamH7300
- that thou shalt breakפָּרַקpâraq · to tearH6561
- his yokeעֹל‛ôl ‛ôl · yokeH5923
- from off thy neckצַוָּארtsavvâ'r tsavvâr tsavvârôn tsavvâ'râh · neckH6677
Cross-references for Genesis 27:40
- Genesis 32:6When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”
- Matthew 10:34“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
- Genesis 25:23The Lord said 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 Samuel 8:14He put garrisons throughout Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
- 1 Kings 11:15Earlier when David was fighting with Edom, Joab the commander of the army, who had gone up to bury the dead, had struck down all the men in Edom.
- 2 Kings 14:7He was the one who defeated ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt and captured Sela in battle, calling it Joktheel, the name it has to this day.
- 1 Chronicles 18:11King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold he had taken from all these nations: Edom and Moab, the Ammonites and the Philistines, and Amalek.
- 2 Chronicles 25:11Amaziah then marshaled his strength and led his army to the Valley of Salt, where he killed ten thousand men of Seir.
- Psalms 60:8Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
- Obadiah 1:17But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance.
- 2 Kings 8:20In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king.
- 2 Chronicles 21:8In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king.
- 2 Chronicles 28:17The Edomites had again come and attacked Judah and carried away prisoners,
Commentaries on Genesis 27:40
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 40By thy sword shalt thou live - This does not absolutely mean that the Edomites should have constant wars; but that they should be of a fierce and warlike disposition, gaining their sustenance by hunting, and by predatory excursions upon the possessions of others. Bishop Newton speaks on this subject with his usual good sense and judgment: "The elder branch, it is here foretold, should delight more in war and violence, but yet should be subdued by the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-46Verses 1-46 - Isaac Blessing His Sons The life of Isaac falls into three periods. During the first seventy-five years he is contemporary with his father. For sixty-one years more his son Jacob remains under the paternal roof. The remaining forty-four years are passed in the retirement of old age. The chapter before us narrates the last solemn acts of the middle period of his life. Genesis 27:1-4 Isaac was old. - Joseph was in his thirtieth year when he…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-40Verses 30-40 When Esau understood that Jacob had got the blessing, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. The day is coming, when those that now make light of the blessings of the covenant, and sell their title to spiritual blessings for that which is of no value, will, in vain, ask urgently for them. Isaac, when made sensible of the deceit practised on him, trembled exceedingly. Those who follow the choice of their own affections, rather than…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 39-40All that remained for Esau was a promise of hardship and struggle (compare 3:17–19; 16:11–12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 39-4039-40. Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth--The first part is a promise of temporal prosperity, made in the same terms as Jacob's [Ge 27:28]--the second part refers to the roving life of hunting freebooters, which he and his descendants should lead. Though Esau was not personally subject to his brother, his posterity were tributary to the Israelites, till the reign of Joram when they revolted and established a kingdom of their own (2Ki…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 27:40
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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