Genesis 26

1 There was a famine in the land, in addition to the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

And there is a famine in the land, besides the first famine which was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac goes to Abimelech king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

2 The LORD appeared to him, and said, “Do not go down into Egypt. Live in the land I will tell you about.

And YHWH appears to him and says, “Do not go down toward Egypt, dwell in the land concerning which I speak to you,

3 Live in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you. For I will give to you, and to your offspring, all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

sojourn in this land, and I am with you, and bless you, for to you and to your seed I give all these lands, and I have established the oath which I have sworn to your father Abraham;

4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed,

and I have multiplied your seed as stars of the heavens, and I have given to your seed all these lands; and all nations of the earth have blessed themselves in your Seed;

5 because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

because that Abraham has listened to My voice, and keeps My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.”

6 Isaac lived in Gerar.

And Isaac dwells in Gerar;

7 The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “My wife”, lest, he thought, “the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to look at.”

and men of the place ask him of his wife, and he says, “She [is] my sister”: for he has been afraid to say, “My wife—lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, for she [is] of good appearance.”

8 When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.

And it comes to pass, when the days have been prolonged to him there, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looks through the window, and sees, and behold, Isaac is playing with his wife Rebekah.

9 Abimelech called Isaac, and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”

And Abimelech calls for Isaac and says, “Behold, she [is] surely your wife; and how could you have said, She [is] my sister?” And Isaac says to him, “Because I said, Lest I die for her.”

10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”

And Abimelech says, “What [is] this you have done to us? As a little thing one of the people had lain with your wife, and you had brought on us guilt”;

11 Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

and Abimelech commands all the people, saying, “He who comes against this man or against his wife, dying does die.”

12 Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year one hundred times what he planted. The LORD blessed him.

And Isaac sows in that land, and finds in that year a hundredfold, and YHWH blesses him;

13 The man grew great, and grew more and more until he became very great.

and the man is great, and goes on, going on and becoming great, until he has been very great,

14 He had possessions of flocks, possessions of herds, and a great household. The Philistines envied him.

and he has possession of a flock, and possession of a herd, and an abundant service; and the Philistines envy him,

15 Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth.

and all the wells which his father’s servants dug in the days of his father Abraham, the Philistines have stopped them, and fill them with dust.

16 Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

And Abimelech says to Isaac, “Go from us; for you have become much mightier than we”;

17 Isaac departed from there, encamped in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.

and Isaac goes from there, and encamps in the Valley of Gerar, and dwells there;

18 Isaac dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. He called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

and Isaac turns back, and digs the wells of water which they dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines have stopped after the death of Abraham, and he calls to them names according to the names which his father called them.

19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of flowing water.

And Isaac’s servants dig in the valley, and find there a well of living water,

20 The herdsmen of Gerar argued with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

and shepherds of Gerar strive with shepherds of Isaac, saying, “The water [is] ours”; and he calls the name of the well “Strife,” because they have striven habitually with him;

21 They dug another well, and they argued over that, also. So he called its name Sitnah.

and they dig another well, and they strive also for it, and he calls its name “Hatred.”

22 He left that place, and dug another well. They did not argue over that one. So he called it Rehoboth. He said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

And he removes from there, and digs another well, and they have not striven for it, and he calls its name “Enlargements,” and says, “For—now has YHWH given enlargement to us, and we have been fruitful in the land.”

23 He went up from there to Beersheba.

And he goes up from there [to] Beer-Sheba,

24 The LORD appeared to him the same night, and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

and YHWH appears to him during that night and says, “I [am] the God of your father Abraham, do not fear, for I [am] with you, and have blessed you, and have multiplied your seed, because of My servant Abraham”;

25 He built an altar there, and called on the LORD’s name, and pitched his tent there. There Isaac’s servants dug a well.

and he builds there an altar, and preaches in the Name of YHWH, and stretches out there his tent, and there Isaac’s servants dig a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army.

And Abimelech has gone to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol head of his host;

27 Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me, and have sent me away from you?”

and Isaac says to them, “Why have you come to me, and you have hated me, and you send me away from you?”

28 They said, “We saw plainly that the LORD was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let’s make a covenant with you,

And they say, “We have certainly seen that YHWH has been with you, and we say, Now let there be an oath between us, between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you;

29 that you will do us no harm, as we have not touched you, and as we have done to you nothing but good, and have sent you away in peace.’ You are now the blessed of the LORD.”

do no evil with us, as we have not touched you, and as we have only done good with you, and send you away in peace; you [are] now blessed of YHWH.”

30 He made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

And he makes a banquet for them, and they eat and drink,

31 They rose up some time in the morning, and swore an oath to one another. Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

and rise early in the morning, and swear to one another, and Isaac sends them away, and they go from him in peace.

32 The same day, Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.”

And it comes to pass during that day that Isaac’s servants come and declare to him concerning the circumstances of the well which they have dug, and say to him, “We have found water”;

33 He called it “Shibah”. Therefore the name of the city is “Beersheba” to this day.

and he calls it Shebah, [oath, ] therefore the name of the city [is] Beer-Sheba, [Well of the Oath, ] to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wife Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

And Esau is a son of forty years, and he takes a wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite,

35 They grieved Isaac’s and Rebekah’s spirits.

and they are a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.