Genesis 26

1 Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine, which was in the time of Abraam; and Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Phylistines to Gerara.

2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.

And the Lord appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt, but dwell in the land, which I shall tell you of.

3 Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

And sojourn in this land; and I will be with you, and bless you, for I will give to you and to your seed all this land; and I will establish my oath which I swore to your father Abraam.

4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

And I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven; and I will give to your seed all this land, and all the nations of the earth shall be blest in your seed.

5 because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

Because Abraam your father listened to my voice, and kept my injunctions, and my commandments, and my ordinances, and my statutes.

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

And Isaac lived in Gerara.

7 But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”

And the men of the place questioned him concerning Rebecca his wife, and he said, She is my sister, for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest at any time the men of the place should kill him because of Rebecca, because she was fair.

8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

And he remained there a long time, and Abimelech the king of Gerara leaned to look through the window, and saw Isaac sporting with Rebecca his wife.

9 Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

And Abimelech called Isaac, and said to him, Is she then your wife? why have you said, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, [I did so], for I said, Lest at any time I die on her account.

10 “What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

And Abimelech said to him, Why have you done this to us? one of my kindred within a little had lain with your wife, and you would have brought [a sin of] ignorance upon us.

11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

And Abimelech charged all his people, saying Every man that touches this man and his wife shall be liable to death.

12 Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him,

And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found in that year barley and hundred-fold, and the Lord blessed him.

13 and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.

And the man was exalted, and advancing he increased, till he became very great.

14 He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.

And he had cattle of sheep, and cattle of oxen, and many tilled lands, and the Phylistines envied him.

15 So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.

And all the wells which the servants of his father had dug in the time of his father, the Phylistines stopped them, and filled them with earth.

16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.”

And Abimelech said to Isaac, Depart from us, for you are become much mightier than we.

17 So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

And Isaac departed thence, and rested in the valley of Gerara, and lived there.

18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them.

And Isaac dug again the wells of water, which the servants of his father Abraam had dug, and the Phylistines had stopped them, after the death of his father Abraam; and he gave them names, according to the names by which his father named them.

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

And the servants of Isaac dug in the valley of Gerara, and they found there a well of living water.

20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.

And the shepherds of Gerara strove with the shepherds of Isaac, saying that the water was theirs; and they called the name of the well, Injury, for they injured him.

21 Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.

And having departed thence he dug another well, and they strove also for that; and he named the name of it, Enmity.

22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

And he departed thence and dug another well; and they did not strive about that; and he named the name of it, Room, saying, Because now the Lord has made room for us, and has increased us upon the earth.

23 From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,

And he went up thence to the well of the oath.

24 and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

And the Lord appeared to him in that night, and said, I am the God of Abraam your father; fear not, for I am with you, and I will bless you, and multiply your seed for the sake of Abraam your father.

25 So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.

And he built there an altar, and called on the name of the Lord, and there he pitched his tent, and there the servants of Isaac dug a well in the valley of Gerara.

26 Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.

And Abimelech came to him from Gerara, and so did Ochozath his friend, and Phichol the commander-in-chief of his army.

27 “Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”

And Isaac said to them, Therefore have you come to me? whereas you hated me, and sent me away from you.

28 “We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you

And they said, We have surely seen that the Lord was with you, and we said, Let there be an oath between us and you, and we will make a covenant with you,

29 that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.”

that you shall do no wrong by us, as we have not abhorred you, and according as we have treated you well, and have sent you forth peaceably; and now you are blessed of the Lord.

30 So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

And he made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

31 And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

And they arose in the morning, and swore each to his neighbour; and Isaac sent them forth, and they departed from him in safety.

32 On that same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We have found water!” they told him.

And it came to pass in that day, that the servants of Isaac came and told him of the well which they had dug; and they said, We have not found water.

33 So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.

And he called it, Oath: therefore he called the name of that city, the Well of Oath, until this day.

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

And Esau was forty years old; and he took as wife Judith the daughter of Beoch the Chettite, and Basemath, daughter of Helon the Chettite.

35 And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

And they were provoking to Isaac and Rebecca.