Genesis 26

1 Then came a time of great need in the land, like that which had been before in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.

2 And the Lord came to him in a vision and said, Do not go down to Egypt; keep in the land of which I will give you knowledge:

And the LORD appeared unto him, and said: 'Go not down unto Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of.

3 Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham;

Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father;

4 I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth;

and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and by thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves;

5 Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws.

because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.'

6 So Isaac went on living in Gerar;

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

7 And when he was questioned by the men of the place about his wife, he said, She is my sister; fearing to say, She is my wife; for, he said, the men of the place may put me to death on account of Rebekah; because she is very beautiful.

And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said: 'She is my sister'; for he feared to say: 'My wife'; 'lest the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she is fair to look upon.'

8 And when he had been there for some time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking through a window, saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife.

And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

9 And he said to Isaac, It is clear that she is your wife: why then did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said, For fear that I might be put to death because of her.

And Abimelech called Isaac, and said: 'Behold, of a surety she is thy wife; and how saidst thou: She is my sister?' And Isaac said unto him: 'Because I said: Lest I die because of her.'

10 Then Abimelech said, What have you done to us? one of the people might well have had connection with your wife, and the sin would have been ours.

And Abimelech said: 'What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.'

11 And Abimelech gave orders to his people that anyone touching Isaac or his wife was to be put to death.

And Abimelech charged all the people, saying: 'He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.'

12 Now Isaac, planting seed in that land, got in the same year fruit a hundred times as much, for the blessing of the Lord was on him.

And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.

13 And his wealth became very great, increasing more and more;

And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great.

14 For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy.

And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household; and the Philistines envied him.

15 Now all the water-holes, which his father's servants had made in the days of Abraham, had been stopped up with earth by the Philistines.

Now all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are stronger than we are.

And Abimelech said unto Isaac: 'Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.'

17 So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there.

And Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18 And he made again the water-holes which had been made in the days of Abraham his father, and which had been stopped up by the Philistines; and he gave them the names which his father had given them.

And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

19 Now Isaac's servants made holes in the valley, and came to a spring of flowing water.

And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of living water.

20 But the herdmen of Gerar had a fight with Isaac's herdmen, for they said, The spring is ours: so he gave the spring the name of Esek, because there was a fight about it.

And the herdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdmen, saying: 'The water is ours.' And he called the name of the well Esek; because they contended with him.

21 Then they made another water-hole, and there was a fight about that, so he gave it the name of Sitnah.

And they digged another well, and they strove for that also. And he called the name of it Sitnah.

22 Then he went away from there, and made another water-hole, about which there was no fighting: so he gave it the name of Rehoboth, for he said, Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will have fruit in this land.

And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not. And he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said: 'For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.'

23 And from there he went on to Beer-sheba.

And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.

24 That night the Lord came to him in a vision, and said, I am the God of your father Abraham: have no fear for I am with you, blessing you, and your seed will be increased because of my servant Abraham.

And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said: 'I am the God of Abraham thy father. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for My servant Abraham's sake.'

25 Then he made an altar there, and gave worship to the name of the Lord, and he put up his tents there, and there his servants made a water-hole.

And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants digged a well.

26 And Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol, the captain of his army.

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

27 And Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing that in your hate for me you sent me away from you?

And Isaac said unto them: 'Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?'

28 And they said, We saw clearly that the Lord was with you: so we said, Let there be an oath between us and you, and let us make an agreement with you;

And they said: 'We saw plainly that the LORD was with thee; and we said: Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

29 That you will do us no damage, even as we put no hand on you, and did you nothing but good, and sent you away in peace: and now the blessing of the Lord is on you.

that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace; thou art now the blessed of the LORD.'

30 Then he made a feast for them, and they all had food and drink.

And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

31 And early in the morning they took an oath one to the other: then Isaac sent them away and they went on their way in peace.

And they rose up betimes in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32 And that day Isaac's servants came to him and gave him word of the water-hole which they had made, and said to him, We have come to water.

And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him: 'We have found water.'

33 And he gave it the name of Shibah: so the name of that town is Beer-sheba to this day.

And he called it Shibah. Therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

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

And when Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35 And Isaac and Rebekah had grief of mind because of them.

And they were a bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebekah.