Genesis 26

1 And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Palestines to Gerara.

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 appeared to him and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.

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

3 And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.

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 countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

4 And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

5 Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

6 So Isaac abode in Gerara.

And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7 And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister; for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty.

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

8 And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech king of the Palestines looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca 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 calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake.

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 for her.

10 And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying:

And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

11 He that shall touch this man’s wife, shall surely be put to death.

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

12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

13 And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceeding great:

And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

14 And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,

For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

15 Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father Abraham had digged, filling them up with earth:

For 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 Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.

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

17 So he departed and came to the torrent of Gerara, to dwell there:

And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18 And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had digged, and which, after his death, the Palestines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names by which his father before had called 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 And they digged in the torrent, and found living water.

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

20 But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.

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

21 And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.

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

22 Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for which they contended not: therefore he called the name thereof, Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us to increase upon the earth.

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 he went up from that place to Bersabee,

And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.

24 Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father; do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.

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 And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent: and commanded his servants to dig a well.

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 To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers came from Gerara,

Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

27 Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you hate, and have thrust out from you?

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

28 And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant,

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

29 That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee: but with peace have sent thee away increased with the blessing of the Lord.

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 And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:

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

31 Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.

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

32 And behold the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found 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 Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.

And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

34 And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon of the same place.

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

35 And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.

Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.