Genesis 26

1 There was a famine in the country—not the one that happened before in Abraham's time, but a later one. So Isaac moved to Gerar in the territory of Abimelech, king of the Philistines.

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 told him, “Don't go to Egypt—live in the country that I tell you to.

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

3 Stay here in this country. I will be with you and I will bless you, because I'm going to give you and your descendants all these lands. I will keep the solemn promise that I swore to Abraham your father.

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

4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and I will give them all these lands. All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your descendants,

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

5 because Abraham did what I told him, and kept my requirements, my commands, my regulations, and my laws.”

Because Abraam thy father hearkened to my voice, and kept my injunctions, and my commandments, and my ordinances, and my statutes.

6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

And Isaac dwelt in Gerara.

7 When the men there asked him about his wife, he told them, “She's my sister,” because he was afraid. He said to himself, “If I say she's my wife, the men here will kill me to get Rebekah, because she's 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 slay him because of Rebecca, because she was fair.

8 But later on, after he'd been there a while, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, happened to look out the window and saw Isaac lovingly fondling 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 complained. “From what I saw she's clearly your wife!” he said. “Why on earth did you say, ‘She's my sister’?” “Because I thought I'd be killed because of her,” Isaac replied.

And Abimelech called Isaac, and said to him, Is she then thy wife? why hast thou 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 “Why would you do this to us?” Abimelech asked. “One of the men here might have slept with your wife, and you would have made us all guilty!”

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

11 Abimelech issued orders to all the people, warning them, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be executed.”

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

12 Isaac sowed grain that year, and the Lord blessed him with a harvest that was a hundred times what he planted.

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

13 He became a rich man, and his wealth steadily increased until he was very rich.

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

14 He owned many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, as well as many slaves. He had so much that the Philistines became jealous of him.

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

15 So the Philistines used dirt to block up all the wells his father Abraham's servants had dug.

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 told Isaac, “You have to leave our country, because you've become much too powerful for us.”

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

17 So Isaac moved away and set up his tents in the Gerar Valley where he settled down.

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

18 He unblocked the wells that had been dug in his father Abraham's time—the ones the Philistines had blocked after the death of Abraham. He gave them the same names his father had.

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 Isaac's servants also dug a new well in the valley and found spring water.

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

20 But the herdsmen from Gerar argued with Isaac's herdsmen, claiming, “That's our water!” So Isaac named the well, “Argument,” because they argued 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 He had another well dug, and they argued over that one too. He named the well, “Opposition.”

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

22 So they moved on from there and he had another well dug. This time there was no argument so he named the well, “Freedom,” saying, “Now the Lord has given us freedom to expand and be successful in this 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 he moved on to Beersheba.

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

24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Don't be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and give you many 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 thy father; fear not, for I am with thee, and I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for the sake of Abraam thy father.

25 Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord. He also set up his tent, and his servants 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 Sometime later Abimelech came from Gerar to see Isaac, along with Ahuzzath his advisor, 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 see me?” Isaac asked them. “Previously you hated me and told me to leave!”

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

28 “Now we realize that the Lord is with you,” they replied. “So we agreed that we should make a sworn agreement with you.

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

29 You'll promise not to harm us in the same way we've never hurt you. You'll agree that we've always treated you well, and when we asked you to leave we did so kindly. Now look at how the Lord is blessing you!”

that thou shalt do no wrong by us, as we have not abhorred thee, and according as we have treated thee well, and have sent thee forth peaceably; and now thou art blessed of the Lord.

30 So Isaac had a special meal prepared to celebrate the agreement. They ate and drank,

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

31 and got up early in the morning and they each swore oaths to one other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left 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 It was that very day when Isaac's servants who'd been digging a well came and told him, “We've found water!”

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 Isaac named the well, “Oath,” and that's why the name of the town is “Well of the Oath” (Beersheba) to this day.

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

34 When Esau was 40, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite.

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

35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah a great deal of grief.

And they were provoking to Isaac and Rebecca.