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 came to be a famine in the land, besides the first famine which happened in the days of Abraham, —so Isaac went his way unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines towards Gerar;

2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and told him, “Don't go to Egypt—live in the country that I tell you to.

and Yahweh appeared unto him, and said, do not go down towards Egypt, —Make thy habitation in the land, which I may name unto thee:

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.

Sojourn in this land, that I may be with thee and bless thee, —for, to thee, and to thy seed, will I give all these lands, So will I establish the oath which I sware to Abraham thy father;

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 will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and will give to thy seed, all these lands, —And all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves in thy seed:

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

Because that Abraham hearkened unto my voice, —and so kept my charge, my commandments my statutes and my laws.

6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

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.”

Then asked the men of the place as to his wife, and he said, My sister, is she, —For he feared to say My wife, lest [said he] the men of the place should slay me on account of Rebekah, for fair to look on, she is.

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 it came to pass when the days had lengthened out to him there, that Abimelech king of the Philistines, looked out through the lattice of a window, —and he beheld and lo! Isaac—laughing with Rebekah 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.

So Abimelech called for Isaac, and said, But lo she is, thy wife! How then, saidst thou, She is, my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because, I said, Lest 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!”

Then, said, Abimelech, What is this thou hast done to us? A little more, and one of the people might have lien with thy wife, so shouldst thou have brought upon us, guilt.

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

And Abimelech commanded all the people saying, —He that toucheth this man or his wife, shall surely be put 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 found in the same year, a hundredfold, —seeing that Yahweh had blessed him.

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

So the man waxed great, —and went on and on waxing great until that he had waxed exceeding 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.

So he came to have possessions of flocks and possessions of herds, and a large body of servants, —and the Philistines envied him.

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

And as for all the wells which the servants of his father digged, in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up, and filled them with dust.

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

And Abimelech said unto Isaac, —Get thee from us, for thou hast become far mightier than we.

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

So Isaac went from thence, —and encamped in the valley of Gerar, 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 again digged the wells of water which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father, and which the Philistines stopped up after the death of Abraham, —and he called their names, after the names which his father called them.

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

And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, —and 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 herdmen of Gerar disputed with the herdmen of Isaac saying, Ours, is the, water! So he called the name of the well Esek, because they had stirred up a quarrel with him.

21 He had another well dug, and they argued over that one too. He named the well, “Opposition.”

And they digged another well, and they disputed over that also, —so he called the name thereof Sitnah.

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 moved on from thence and digged another well, and they disputed not for it, —so he called the name thereof. Rehoboth, and said, For, now, hath Yahweh made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23 From there he moved on to Beersheba.

And he went up from thence, to Beer-sheba.

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 Yahweh appeared unto him the same night, and said, I, am the God of Abraham thy father, —Do not fear for with thee, am, I, And I will bless thee and multiply thy seed, For the sake of Abraham my servant.

25 Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord. He also set up his tent, and his servants dug a well there.

So he builded there all altar and called on the name of Yahweh, and spread out there, his tent, —and the servants of Isaac cut out there a well.

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 unto him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol, commander of his host.

27 “Why have you come to see me?” Isaac asked them. “Previously you hated me and told me to leave!”

And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore have ye come in mite me, seeing that, 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, saw plainly, that Yahweh was with thee, so we said, Let there be we pray thee an oath betwixt us both, betwixt us and thee, —and let us solemnise 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 wilt not do wrong by us, according as we touched not thee, and according as we did by thee nothing but good, and then sent thee away in peace, thee who, now, art blessed of Yahweh!

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

So he made for them a banquet, and they did eat and drink, —

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 rose up early in the morning, and took an oath each man to his brother, so Isaac let them go, and they departed from him in peace.

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, on the same day, that the servants of Isaac came in, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said to him, We have 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.

So he called it, Shibah. For this cause, hath the name of the city, been Beer-sheba, unto 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 when Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith, daughter of Beeri. the Hittite; and Basemath, daughter of Elon, the Hittite;

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

and they became a bitterness of spirit, to Isaac and to Rebekah.