Genesis 26

1 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.

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.

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

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

3 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.

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.

4 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.

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.

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

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

6 And Isaac lived in Gerara.

So Isaac abode in Gerara.

7 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.

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.

8 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.

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.

9 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.

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.

10 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.

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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 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.

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

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

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

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

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

18 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.

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.

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

And they digged in the torrent, and found living water.

20 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.

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.

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

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

22 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.

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.

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

And he went up from that place to Bersabee,

24 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.

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.

25 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

28 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,

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,

29 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

32 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.

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.

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

Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.

34 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.

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.

35 And they were provoking to Isaac and Rebecca.

And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.