Genesis 26

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

Now a famine happened in the land, besides the first famine that had been in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines at Gerar.

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

Now Yahweh appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land that I tell you to live in.

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

Stay in this very land, and I will be with you and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants, I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

4 And I will cause thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves.

I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

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

I will do this because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my instructions, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 And the men of the place asked [him] concerning 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 is of a handsome appearance.

When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” He feared to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”

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

After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out of a window. He saw, behold, Isaac was caressing Rebekah, his wife.

9 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 thought, Perhaps I may die for her.

Abimelech called Isaac to him and said, “Look, certainly she is your wife. Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.”

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

Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

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

So Abimelech warned all the people and said, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundred-fold: so the Lord blessed him.

Isaac planted crops in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, because Yahweh blessed him.

13 And the man became great, and went forward and grew, until he became very great;

The man became rich, and grew more and more until he became very great.

14 And he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants; and the Philistines envied him.

He had many sheep and cattle, and a large household. The Philistines envied him.

15 And all the wells which his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, these the Philistines stopped, and filled them with earth.

Now all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them up by filling them with earth.

16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go away from us; for thou hast become much mightier than we.

Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

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

So Isaac departed from there and settled in the Valley of Gerar, and lived there.

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

Once again Isaac dug out the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father. The Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham's death. Isaac called the wells by the same names that his father had called them.

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

When Isaac's servants dug in the valley, they found there a well of flowing water.

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

The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, and said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac called that well “Esek,” because they had quarreled with him.

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

Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that, too, so he gave it the name of “Sitnah.”

22 And he removed from there, and dug another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rechoboth, and he said, For now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall increase in the land.

He left there and dug yet another well, but they did not quarrel over that one. So he called it Rehoboth, and he said, “Now Yahweh has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”

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

Then Isaac went up from there to Beersheba.

24 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 I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for the sake of Abraham my servant.

Yahweh appeared to him that same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants, for my servant Abraham's sake.”

25 And he built there an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched there his tent: and the servants of Isaac dug there a well.

Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of Yahweh. There he pitched his tent, and his servants dug a well.

26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Achuzzath his friend, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

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

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

Isaac said to them, “Why are you coming to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”

28 And they said, We saw clearly that the Lord was with thee; and we said, Let there be now an oath between us and thee; and we will make a covenant with thee;

Then they said, “We have clearly seen that Yahweh has been with you. So we decided that there should be an oath between us, yes, between us and you. So let us make a covenant with you,

29 That thou shalt 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 one blessed of the Lord.

that you will do us no harm, just as we have not harmed you, and as we have treated you well and have sent you away in peace. Indeed, you are blessed by Yahweh.”

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

So Isaac made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

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

They rose early in the morning and swore an oath with each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.

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

That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug. They said, “We have found water.”

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

He called the well Shibah, so the name of that city is Beersheba to this day.

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

When Esau was forty years old, he took a wife, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35 And they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

They brought sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.