Genesis 26

1 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;

Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

2 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:

The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.

3 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;

Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

4 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:

I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,

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

because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 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.

But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”

8 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.

When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

9 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.

Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

10 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.

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

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

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

12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same year, a hundredfold, —seeing that Yahweh had blessed him.

Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him,

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

and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.

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

He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.

15 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.

So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.

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

Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.”

17 So Isaac went from thence, —and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

18 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.

Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them.

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

Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there.

20 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.

But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.

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

Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.

22 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.

He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

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

From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,

24 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.

and that night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.”

25 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.

So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.

26 And, Abimelech, came unto him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol, commander of his host.

Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.

27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore have ye come in mite me, seeing that, ye, hated me, and sent me away from you?

“Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”

28 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: —

“We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you

29 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!

that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.”

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

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

31 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.

And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

32 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!

On that same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We have found water!” they told him.

33 So he called it, Shibah. For this cause, hath the name of the city, been Beer-sheba, unto this day.

So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.

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

When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.

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

And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.