Genesis 26

1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to 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 the LORD appeared to him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

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, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for to thee, and to thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore 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 I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give to thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

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 obeyed my voice, and 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 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 And the men of the place asked him of 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 was fair to look upon.

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 he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting 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 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, surely she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I should 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 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? one of the people might lightly have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

“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 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, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

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

13 And the man became great, and continued, and grew until he became very great:

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

14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and very many servants: and the Philistines envied him.

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

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

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 to Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

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

17 And Isaac departed from there, and pitched his tent 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 dug again the wells of water, which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had 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 dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

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

20 And the herdmen of Gerar contended with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove 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 dug another well, and contended for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

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

22 And he departed from there, and dug another well; and for that they did not contend: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath 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 there to Beersheba.

From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,

24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake.

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 And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants dug 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 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

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

27 And Isaac said to them, Why come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have 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 certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath between us, even between us and thee, and let us make 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 do us no harm, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD.

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

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

31 And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away, 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 the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had dug, 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 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

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

34 And Esau was forty years old when he took for a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the 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 Who were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.