Genesis 26

1 And there is a famine in the land, besides the first famine which was in the days of Abraham, and Isaac goeth unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, to 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 Jehovah appeareth unto him, and saith, 'Go not down towards Egypt, tabernacle in the land concerning which I speak unto thee,

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 am with thee, and bless thee, for to thee and to thy seed I give all these lands, and I have established the oath which I have sworn to 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 have multiplied thy seed as stars of the heavens, and I have given to thy seed all these lands; and blessed themselves in thy seed have all nations of the earth;

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 hath hearkened to My voice, and keepeth My charge, My commands, 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 dwelleth in Gerar;

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

7 and men of the place ask him of his wife, and he saith, 'She [is] my sister:' for he hath been afraid to say, 'My wife — lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, for she [is] of good 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 cometh to pass, when the days have been prolonged to him there, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looketh through the window, and seeth, and lo, Isaac is playing 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 calleth for Isaac, and saith, 'Lo, she [is] surely thy wife; and how hast thou said, She [is] my sister?' and Isaac saith unto him, 'Because I said, Lest I 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 saith, 'What [is] this thou hast done to us? as a little thing one of the people had lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us guilt;'

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 commandeth all the people, saying, 'He who cometh against this man or against his wife, dying doth die.'

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

12 And Isaac soweth in that land, and findeth in that year a hundredfold, and Jehovah blesseth him;

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

13 and the man is great, and goeth on, going on and becoming great, till that he hath been very great,

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

14 and he hath possession of a flock, and possession of a herd, and an abundant service; and the Philistines envy 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 digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines have stopped them, and fill them with dust.

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 saith unto Isaac, 'Go 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 goeth from thence, and encampeth in the valley of Gerar, and dwelleth there;

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

18 and Isaac turneth back, and diggeth the wells of water which they digged in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines do stop after the death of Abraham, and he calleth to them names according to the names which his father 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 Isaac's servants dig in the valley, and find there a well of living water,

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

20 and shepherds of Gerar strive with shepherds of Isaac, saying, 'The water [is] ours;' and he calleth the name of the well 'Strife,' because they have striven habitually 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 dig another well, and they strive also for it, and he calleth its name 'Hatred.'

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

22 And he removeth from thence, and diggeth another well, and they have not striven for it, and he calleth its name Enlargements, and saith, 'For — now hath Jehovah given enlargement to us, and we have been fruitful 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 goeth up from thence [to] Beer-Sheba,

Then Isaac went up from there to Beersheba.

24 and Jehovah appeareth unto him during that night, and saith, 'I [am] the God of Abraham thy father, fear not, for I [am] with thee, and have blessed thee, and have multiplied thy seed, because 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 buildeth there an altar, and preacheth in the name of Jehovah, and stretcheth out there his tent, and there Isaac's servants dig 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 And Abimelech hath gone unto him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol head of his host;

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

27 and Isaac saith unto them, 'Wherefore have ye come unto me, and ye have hated me, and ye send 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 say, 'We have certainly seen that Jehovah hath been with thee, and we say, 'Let there be, we pray thee, an oath between us, between us and thee, and let us 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 do not evil with us, as we have not touched thee, and as we have only done good with thee, and send thee away in peace; thou [art] now blessed of Jehovah.'

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 maketh for them a banquet, and they eat and drink,

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

31 and rise early in the morning, and swear one to another, and Isaac sendeth them away, and they go 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 cometh to pass during that day that Isaac's servants come and declare to him concerning the circumstances of the well which they have digged, and say to 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 calleth it Shebah, [oath, ] therefore the name of the city [is] Beer-Sheba, [well of the oath, ] unto this day.

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

34 And Esau is a son of forty years, and he taketh a wife, Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath, 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 are a bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.

They brought sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.