Genesis 26

1 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.

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.

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

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

3 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.

And sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee, and bless thee, for I will give to thee and to thy seed all this land; and I will establish my oath which I swore to thy father Abraam.

4 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.

And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven; and I will give to thy seed all this land, and all the nations of the earth shall be blest in thy seed.

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

Because Abraam thy father hearkened to my voice, and kept my injunctions, and my commandments, and my ordinances, and my statutes.

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

And Isaac dwelt in Gerara.

7 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.”

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 slay him because of Rebecca, because she was fair.

8 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.

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.

9 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.”

And Abimelech called Isaac, and said to him, Is she then thy wife? why hast thou 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.

10 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.”

And Abimelech said to him, Why hast thou done this to us? one of my kindred within a little had lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought [a sin of] ignorance upon us.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 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.

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.

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

And Abimelech said to Isaac, Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.

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

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

18 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.

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.

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

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

20 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.

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.

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

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

22 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.”

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.

23 Then Isaac went up from there to Beersheba.

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

24 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.”

And the Lord appeared to him in that night, and said, I am the God of Abraam thy father; fear not, for I am with thee, and I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for the sake of Abraam thy father.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

28 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,

And they said, We have surely seen that the Lord was with thee, and we said, Let there be an oath between us and thee, and we will make a covenant with thee,

29 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.”

that thou shalt do no wrong by us, as we have not abhorred thee, and according as we have treated thee well, and have sent thee forth peaceably; and now thou art blessed of the Lord.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

34 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.

And Esau was forty years old; and he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beoch the Chettite, and Basemath, daughter of Helon the Chettite.

35 They brought sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.

And they were provoking to Isaac and Rebecca.