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 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;

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 Yahweh appeared unto him, and said, do not go down towards Egypt, —Make thy habitation in the land, which I may name unto thee:

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.

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;

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 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:

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

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

6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.

So Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

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.”

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.

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 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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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

And Abimelech commanded all the people saying, —He that toucheth this man or his wife, shall surely be put 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 found in the same year, a hundredfold, —seeing that Yahweh had blessed him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, —and 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 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.

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

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

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 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.

23 Then Isaac went up from there to Beersheba.

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

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 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.

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

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.

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

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

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 unto them, Wherefore have ye come in mite me, seeing that, 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, 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: —

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 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!

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

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

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 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.

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, 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!

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

So he called it, Shibah. For this cause, hath the name of the city, been Beer-sheba, unto 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 when Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith, daughter of Beeri. the Hittite; and Basemath, daughter of Elon, the Hittite;

35 They brought sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.

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