Genesis 26

1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which had been in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

Then came a time of great need in the land, like that which had been before in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

2 And Jehovah appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt: dwell in the land that I shall tell thee of.

And the Lord came to him in a vision and said, Do not go down to Egypt; keep in the land of which I will give you knowledge:

3 Sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee and bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father.

Keep in this land, and I will be with you and give you my blessing; for to you and to your seed will I give all these lands, giving effect to the oath which I made to your father Abraham;

4 And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and unto thy seed will I give all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves —

I will make your seed like the stars of heaven in number, and will give them all these lands, and your seed will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth;

5 because that Abraham hearkened to my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Because Abraham gave ear to my voice and kept my words, my rules, my orders, and my laws.

6 And Isaac dwelt at Gerar.

So Isaac went on living in Gerar;

7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister; for he feared to say, my wife, [saying to himself, ] Lest the men of the place slay me on account of Rebecca — because she was fair in countenance.

And when he was questioned by the men of the place about his wife, he said, She is my sister; fearing to say, She is my wife; for, he said, the men of the place may put me to death on account of Rebekah; because she is very beautiful.

8 And it came to pass when he had been there some time, that Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked out of the window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was dallying with Rebecca his wife.

And when he had been there for some time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looking through a window, saw Isaac playing with Rebekah his wife.

9 Then Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, she is certainly thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I die on account of her.

And he said to Isaac, It is clear that she is your wife: why then did you say, She is my sister? And Isaac said, For fear that I might be put to death because of her.

10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? But a little and one of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought a trespass on us.

Then Abimelech said, What have you done to us? one of the people might well have had connection with your wife, and the sin would have been ours.

11 And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that touches this man or his wife shall certainly be put to death.

And Abimelech gave orders to his people that anyone touching Isaac or his wife was to be put to death.

12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and Jehovah blessed him.

Now Isaac, planting seed in that land, got in the same year fruit a hundred times as much, for the blessing of the Lord was on him.

13 And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great.

And his wealth became very great, increasing more and more;

14 And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him.

For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy.

15 And all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them and filled them with earth.

Now all the water-holes, which his father's servants had made in the days of Abraham, had been stopped up with earth by the Philistines.

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

And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go away from us, for you are stronger than we are.

17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his camp in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

So Isaac went away from there, and put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, making his living-place there.

18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and that the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

And he made again the water-holes which had been made in the days of Abraham his father, and which had been stopped up by the Philistines; and he gave them the names which his father had given them.

19 And Isaac's servants dug in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

Now Isaac's servants made holes in the valley, and came to a spring of flowing water.

20 But the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they had quarrelled with him.

But the herdmen of Gerar had a fight with Isaac's herdmen, for they said, The spring is ours: so he gave the spring the name of Esek, because there was a fight about it.

21 And they dug another well, and they strove for that also; and he called the name of it Sitnah.

Then they made another water-hole, and there was a fight about that, so he gave it the name of Sitnah.

22 And he removed thence and dug another well; and they did not strive for that. And he called the name of it Rehoboth, and said, For now Jehovah has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

Then he went away from there, and made another water-hole, about which there was no fighting: so he gave it the name of Rehoboth, for he said, Now the Lord has made room for us, and we will have fruit in this land.

23 And he went up thence to Beer-sheba.

And from there he went on to Beer-sheba.

24 And Jehovah 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.

That night the Lord came to him in a vision, and said, I am the God of your father Abraham: have no fear for I am with you, blessing you, and your seed will be increased because of my servant Abraham.

25 And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah. And he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Then he made an altar there, and gave worship to the name of the Lord, and he put up his tents there, and there his servants made a water-hole.

26 And Abimelech, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol the captain of his host, went to him from Gerar.

And Abimelech had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his friend and Phicol, the captain of his army.

27 And Isaac said to them, Why are ye come to me, seeing ye hate me, and have driven me away from you?

And Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing that in your hate for me you sent me away from you?

28 And they said, We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee; and we said, Let there be then an oath between us — between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee,

And they said, We saw clearly that the Lord was with you: so we said, Let there be an oath between us and you, and let us make an agreement with you;

29 that thou wilt do us no wrong, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have let thee go in peace; thou art now blessed of Jehovah.

That you will do us no damage, even as we put no hand on you, and did you nothing but good, and sent you away in peace: and now the blessing of the Lord is on you.

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

Then he made a feast for them, and they all had food and drink.

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 early in the morning they took an oath one to the other: then Isaac sent them away and they went on their way in peace.

32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the well that they had dug, and said to him, We have found water.

And that day Isaac's servants came to him and gave him word of the water-hole which they had made, and said to him, We have come to water.

33 And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

And he gave it the name of Shibah: so the name of that town is Beer-sheba to this day.

34 And Esau was forty years old, when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basmath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

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

35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca.

And Isaac and Rebekah had grief of mind because of them.