Genesis 26

1And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar.

1Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine that had happened in Abraham’s time. So Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

2And Jehovah appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, 'Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about.

3sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

3Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, keeping the promise I made to your father Abraham.

4and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. Through your offspring, all nations on earth will be blessed.

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

5I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed my requirements, my commands, my decrees, and my laws.'

6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

7and the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, My wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

7When the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, 'She is my sister.' He was afraid to say, 'She is my wife,' because he thought, 'The men of this place might kill me to get Rebekah, since she is so beautiful.'

8And 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.

8After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac showing affection to his wife Rebekah.

9And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die because of her.

9Abimelech called Isaac in and said, 'She is clearly your wife! Why did you say, "She is my sister"?' Isaac answered him, 'Because I thought I might be killed because of her.'

10And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

10Then Abimelech said, 'What have you done to us? One of the men might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.'

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

11So Abimelech gave an order to all the people: 'Anyone who harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.'

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

12Isaac planted crops in that land and, in the same year, harvested a hundred times more than he sowed, because the LORD blessed him.

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

13The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.

14and he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household: and the Philistines envied him.

14He owned so many flocks, herds, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

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

15So the Philistines took dirt and filled in all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.

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

16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, 'Move away from us, because you have become much too powerful for us.'

17And Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

17So Isaac left and set up camp in the Valley of Gerar, and he lived there.

18And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged 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.

18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father had given them.

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

19Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of flowing spring water.

20And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

20But the herders of Gerar argued with Isaac’s herders and said, 'This water is ours!' So he named the well Esek, because they argued with him.

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

21Then they dug another well, but they argued over that one too; so he named it Sitnah.

22And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now Jehovah hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

22He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one argued over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, 'Now the LORD has given us room, and we will prosper in the land.'

23And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba.

23From there he went up to Beersheba.

24And Jehovah appeared unto 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.

24That 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 increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.'

25And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

25Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well.

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

26Meanwhile, Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, his personal adviser, and Phicol, the commander of his army.

27And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

27Isaac asked them, 'Why have you come to me, since you were hostile toward me and sent me away?'

28And they said, We saw plainly that Jehovah was with thee: and we said, Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee,

28They answered, 'We saw clearly that the LORD is with you; so we said, "Let there be a sworn agreement between us—between us and you." Let us make a treaty with you,

29that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of Jehovah.

29that you will not harm us, just as we did not mistreat you but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.'

30And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

30Isaac then prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

31And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

31Early the next morning the men exchanged oaths. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.

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

32That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, 'We’ve found water!'

33And he called it Shibah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.

33He named it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town is Beersheba.

34And when Esau was forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35and they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.

35They made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.