1 A nd there was a famine in the land, other than the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines.

Now there was another time when there was no food in the land, after the time of no food in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines.

2 A nd the Lord appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I will tell you.

The Lord showed Himself to Isaac, and said, “Do not go to Egypt. Stay in the land I will tell you about.

3 D well temporarily in this land, and I will be with you and will favor you with blessings; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.

Live in this land and I will be with you and bring good to you. For I will give all these lands to you and your children. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham.

4 A nd I will make your descendants to multiply as the stars of the heavens, and will give to your posterity all these lands (kingdoms); and by your Offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, or by Him bless themselves,

I will make your children and all your children’s children as many as the stars of heaven. I will give these lands to them.

5 F or Abraham listened to and obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commands, My statutes, and My laws.

For Abraham obeyed Me. He did what I told him to do. He kept My Word and My Law.”

6 S o Isaac stayed in Gerar.

So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

7 A nd the men of the place asked him about his wife, and he said, She is my sister; for he was afraid to say, She is my wife—, Lest the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah, because she is attractive and is beautiful to look upon.

When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought to himself, “The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.”

8 W hen he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah his wife.

When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of the window. And he saw Isaac loving his wife Rebekah.

9 A nd Abimelech called Isaac and said, See here, she is certainly your wife! How did you say to me, She is my sister? And Isaac said to him, Because I thought, Lest I die on account of her.

So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “See, she is your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I would die because of her.”

10 A nd Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the men might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt and sin upon us.

Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might have lain with your wife. And you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11 T hen Abimelech charged all his people, He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

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

12 T hen Isaac sowed seed in that land and received in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted, and the Lord favored him with blessings.

Isaac planted seeds in that land. And he gathered in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted. The Lord brought good to him.

13 A nd the man became great and gained more and more until he became very wealthy and distinguished;

Isaac became rich and kept getting richer until he became a great man.

14 H e owned flocks, herds, and a great supply of servants, and the Philistines envied him.

For he had flocks and many cattle and many people working in his house. The Philistines became jealous of him.

15 N ow all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had closed and filled with earth.

They filled all the wells with dirt that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.

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

Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us. For you are too powerful for us.”

17 S o Isaac went away from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

So Isaac left that place. He put up his tents in the valley of Gerar, and lived there.

18 A nd Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the names by which his father had called them.

And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham. For the Philistines had closed them up after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the same names that his father had given them.

19 N ow Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of living water.

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

20 A nd the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours. And he named the well Esek because they quarreled with him.

The men who took care of the cattle of Gerar argued with the men who took care of Isaac’s cattle. They said, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac gave the well the name Esek, because they argued with him.

21 T hen dug another well, and they quarreled over that also; so he named it Sitnah.

Then his servants dug another well. And they argued about it also. So he gave it the name Sitnah.

22 A nd he moved away from there and dug another well, and for that one they did not quarrel. He named it Rehoboth, saying, For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

He moved away from there and dug another well. And they did not argue about it. So he gave it the name Rehoboth. For he said, “Now the Lord has made a large place for us. We will grow much in this land.”

23 N ow he went up from there to Beersheba.

Then he went from there to Beersheba.

24 A nd the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will favor you with blessings and multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.

The Lord showed Himself to Isaac that same night, and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring good to you, and add many to the number of your children and their children’s children, because of My servant Abraham.”

25 A nd built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants were digging a well.

So Isaac built an altar there. And he called upon the name of the Lord. He put up his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

26 T hen Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzah, one of his friends, and Phicol, his army’s commander.

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

27 A nd Isaac said to them, Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?

Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me when you hate me and have sent me away from you?”

28 T hey said, We saw that the Lord was certainly with you; so we said, Let there be now an oath between us, even between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you

They said, “It is easy for us to see that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be a promise between us, between you and us. Let us make an agreement with you,

29 T hat you will do us no harm, inasmuch as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed or favored of the Lord!

that you will not hurt us in any way. For we have not touched you, and have done nothing to you but good. We sent you away in peace. And you now have the Lord’s favor.’”

30 A nd he made them a dinner, and they ate and drank.

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

31 A nd they rose up early in the morning and took oaths with one another; and Isaac sent them on their way and they departed from him in peace.

They got up early in the morning and made promises to each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left him in peace.

32 T hat same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, saying, We have found water!

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

33 A nd he named Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

So he gave the well the name Shibah. So the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34 N ow Esau was 40 years old when he took as wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

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

35 A nd they made life bitter and a grief of mind and spirit for Isaac and Rebekah.

And they made life full of sorrow for Isaac and Rebekah.