Genesis, 26

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

1. There was a famine in the land - a second one after the famine that had taken place in the time of Abraham - and Isaac went to Gerar, the land of Abimelech, king of the Philistines.

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

2. For Yahweh appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land I shall tell you of.

3. Sojourn 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 countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;

3. Remain in this land, and I will be with you and I will bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your race, and I shall keep the oath I swore to your father, Abraham. For I told him:

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

4. I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the heavens, and to them I will give all these lands; and through your descendants all nations in the world will be blessed

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

5. because you were obedient and kept my charge, my commandments, my decrees and my laws."

6. And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

6. So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

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

7. When the men of that place questioned him about his wife, he replied, "She is my sister." He would not say, "She is my wife," for he was afraid and he thought, "The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah who is very beautiful."

8. And 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.

8. When Isaac had been there a long time, it happened that Abimelech, looking out of a window, saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

9. And 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 for her.

9. Abimelech called Isaac and said, "So she really is your wife! Why did you tell me that she was your sister?" Isaac said to him, "Because I thought that they might kill me on her account."

10. And Abimelech said, What [is] this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

10. Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to us? One of my people could have slept with your wife and you would have brought guilt on us."

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

11. So Abimelech gave an order to all the people: "Whoever molests this man or his wife will be put to death."

12. Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

12. Isaac sowed crops on this land and that same year he harvested a hundredfold. Yahweh blessed him

13. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

13. and he prospered. He continued to prosper until he was very rich.

14. For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

14. He had flocks and herds and many servants so that the Philistines envied him.

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

15. All the wells dug by his father's servants in Abraham's time were stopped up by the Philistines and filled with earth.

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

16. Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us for you are more powerful than we are."

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

17. So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

18. And 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.

18. Isaac opened up again the wells that had been dug in the time of his father, Abraham, and that the Philistines had blocked up after Abraham's death. He gave these wells the names his father had given them.

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

19. Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered there a fresh water spring.

20. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water [is] ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

20. The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen saying, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they squabbled about it.

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

21. They dug another well and there was quarreling about that as well, so he called it Sitnah.

22. And 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 the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

22. He moved away from there and dug another well and as no one quarreled over it, he called it Rehoboth saying, "Now the Lord has made room for us, we shall prosper in the land."

23. And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

23. From there Isaac went to Beersheba,

24. And the LORD 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.

24. and Yahweh appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham, your father; do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and increase your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham."

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

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

26. Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

26. Abimelech went to him from Gerar together with Ahuzzath, his friend, and Phicol, the commander of his forces.

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

27. Isaac said to him, "Why have you come after me seeing that you hate me and have sent me away?"

28. And they said, We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, [even] betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee;

28. They answered, "We have clearly seen that Yahweh is with you, so we said: Let peace be sworn between us and you, and let us make a treaty:

29. That 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 the LORD.

29. you will do us no harm, just as we have not interfered with you, but always treated you well and sent you away in peace. We know that you have Yahweh's blessing."

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

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

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

31. Next morning they rose early and swore an oath to each other. Isaac then set them on their way and they left him in peace.

32. And 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.

32. That day Isaac's servants came and told him of the well they had dug: "We have found water."

33. And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city [is] Beersheba unto this day.

33. He called the well Shibeah and that is why the name of the town has been Beersheba to this day.

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

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

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

35. They made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.