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Genesis 26
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
Genesis 26
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
26 And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Palestines to Gerara.
2 And the Lord appeared to him and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.
3 And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.
4 And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
5 Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.
6 So Isaac abode in Gerara.
7 And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister; for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would kill him because of her beauty.
8 And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech king of the Palestines looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca his wife.
9 And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake.
10 And Abimelech said: Why hast thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying:
11 He that shall touch this man's wife, shall surely be put to death.
12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.
13 And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceeding great:
14 And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,
15 Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father Abraham had digged, filling them up with earth:
16 Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.
17 So he departed and came to the torrent of Gerara, to dwell there:
18 And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had digged, and which, after his death, the Palestines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names by which his father before had called them.
19 And they digged in the torrent, and found living water.
20 But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.
21 And they digged also another; and for that they quarrelled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.
22 Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for which they contended not: therefore he called the name thereof, Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us to increase upon the earth.
23 And he went up from that place to Bersabee,
24 Where the Lord appeared to him that same night, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father; do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
25 And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent: and commanded his servants to dig a well.
26 To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers came from Gerara,
27 Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you hate, and have thrust out from you?
28 And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant,
29 That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee: but with peace have sent thee away increased with the blessing of the Lord.
30 And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:
31 Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.
32 And behold the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water.
33 Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.
34 And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon of the same place.
35 And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.
Genesis 26
New International Version
Genesis 26
New International Version
Isaac and Abimelek(A)
26 Now there was a famine in the land(B)—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines(C) in Gerar.(D) 2 The Lord appeared(E) to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;(F) live in the land where I tell you to live.(G) 3 Stay in this land for a while,(H) and I will be with you(I) and will bless you.(J) For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands(K) and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.(L) 4 I will make your descendants(M) as numerous as the stars in the sky(N) and will give them all these lands,(O) and through your offspring[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,[b](P) 5 because Abraham obeyed me(Q) and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees(R) and my instructions.(S)” 6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.(T)
7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,(U)” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines(V) looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9 So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?(W)”
Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”
10 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us?(X) One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
11 So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms(Y) this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”(Z)
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold,(AA) because the Lord blessed him.(AB) 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.(AC) 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants(AD) that the Philistines envied him.(AE) 15 So all the wells(AF) that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up,(AG) filling them with earth.
16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us;(AH) you have become too powerful for us.(AI)”
17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar,(AJ) where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells(AK) that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled(AL) with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”(AM) So he named the well Esek,[c] because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled(AN) over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.[d] 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[e](AO) saying, “Now the Lord has given us room(AP) and we will flourish(AQ) in the land.”
23 From there he went up to Beersheba.(AR) 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham.(AS) Do not be afraid,(AT) for I am with you;(AU) I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants(AV) for the sake of my servant Abraham.”(AW)
25 Isaac built an altar(AX) there and called on the name of the Lord.(AY) There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.(AZ)
26 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces.(BA) 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?(BB)”
28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you;(BC) so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty(BD) with you 29 that you will do us no harm,(BE) just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”(BF)
30 Isaac then made a feast(BG) for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath(BH) to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.
32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well(BI) they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 33 He called it Shibah,[f] and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba.[g](BJ)
Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing
34 When Esau was forty years old,(BK) he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.(BL) 35 They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.(BM)
Footnotes
- Genesis 26:4 Or seed
- Genesis 26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)
- Genesis 26:20 Esek means dispute.
- Genesis 26:21 Sitnah means opposition.
- Genesis 26:22 Rehoboth means room.
- Genesis 26:33 Shibah can mean oath or seven.
- Genesis 26:33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
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