Genesis 26
King James Version
26 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.
2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee 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;
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;
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
6 And Isaac dwelt 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.
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.
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.
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.
11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.
13 And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:
14 For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and 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.
16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
17 And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt 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.
19 And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.
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.
21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of 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.
23 And he went up from thence 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.
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.
26 Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.
27 And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?
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;
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.
30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.
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.
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.
33 And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto 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:
35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.
Genesis 26
New King James Version
Isaac and Abimelech
26 There was a famine in the land, besides (A)the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to (B)Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: (C)“Do not go down to Egypt; live in (D)the land of which I shall tell you. 3 (E)Dwell in this land, and (F)I will be with you and (G)bless you; for to you and your descendants (H)I give all these lands, and I will perform (I)the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And (J)I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; (K)and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 (L)because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And (M)he said, “She is my sister”; for (N)he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is (O)beautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, [a]showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”
Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ”
10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and (P)you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who (Q)touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”
12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year (R)a hundredfold; and the Lord (S)blessed him. 13 The man (T)began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines (U)envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells (V)which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for (W)you are much mightier than we.”
17 Then Isaac departed from there and [b]pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. (X)He called them by the names which his father had called them.
19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar (Y)quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well [c]Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name [d]Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name [e]Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall (Z)be fruitful in the land.”
23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord (AA)appeared to him the same night and said, (AB)“I am the God of your father Abraham; (AC)do not fear, for (AD)I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he (AE)built an altar there and (AF)called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, (AG)and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, (AH)since you hate me and have (AI)sent me away from you?”
28 But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord (AJ)is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a [f]covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. (AK)You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”
30 (AL)So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and (AM)swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.
32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it [g]Shebah. (AN)Therefore the name of the city is [h]Beersheba to this day.
34 (AO)When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And (AP)they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.
Footnotes
- Genesis 26:8 caressing
- Genesis 26:17 camped
- Genesis 26:20 Lit. Quarrel
- Genesis 26:21 Lit. Enmity
- Genesis 26:22 Lit. Spaciousness
- Genesis 26:28 treaty
- Genesis 26:33 Lit. Oath or Seven
- Genesis 26:33 Lit. Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
