| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar. | 1Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. |
| 2Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. | 2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you. |
| 3Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. | 3Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. |
| 4And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; | 4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, |
| 5because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” | 5because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” |
| 6So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. | 6So Isaac settled in Gerar. |
| 7And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for 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 beautiful to behold.” | 7But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.” |
| 8Now 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, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. | 8When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. |
| 9Then 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.’ ” | 9Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.” |
| 10And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” | 10“What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” |
| 11So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.” | 11So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” |
| 12Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. | 12Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, |
| 13The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; | 13and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy. |
| 14for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. | 14He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. |
| 15Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. | 15So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham. |
| 16And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” | 16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.” |
| 17Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. | 17So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. |
| 18And 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. He called them by the names 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 stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them. |
| 19Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. | 19Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there. |
| 20But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. | 20But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him. |
| 21Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. | 21Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. |
| 22And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” | 22He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.” |
| 23Then he went up from there to Beersheba. | 23From there Isaac went up to Beersheba, |
| 24And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” | 24and that 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 multiply your descendants for the sake of My servant Abraham.” |
| 25So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well. | 25So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there. |
| 26Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. | 26Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. |
| 27And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” | 27“Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.” |
| 28But they said, “We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a covenant with you, | 28“We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you |
| 29that 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. You are now the blessed of the LORD.’ ” | 29that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.” |
| 30So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. | 30So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank. |
| 31Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. | 31And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace. |
| 32It 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.” | 32On that same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We have found water!” they told him. |
| 33So he called it Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. | 33So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba. |
| 34When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. | 34When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. |
| 35And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. | 35And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah. |
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