New Living Translation

King James Bible

1A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.

1And 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.

2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.

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

3Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.

3Sojourn 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;

4I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

4And 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;

5I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”

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

6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.”

7And 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.

8But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah.

8And 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.

9Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied.

9And 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“How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”

10And 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.

11Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!” Conflict over Water Rights

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

12When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him.

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

13He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.

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

14He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

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

15So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.

15For 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.

16Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.”

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

17So Isaac moved away to the Gerar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down.

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

18He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them.

18And 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.

19Isaac’s servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water.

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

20But then the shepherds from Gerar came and claimed the spring. “This is our water,” they said, and they argued over it with Isaac’s herdsmen. So Isaac named the well Esek (which means “argument”).

20And 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.

21Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Isaac named it Sitnah (which means “hostility”).

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

22Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it, so Isaac named the place Rehoboth (which means “open space”), for he said, “At last the LORD has created enough space for us to prosper in this land.”

22And 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.

23From there Isaac moved to Beersheba,

23And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.”

24And 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.

25Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well. Isaac’s Covenant with Abimelech

25And 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.

26One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander.

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

27“Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”

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

28They replied, “We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant.

28And 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;

29Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!”

29That 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.

30So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together.

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

31Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace.

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

32That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed.

32And 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.

33So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”).

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

34At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon.

34And 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:

35But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.

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

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.