Berean Study Bible

English Standard Version

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.

1Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar to Abimelech king of the Philistines.

2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.

2And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you.

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.

3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.

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,

4I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,

5because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

5because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

6So Isaac settled in Gerar.

6So Isaac settled in Gerar.

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.”

7When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because she was attractive in appearance.

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.

8When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with Rebekah his wife.

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.”

9So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”

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.”

10Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

11So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

11So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

12Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him,

12And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him,

13and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.

13and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.

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

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

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.

15(Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father.)

16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.”

16And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

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

17So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.

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.

18And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them.

19Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there.

19But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water,

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.

20the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

21Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.

21Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah.

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.”

22And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, “For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

23From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,

23From there he went up to Beersheba.

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.”

24And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

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.

25So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

26Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.

26When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army,

27“Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”

27Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from 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

28They said, “We see plainly that the LORD has been with you. So we said, let there be a sworn pact between us, between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you,

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.”

29that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the LORD.”

30So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

30So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

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.

31In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace.

32On that same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We have found water!” they told him.

32That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug and said to him, “We have found water.”

33So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.

33He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

34When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.

34When Esau was forty years old, he took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite,

35And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

35and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

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ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.