Christian Standard Bible

King James Bible

1There was another famine in the land in addition to the one that had occurred in Abraham's time. And Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar.

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 him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I tell you about;

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

3stay in this land as an alien, 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 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 make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky, I will give your offspring all these lands, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring,

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;

5because Abraham listened to me and kept my mandate, my commands, my statutes, and my instructions."

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

6So Isaac settled in Gerar.

6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," for he was afraid to say "my wife," thinking, "The men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is a beautiful woman."

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.

8When Isaac had been there for some time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife 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.

9Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, "So she is really your wife! How could you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might die on account of her."

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.

10Then Abimelech said, "What is this you've done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us."

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.

11So Abimelech warned all the people, "Whoever harms this man or his wife will certainly be put to death."

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

12Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped a hundred times what was sown. The LORD blessed him,

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

13and the man became rich and kept getting richer until he was very wealthy.

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

14He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him.

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

15Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with dirt.

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.

16And Abimelech said to Isaac, "Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us."

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

17So Isaac left there, camped in the Gerar Valley, and lived there.

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

18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and that the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. He gave them the same names his father 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.

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

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

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.

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

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

22He moved from there and dug another, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, "For now the LORD has made space for us, and we will be fruitful in the 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 he went up to Beer-sheba,

23And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24and the LORD appeared to him that night 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 offspring because of my servant Abraham."

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.

25So he built an altar there, called on the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there. Isaac's servants also dug a well there.

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.

26Now Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.

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

27Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me? You hated me and sent me away from you."

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

28They replied, "We have clearly seen how the LORD has been with you. We think there should be an oath between two parties--between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you:

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;

29You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the LORD."

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 he prepared a banquet for them, and they ate and drank.

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

31They got up early in the morning and swore an oath to each other. Isaac sent them on their way, 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.

32On that same day Isaac's servants came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, "We have found water!"

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.

33He called it Sheba. Therefore the name of the city is still Beer-sheba today.

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

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

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:

35They made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

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

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.