International Standard Version

King James Bible

1Later on, a famine swept through the land. This famine was different from the previous famine that had occurred earlier, during Abraham's lifetime. So 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.

2That's when the LORD appeared to Isaac. "You are not to go down to Egypt," he said. "Instead, you are to settle down in an area within this land where I'll 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:

3Remain in this land, and I'll be with and bless you by giving all these lands to you and to your descendants in fulfillment of my solemn promise that I made 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'll cause you to have as many descendants as the stars of the heavens, and I'll certainly give all these lands to your descendants. Later on, through your descendants all the nations of the earth will bless one another.

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'm going to do this because Abraham did what I told him to do. He kept my instructions, commands, statutes, and laws."

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

6So Isaac lived in Gerar.

6And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

7Later on, the men of that place asked about his wife, so he replied, "She's my sister," because he was afraid to call her "my wife." He kept thinking, "…otherwise, the men around here will kill me on account of Rebekah, since she's very 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.

8After he had been there awhile, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out through a window and saw 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.

9So Abimelech called Isaac and confronted him. "She is definitely your wife!" he accused him, "So why did you claim, 'She's my sister?'" Isaac responded, "Because I had thought '…otherwise, I'll 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.

10"What have you done to us?" Abimelech asked. "Any minute now, one of the people could have had sex with your wife and you would have caused all of us to be guilty."

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 he issued this order to everyone: "Whoever touches this man or his wife is to be executed."

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

12Isaac received a 100-fold return on what he planted that year in the land he received, because 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 very wealthy and lived a life of wealth, becoming more and more wealthy.

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

14He owned so many sheep, cattle, and servants that the Philistines eventually became envious of him.

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

15They filled in with sand all of the wells that Isaac's father Abraham's servants had dug during his lifetime.

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.

16Then Abimelech ordered Isaac, "Move away from us! You've become more powerful than we are."

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

17So Isaac moved from there and encamped in the Gerar Valley, where he settled.

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

18Isaac re-excavated some wells that his father had first dug during his lifetime, because the Philistines had filled them with sand after Abraham's death. Isaac renamed those wells with the same names that his father had called 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.

19While Isaac's servants were digging in the valley, they discovered a well with flowing water.

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

20But the herdsmen who lived in Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen. "The water is ours," they said. As a result, Isaac named the well Esek, for they had fiercely disputed with him about it.

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.

21When his workers started digging another well, those herdsmen quarreled about that one, too, so Isaac named it Sitnah.

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

22Then he left that area and dug still another well. Because they did not quarrel over that one, Isaac named it Rehoboth, because he used to say, "The LORD has enlarged the territory for us. We will prosper 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.

23Later on, he left there and went to Beer-sheba,

23And he went up from thence to Beersheba.

24where one night the LORD appeared to him. "I am the God of your father Abraham," he told him. "Don't be afraid, because I'm with you. I'm going to bless you and multiply your descendants on account 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.

25In response, Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. He also pitched his tents there and his servants dug a well.

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.

26Later, Abimelech traveled from Gerar to visit Isaac . He arrived with Ahuzzath, his staff advisor, and Phicol, the commanding officer of his army.

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 to see me," Isaac asked them, "since you hate me so much that you 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?

28"We've seen that the LORD is with you," they responded, "so we're proposing an agreement between us—between us and you. Allow us to make a treaty 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;

29by which you'll agree not to do us any harm, just as we haven't harmed you, since we've done nothing but good for you after we sent you away in peace. As a result, you've been tremendously 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 Isaac held a festival for them, and they ate and drank.

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

31They woke up early the next morning and made the treaty. After this, Isaac sent them off and they left on peaceful terms.

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 same day, Isaac's servants arrived and reported to him about a well that they had just completed digging. "We've found water!" they said.

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 Shebah, which is why the city is named Beer-sheba to this day.

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

34When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath, the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

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:

35This brought extreme grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

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

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.