| New International Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now there was a famine in the land--besides the previous famine in Abraham's time--and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar. | 1There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred in the days of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. |
| 2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. | 2The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out to you. |
| 3Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. | 3Stay in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will fulfill the solemn promise I made to your father Abraham. |
| 4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, | 4I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants. |
| 5because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions." | 5All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." |
| 6So Isaac stayed in Gerar. | 6So Isaac settled in Gerar. |
| 7When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful." | 7When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, "She is my sister." He was afraid to say, "She is my wife," for he thought to himself, "The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah because she is very beautiful." |
| 8When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. | 8After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. |
| 9So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her." | 9So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac replied, "Because I thought someone might kill me to get her." |
| 10Then Abimelek said, "What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us." | 10Then Abimelech exclaimed, "What in the world have you done to us? One of the men might easily have had sexual relations with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!" |
| 11So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: "Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death." | 11So Abimelech commanded all the people, "Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death." |
| 12Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. | 12When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, because the LORD blessed him. |
| 13The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. | 13The man became wealthy. His influence continued to grow until he became very prominent. |
| 14He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. | 14He had so many sheep and cattle and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous of him. |
| 15So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth. | 15So the Philistines took dirt and filled up all the wells that his father's servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham. |
| 16Then Abimelek said to Isaac, "Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us." | 16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Leave us and go elsewhere, for you have become much more powerful than we are." |
| 17So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. | 17So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. |
| 18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. | 18Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham died. Isaac gave these wells the same names his father had given them. |
| 19Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. | 19When Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing water there, |
| 20But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, "The water is ours!" So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. | 20the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, "The water belongs to us!" So Isaac named the well Esek because they argued with him about it. |
| 21Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. | 21His servants dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it Sitnah. |
| 22He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land." | 22Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac named it Rehoboth, saying, "For now the LORD has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land." |
| 23From there he went up to Beersheba. | 23From there Isaac went up to Beer Sheba. |
| 24That 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 will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." | 24The 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 descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." |
| 25Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well. | 25Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. |
| 26Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. | 26Now Abimelech had come to him from Gerar along with Ahuzzah his friend and Phicol the commander of his army. |
| 27Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?" | 27Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you." |
| 28They answered, "We saw clearly that the LORD was with you; so we said, 'There ought to be a sworn agreement between us'--between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you | 28They replied, "We could plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we decided there should be a pact between us--between us and you. Allow us to make a treaty with you |
| 29that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the LORD." | 29so that you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed you, but have always treated you well before sending you away in peace. Now you are blessed by the LORD." |
| 30Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank. | 30So Isaac held a feast for them and they celebrated. |
| 31Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully. | 31Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. |
| 32That day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, "We've found water!" | 32That day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well they had dug. "We've found water," they reported. |
| 33He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba. | 33So he named it Shibah; that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba to this day. |
| 34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. | 34When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. |
| 35They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah. | 35They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. |
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