New Living Translation

English Standard Version

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.

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, but do as 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.

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 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 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.

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,

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

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

6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

6So Isaac settled 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.”

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.

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

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.

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“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.”

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.”

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

11So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches 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.

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

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

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

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

14He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that 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.

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.)

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

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

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

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

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

19But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring 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”).

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.

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

21Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name 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 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 moved to Beersheba,

23From there he went up 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 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.”

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

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.

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

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

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

27Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you 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.

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,

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 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 covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together.

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

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.

31In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, 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.

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 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”).

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

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

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,

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

35and they made life bitter for Isaac and 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.

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.