Genesis 26
26
1And there was a famine in the lande besides the first famine that was in the dayes of Abraham. Wherefore Izhak went to Abimelech King of the Philistims vnto Gerar. 2For the Lord appeared vnto him, and sayde, Goe not downe into Egypt, but abide in the land which I shall shewe vnto thee. 3Dwell in this lande, and I will be with thee, and will blesse thee: for to thee, and to thy seede I will giue all these countreys: and I will performe the othe which I sware vnto Abraham thy father. 4Also I wil cause thy seede to multiply as the starres of heauen, and will giue vnto thy seede all these countreys: and in thy seede shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, 5Because that Abraham obeyed my voyce and kept mine ordinance, my commandements, my statutes, and my Lawes. 6So Izhak dwelt in Gerar. 7And the men of the place asked him of his wife, and he sayd, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife, least, sayde he, the men of the place shoulde kill me, because of Rebekah: for she was beautifull to the eye. 8So after hee had bene there long time, Abimelech King of the Philistims looked out at a windowe, and loe, he sawe Izhak sporting with Rebekah his wife. 9Then Abimelech called Izhak, and sayde, Loe, shee is of a suertie thy wife, and why saydest thou, She is my sister? To whom Izhak answered, Because I thought this, It may be that I shall dye for her. 10Then Abimelech said, Why hast thou done this vnto vs? one of the people had almost lien by thy wife, so shouldest thou haue brought sinne vpon vs. 11Then Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man, or his wife, shall die the death. 12Afterwarde Izhak sowed in that lande, and founde in the same yeere an hundreth folde by estimation: and so the Lord blessed him. 13And the man waxed mightie, and stil increased, till he was exceeding great, 14For he had flockes of sheepe, and heards of cattell, and a mightie housholde: therefore the Philistims had enuy at him. 15In so much that the Philistims stopped and filled vp with earth all the welles, which his fathers seruantes digged in his father Abrahams time. 16Then Abimelech sayde vnto Izhak, Get thee from vs, for thou art mightier then wee a great deale. 17Therefore Izhak departed thence and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18And Izhak returning, digged the welles of water, which they had digged in the dayes of Abraham his father: for the Philistims had stopped them after the death of Abraham, and hee gaue them the same names, which his father gaue them. 19Izhaks seruantes then digged in the valley, and found there a well of liuing water. 20But the herdmen of Gerar did striue with Izhaks herdmen, saying, The water is ours: therefore called he the name of the well Esek, because they were at strife with him. 21Afterwarde they digged another well, and stroue for that also, and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22Then he remoued thence, and digged an other well, for the which they stroue not: therefore called hee the name of it Rehoboth, and sayde, Because the Lord hath nowe made vs roome, we shall increase vpon the earth. 23So he went vp thence to Beer-sheba. 24And the Lord appeared vnto him the same night, and sayde, I am the God of Abraham thy father: feare not, for I am with thee, and wil blesse thee, and will multiplie thy seede for my seruant Abrahams sake. 25Then he builte an altar there, and called vpon the Name of the Lord, and there spred his tent: where also Izhaks seruauntes digged a well. 26Then came Abimelech to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friendes, and Phichol the captaine of his armie. 27To whom Izhak sayd, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate mee and haue put mee away from you? 28Who answered, Wee sawe certainely that the Lord was with thee, and wee thought thus, Let there be nowe an othe betweene vs, euen betweene vs and thee, and let vs make a couenant with thee. 29If thou shalt do vs no hurt, as we haue not touched thee, and as we haue done vnto thee nothing but good, and sent thee away in peace: thou nowe, the blessed of the Lord, doe this. 30Then hee made them a feast, and they dyd eate and drinke. 31And they rose vp betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: then Izhak let them go, and they departed from him in peace. 32And that same day Izhaks seruantes came and tolde him of a well, which they had digged, and said vnto him, We haue found water. 33So hee called it Shibah: therefore the name of the citie is called Beer-sheba vnto this day. 34Nowe when Esau was fourtie yeere olde, he tooke to wife Iudith, the daughter of Beeri an Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon an Hittite also. 35And they were a griefe of minde to Izhak and to Rebekah.
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Genesis 26: GNV
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PUBLIC DOMAIN
Genesis 26
26
1There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
2-5 God appeared to him and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you. Stay here in this land and I’ll be with you and bless you. I’m giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I’ll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants. And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge—my commands, my guidelines, my teachings.”
6So Isaac stayed put in Gerar.
7The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “She’s my wife.” He was thinking, “These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she’s so beautiful.”
8-9One day, after they had been there quite a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So, she’s your wife. Why did you tell us ‘She’s my sister’?”
Isaac said, “Because I thought I might get killed by someone who wanted her.”
10Abimelech said, “But think of what you might have done to us! Given a little more time, one of the men might have slept with your wife; you would have been responsible for bringing guilt down on us.”
11Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: “Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies.”
12-15Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him. The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy. He accumulated flocks and herds and many, many servants, so much so that the Philistines began to envy him. They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, clogging up all the wells.
16Finally, Abimelech told Isaac: “Leave. You’ve become far too big for us.”
17-18So Isaac left. He camped in the valley of Gerar and settled down there. Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham’s death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them.
19-24One day, as Isaac’s servants were digging in the valley, they came on a well of spring water. The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s shepherds, claiming, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named the well Esek (Quarrel) because they quarreled over it. They dug another well and there was a difference over that one also, so he named it Sitnah (Accusation). He went on from there and dug yet another well. But there was no fighting over this one so he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, “Now God has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land.” From there he went up to Beersheba. That very night God appeared to him and said,
I am the God of Abraham your father;
don’t fear a thing because I’m with you.
I’ll bless you and make your children flourish
because of Abraham my servant.
25Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well.
26-27Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his advisor and Phicol the head of his troops. Isaac asked them, “Why did you come to me? You hate me; you threw me out of your country.”
28-29They said, “We’ve realized that God is on your side. We’d like to make a deal between us—a covenant that we maintain friendly relations. We haven’t bothered you in the past; we treated you kindly and let you leave us in peace. So—God’s blessing be with you!”
30-31Isaac laid out a feast and they ate and drank together. Early in the morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac said good-bye and they parted as friends.
32-33Later that same day, Isaac’s servants came to him with news about the well they had been digging, “We’ve struck water!” Isaac named the well Sheba (Oath), and that’s the name of the city, Beersheba (Oath-Well), to this day.
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34-35When Esau was forty years old he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. They turned out to be thorns in the sides of Isaac and Rebekah.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.