| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 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. | 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. |
| 2And the LORD appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. | 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. |
| 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. | 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 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, | 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 my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” | 5All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws." |
| 6So Isaac settled in Gerar. | 6So Isaac settled in Gerar. |
| 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. | 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 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. | 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 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.’” | 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." |
| 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.” | 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 Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches 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." |
| 12And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. 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. |
| 13and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. | 13The man became wealthy. His influence continued to grow until he became very prominent. |
| 14He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so 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. |
| 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.) | 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. |
| 16And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.” | 16Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "Leave us and go elsewhere, for you have become much more powerful than we are." |
| 17So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. | 17So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 19But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, | 19When Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing water there, |
| 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. | 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, and they quarreled over that also, so he called its name Sitnah. | 21His servants dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it Sitnah. |
| 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.” | 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. |
| 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.” | 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." |
| 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. | 25Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well. |
| 26When Abimelech went to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army, | 26Now Abimelech had come to him from Gerar along with Ahuzzah his friend and Phicol the commander of his army. |
| 27Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?” | 27Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me? You hate me and sent me away from you." |
| 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, | 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 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.” | 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." |
| 30So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. | 30So Isaac held a feast for them and they celebrated. |
| 31In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths. And Isaac sent them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. | 31Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other. Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms. |
| 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.” | 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; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day. | 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 took Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite to be his wife, and Basemath the 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. |
| 35and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah. | 35They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. |
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