Genesis 26 — King James Version

And 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.● And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:● Sojourn 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;● And 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;● Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.● And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:● And 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.● And 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.● And 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.● And 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.● And Abimelech charged all {his} people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.● Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. {received: Heb. found}● And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: {went...: Heb. went going}● For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. {servants: or, husbandry}● For 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.● And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.● And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.● And 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.● And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. {springing: Heb. living}● And 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. {Esek: that is, Contention}● And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. {Sitnah: that is, Hatred}● And 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. {Rehoboth: that is Room}● And he went up from thence to Beersheba.● And 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.● And 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.● Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.● And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?● And 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; {We saw...: Heb. Seeing we saw}● That 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. {That...: Heb. If thou shalt}● And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.● And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.● And 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.● And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city {is} Beersheba unto this day. {Shebah: That is, an oath} {Beersheba: that is, the well of the oath}● And 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:● Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. {a grief...: Heb. bitterness of spirit}●