Genesis 26

DOUAI-RHEIMS	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 And when a famine came in the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Palestines to Gerara.	1 There was a famine in the land (distinct from the earlier one that had occurred in the days of Abraham), and Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Gerar.
2 And the Lord appeared to him and said: Go not down into Egypt, but stay in the land that I shall tell thee.	2 The LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt, but continue to camp wherever in this land I tell you.
3 And sojourn in it, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee and to thy seed I will give all these countries, to fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham thy father.	3 Stay in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I will give all these lands, in fulfillment of the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
4 And I will multiply thy seed like the stars of heaven: and I will give to thy posterity all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.	4 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing--
5 Because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed my ceremonies and laws.	5 this because Abraham obeyed me, keeping my mandate (my commandments, my ordinances, and my instructions)."
6 So Isaac abode in Gerara.	6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
7 And when he was asked by the men of that place, concerning his wife, he answered: She is my sister; for he was afraid to confess that she was his wife, thinking lest perhaps they would like him because of her beauty.	7 When the men of the place asked questions about his wife, he answered, "She is my sister." He was afraid, if he called her his wife, the men of the place would kill him on account of Rebekah, since she was very beautiful.
8 And when very many days were passed, and he abode there, Abimelech king of the Palestines looking out through a window, saw him playing with Rebecca his wife.	8 But when he had been there for a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, happened to look out of a window and was surprised to see Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah.
9 And calling for him, he said: It is evident she is thy wife: why didst thou feign her to be thy sister? He answered: I feared lest I should die for her sake.	9 He called for Isaac and said: "She must certainly be your wife! How could you have said, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac replied, "I thought I might lose my life on her account."
10 And Abimelech said: Why hadst thou deceived us? Some man of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou hadst brought upon us a great sin. And he commanded all the people, saying:	10 "How could you do this to us!" exclaimed Abimelech. "It would have taken very little for one of the men to lie with your wife, and you would have thus brought guilt upon us!"
11 He that shall touch this man's wife, shall surely be put to death.	11 Abimelech therefore gave this warning to all his men: "Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall forthwith be put to death."
12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found that same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.	12 Isaac sowed a crop in that region and reaped a hundredfold the same year. Since the LORD blessed him,
13 And the man was enriched, and he went on prospering and increasing, till he became exceeding great:	13 he became richer and richer all the time, until he was very wealthy indeed.
14 And he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very great family. Wherefore the Palestines envying him,	14 He acquired such flocks and herds, and so many work animals, that the Philistines became envious of him.
15 Stopped up at that time all the wells, that the servants of his father Abraham had digged, filling them up with earth:	15 (The Philistines had stopped up and filled with dirt all the wells that his father's servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.)
16 Insomuch that Abimelech himself said to Isaac: Depart from us, for thou art become much mightier than we.	16 So Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us; you have become far too numerous for us."
17 So he departed and came to the torrent of Gerara, to dwell there:	17 Isaac left there and made the Wadi Gerar his regular campsite.
18 And he digged again other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had digged, and which, after his death, the Palestines had of old stopped up: and he called them by the same names by which his father before had called them.	18 (Isaac reopened the wells which his father's servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death; he gave them the same names that his father had given them.)
19 And they digged in the torrent, and found living water.	19 But when Isaac's servants dug in the wadi and reached spring water in their well,
20 But there also the herdsmen of Gerara strove against the herdsmen of Isaac, saying: It is our water. Wherefore he called the name of the well, on occasion of that which had happened, Calumny.	20 the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's servants, saying, "The water belongs to us!" So the well was called Esek, because they had challenged him there.
21 And they digged also another; and for that they quarreled likewise, and he called the name of it, Enmity.	21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too; so it was called Sitnah.
22 Going forward from thence, he digged another well, for which they contended not: therefore he called the name thereof, Latitude, saying: Now hath the Lord given us room, and made us to increase upon the earth.	22 When he had moved on from there, he dug still another well; but over this one they did not quarrel. It was called Rehoboth, because he said, "The LORD has now given us ample room, and we shall flourish in the land."
23 And he went up from that place to Bersabee,	23 From there Isaac went up to Beer-sheba.
24 Where the Lord appeared to him that same might, saying: I am the God of Abraham thy father; do not fear, for I am with thee: I will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.	24 The same night the LORD appeared to him and said: "I am the God of your father Abraham. You have no need to fear, since I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham."
25 And he built there an altar: and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent: and commanded his servants to dig a well.	25 So he built an altar there and invoked the LORD by name. After he had pitched his tent there, his servants began to dig a well nearby.
26 To which place when Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phicol chief captain of his soldiers came from Gerara,	26 Abimelech had meanwhile come to him from Gerar, accompanied by Ahuzzath, his councilor, and Phicol, the general of his army.
27 Isaac said to them: Why are ye come to me, a man whom you hate, and have thrust out from you?	27 Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have driven me away from you?"
28 And they answered: We saw that the Lord is with thee, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us make a covenant,	28 They answered: "We are convinced that the LORD is with you, so we propose that there be a sworn agreement between our two sides--between you and us. Let us make a pact with you:
29 That thou do us no harm, as we on our part have touched nothing of thine, nor have done any thing to hurt thee: but with peace have sent thee away increased with the blessing of the Lord.	29 you shall not act unkindly toward us, just as we have not molested you, but have always acted kindly toward you and have let you depart in peace. Henceforth, 'The LORD'S blessing be upon you!'"
30 And he made them a feast, and after they had eaten and drunk:	30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
31 Arising in the morning, they swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away peaceably to their own home.	31 Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace.
32 And behold the same day the servants of Isaac came, telling him of a well which they had digged, and saying: We have found water.	32 That same day Isaac's servants came and brought him news about the well they had been digging; they told him, "We have reached water!"
33 Whereupon he called it Abundance: and the name of the city was called Bersabee, even to this day.	33 He called it Shibah; hence the name of the city, Beer-sheba, to this day.
34 And Esau being forty years old, married wives, Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hethite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon of the same place.	34 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hivite.
35 And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebecca.	35 But they became a source of embitterment to Isaac and Rebekah.