Genesis 26:1-16

King James Version

26 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.

²And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:

³Sojourn 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;

⁴And 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;

⁵Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

⁶And Isaac dwelt in Gerar:

⁷And 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.

⁸And 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.

⁹And 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.

¹⁰And 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.

¹¹And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.

¹²Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.

¹³And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great:

¹⁴For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.

¹⁵For 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.

¹⁶And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

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Genesis 26:1-16

New International Version

Isaac and Abimelek^(A)

26 Now there was a famine in the land^(B)—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines^(C) in Gerar.^(D) ²The Lord appeared^(E) to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;^(F) live in the land where I tell you to live.^(G) ³Stay in this land for a while,^(H) and I will be with you^(I) and will bless you.^(J) For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands^(K) and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.^(L) ⁴I will make your descendants^(M) as numerous as the stars in the sky^(N) and will give them all these lands,^(O) and through your offspring^[a] all nations on earth will be blessed,^[b]^(P) ⁵because Abraham obeyed me^(Q) and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees^(R) and my instructions.^(S)” ⁶So Isaac stayed in Gerar.^(T)

⁷When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,^(U)” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

⁸When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines^(V) looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. ⁹So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?^(W)”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

¹⁰Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us?^(X) One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

¹¹So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms^(Y) this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”^(Z)

¹²Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold,^(AA) because the Lord blessed him.^(AB) ¹³The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.^(AC) ¹⁴He had so many flocks and herds and servants^(AD) that the Philistines envied him.^(AE) ¹⁵So all the wells^(AF) that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up,^(AG) filling them with earth.

¹⁶Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us;^(AH) you have become too powerful for us.^(AI)”

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Footnotes

Genesis 26:4 Or seed
Genesis 26:4 Or and all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see 48:20)

Genesis 26:1-16

New King James Version

Isaac and Abimelech

26 There was a famine in the land, besides ^(A)the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to ^(B)Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

²Then the Lord appeared to him and said: ^(C)“Do not go down to Egypt; live in ^(D)the land of which I shall tell you. ³^(E)Dwell in this land, and ^(F)I will be with you and ^(G)bless you; for to you and your descendants ^(H)I give all these lands, and I will perform ^(I)the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴And ^(J)I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; ^(K)and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; ⁵^(L)because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

⁶So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. ⁷And the men of the place asked about his wife. And ^(M)he said, “She is my sister”; for ^(N)he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is ^(O)beautiful to behold.” ⁸Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, ^[a]showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. ⁹Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ”

¹⁰And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and ^(P)you would have brought guilt on us.” ¹¹So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who ^(Q)touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

¹²Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year ^(R)a hundredfold; and the Lord ^(S)blessed him. ¹³The man ^(T)began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; ¹⁴for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines ^(U)envied him. ¹⁵Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells ^(V)which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. ¹⁶And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for ^(W)you are much mightier than we.”