God’s Promise to Isaac (Genesis 12:1–9)
1 UDB Some time later there was a severe famine in the land. That was different from the famine that occurred when Abraham was alive. So Isaac went southeast to the city of Gerar to talk to Abimelech, the king of the Philistine people. BSB BSB: Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.
2 UDB But Yahweh appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt! Live in the land that I tell you! BSB BSB: The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.
3 UDB Stay in this land, and I will help you and bless you because it is to you and your descendants that I will give all these lands, and I will do what I solemnly promised to your father. BSB BSB: Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.
4 UDB I will cause your descendants to be as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all these lands, and I will cause your descendants to be a blessing to all the peoples on the earth. BSB BSB: I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,
5 UDB I will do that because Abraham obeyed me. He obeyed all that I told him to do, all that I commanded him to do, all that I declared and all the laws that I gave him." BSB BSB: because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Isaac Deceives Abimelech 6 UDB So Isaac stayed in Gerar along with his wife and sons. BSB BSB: So Isaac settled in Gerar.
7 UDB When the men in Gerar asked who that woman was, Isaac said, "She is my sister." He said that because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "Rebekah is very beautiful, so they will want her. They will kill me to get her." BSB BSB: But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”
8 UDB When Isaac had been there a long time, one day Abimelech, the king of the Philistine people, looked down from a window in his palace and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. BSB BSB: When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.
9 UDB So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said to him, "Now I realize that she is really your wife! So why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac replied to him, "I said that because I thought that someone here might kill me to get her." BSB BSB: Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”
10 UDB Abimelech said, "You should not have done this to us! One of our people might have slept with your wife, and you would have caused us to be guilty of a great sin!" BSB BSB: “What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
11 UDB Then Abimelech commanded all his people, saying, "Do not harm this man or his wife! Anyone who does that will surely be executed!" BSB BSB: So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
Isaac’s Prosperity 12 UDB Isaac planted grain in that land that year, and he harvested a very large crop because Yahweh had blessed him. BSB BSB: Now Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him,
13 UDB Isaac continued to acquire more and more possessions, until finally he became very wealthy. BSB BSB: and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.
14 UDB He had large herds of sheep, goats, and cattle, and many slaves. Because of that, the Philistine people envied him. BSB BSB: He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
15 UDB So all the wells that the servants of his father Abraham had dug, the people filled up with earth. BSB BSB: So the Philistines took dirt and stopped up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.
16 UDB Then Abimelech said to Isaac, "You have become more numerous than we are, so I want you to leave from our area." BSB BSB: Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.”
17 UDB So Isaac and his family moved from there. They went and set up their tents in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. BSB BSB: So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
18 UDB There were several wells in that area that had been dug when Isaac's father Abraham was living, but Philistine people had filled them up with earth after Abraham died. But Isaac and his servants dug the wells out again, and Isaac gave the wells the same names that his father had given to them. BSB BSB: Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died. And he gave these wells the same names his father had given them.
19 UDB Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water. BSB BSB: Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there.
20 UDB But the men who herded animals in the Valley of Gerar argued with the men who took care of Isaac's animals. They said, "The water in this well is ours!" So Isaac named the well Esek, which means "dispute," because they disputed about who owned it. BSB BSB: But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they contended with him.
21 UDB Then Isaac's servants dug another well, but they quarreled about who owned that one also. So Isaac named it Sitnah, which means "opposition." BSB BSB: Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
22 UDB They moved on from there and dug another well, but this time no one quarreled about who owned it. So he named it Rehoboth, which means "empty place," saying, "Yahweh has given us an empty place to live in, a place that is not wanted by other people, and we will become very prosperous here." BSB BSB: He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. He named it Rehoboth and said, “At last the LORD has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”
23 UDB From there Isaac went up to Beersheba. BSB BSB: From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,
24 UDB The first night that he was there, Yahweh appeared to him and said, "I am the God whom your father Abraham worshiped. Do not be afraid of anything. I will help you and bless you, and because of what I promised my servant Abraham, I will greatly increase the number of your descendants." BSB BSB: and that night the LORD appeared to him 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.”
25 UDB So Isaac built an altar there and offered a sacrifice to worship Yahweh. He set up their tents there, and his servants started to dig a well. BSB BSB: So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD, and he pitched his tent there. His servants also dug a well there.
Isaac’s Covenant with Abimelech 26 UDB While they were digging the well, King Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, along with Ahuzzath, his advisor, and Phicol, the commander of his army. BSB BSB: Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.
27 UDB Isaac asked them, "You acted in a hostile way toward me before and sent me away. So why have you come to me now?" BSB BSB: “Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”
28 UDB One of them answered, "We have seen that Yahweh helps you. So we said to each other, 'We should have an agreement between ourselves and Isaac.' So we should make a peace treaty with you, BSB BSB: “We can plainly see that the LORD has been with you,” they replied. “We recommend that there should now be an oath between us and you. Let us make a covenant with you
29 UDB stating that you will not harm us, in the same way that we did not molest you. We always treated you well, and we sent you away peacefully. And now Yahweh is blessing you." BSB BSB: that you will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have done only good to you, sending you on your way in peace. And now you are blessed by the LORD.”
30 UDB So Isaac made a feast for them, and they all ate and drank. BSB BSB: So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
31 UDB Early the next morning they all swore to each other that they would do what they had promised. Then Isaac sent them home peacefully. BSB BSB: And they got up early the next morning and swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left him in peace.
32 UDB That day Isaac's servants came to him and told him about the well that they had finished digging. They said, "We found water in the well!" BSB BSB: On that same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We have found water!” they told him.
33 UDB Isaac named the well Shibah, which sounds like the Hebrew word that means "oath." To the present time the town there has the name Beersheba which means "peace treaty well." BSB BSB: So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.
Esau’s Wives 34 UDB When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon. Both of those women were descendants of Heth, not from Isaac's clan. BSB BSB: When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
35 UDB Esau's two wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah. BSB BSB: And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.