God’s Promise to Isaac (Genesis 12:1–9)
1 WBS And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines to Gerar. 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 WBS And the LORD appeared to him, and said, Go not down into Egypt: dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. BSB BSB: The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt. Settle in the land where I tell you.
3 WBS Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee: for to thee, and to thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham thy 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 WBS And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give to thy seed all these countries: and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: 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 WBS Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. BSB BSB: because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Isaac Deceives Abimelech 6 WBS And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: BSB BSB: So Isaac settled in Gerar.
7 WBS 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. 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 WBS 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. 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 WBS And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, surely she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I should die on her account. 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 WBS And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? one of the people might lightly have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldst have brought guiltiness upon us. 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 WBS And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. 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 WBS Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundred-fold: and the LORD 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 WBS And the man became great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: BSB BSB: and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.
14 WBS For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and very many servants: And the Philistines envied him. BSB BSB: He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
15 WBS 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. 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 WBS And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us: for thou art much mightier than we. BSB BSB: Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.”
17 WBS And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. BSB BSB: So Isaac left that place and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
18 WBS 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. 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 WBS And Isaac's servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. BSB BSB: Then Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there.
20 WBS And the herdmen of Gerar contended with Isaac's herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. 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 WBS And they digged another well, and contended for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. BSB BSB: Then they dug another well and quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
22 WBS And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they did not contend: 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. 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 WBS And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. BSB BSB: From there Isaac went up to Beersheba,
24 WBS And the LORD appeared to 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. 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 WBS And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged 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 WBS Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. BSB BSB: Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.
27 WBS And Isaac said to them, Why come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? BSB BSB: “Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”
28 WBS 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; 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 WBS That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the LORD. 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 WBS And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. BSB BSB: So Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
31 WBS And they rose betimes in the morning, and swore one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 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 WBS 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 to him, We have found water. 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 WBS And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day. BSB BSB: So he called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the city is Beersheba.
Esau’s Wives 34 WBS And Esau was forty years old when he took for a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 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 WBS Who were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. BSB BSB: And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebekah.