Parallel Bible results for "genesis 26"

Genesis 26

The Message Bible MSG

1 There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

2 God appeared to him and said, "Don't go down to Egypt; stay where I tell you.

3 Stay here in this land and I'll be with you and bless you. I'm giving you and your children all these lands, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.

4 I'll make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky and give them all these lands. All the nations of the Earth will get a blessing for themselves through your descendants.

5 And why? Because Abraham obeyed my summons and kept my charge - my commands, my guidelines, my teachings."

6 So Isaac stayed put in Gerar.

7 The men of the place questioned him about his wife. He said, "She's my sister." He was afraid to say "She's my wife." He was thinking, "These men might kill me to get Rebekah, she's so beautiful."

8 One day, after they had been there quite a long time, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah.

9 Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, "So, she's your wife. Why did you tell us 'She's my sister'?" Isaac said, "Because I thought I might get killed by someone who wanted her."

10 Abimelech said, "But think of what you might have done to us! Given a little more time, one of the men might have slept with your wife; you would have been responsible for bringing guilt down on us."

11 Then Abimelech gave orders to his people: "Anyone who so much as lays a hand on this man or his wife dies."

12 Isaac planted crops in that land and took in a huge harvest. God blessed him.

13 The man got richer and richer by the day until he was very wealthy.

14 He accumulated flocks and herds and many, many servants, so much so that the Philistines began to envy him.

15 They got back at him by throwing dirt and debris into all the wells that his father's servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham, clogging up all the wells.

16 Finally, Abimelech told Isaac: "Leave. You've become far too big for us."

17 So Isaac left. He camped in the valley of Gerar and settled down there.

18 Isaac dug again the wells which were dug in the days of his father Abraham but had been clogged up by the Philistines after Abraham's death. And he renamed them, using the original names his father had given them.

19 One day, as Isaac's servants were digging in the valley, they came on a well of spring water.

20 The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's shepherds, claiming, "This water is ours." So Isaac named the well Esek (Quarrel) because they quarreled over it.

21 They dug another well and there was a difference over that one also, so he named it Sitnah (Accusation).

22 He went on from there and dug yet another well. But there was no fighting over this one so he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, "Now God has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land."

23 From there he went up to Beersheba.

24 That very night God appeared to him and said, I am the God of Abraham your father; don't fear a thing because I'm with you. I'll bless you and make your children flourish because of Abraham my servant.

25 Isaac built an altar there and prayed, calling on God by name. He pitched his tent and his servants started digging another well.

26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his advisor and Phicol the head of his troops.

27 Isaac asked them, "Why did you come to me? You hate me; you threw me out of your country."

28 They said, "We've realized that God is on your side. We'd like to make a deal between us - a covenant

29 that we maintain friendly relations. We haven't bothered you in the past; we treated you kindly and let you leave us in peace. So - God's blessing be with you!"

30 Isaac laid out a feast and they ate and drank together.

31 Early in the morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac said good-bye and they parted as friends.

32 Later that same day, Isaac's servants came to him with news about the well they had been digging, "We've struck water!"

33 Isaac named the well Sheba (Oath), and that's the name of the city, Beersheba (Oath-Well), to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35 They turned out to be thorns in the sides of Isaac and Rebekah.

New Living Translation NLT

1 A severe famine now struck the land, as had happened before in Abraham’s time. So Isaac moved to Gerar, where Abimelech, king of the Philistines, lived.

2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but do as I tell you.

3 Live here as a foreigner in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. I hereby confirm that I will give all these lands to you and your descendants, just as I solemnly promised Abraham, your father.

4 I will cause your descendants to become as numerous as the stars of the sky, and I will give them all these lands. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

5 I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.”

6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

7 When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.”

8 But some time later, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, looked out his window and saw Isaac caressing Rebekah.

9 Immediately, Abimelech called for Isaac and exclaimed, “She is obviously your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” “Because I was afraid someone would kill me to get her from me,” Isaac replied.

10 “How could you do this to us?” Abimelech exclaimed. “One of my people might easily have taken your wife and slept with her, and you would have made us guilty of great sin.”

11 Then Abimelech issued a public proclamation: “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death!”

12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him.

13 He became a very rich man, and his wealth continued to grow.

14 He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

15 So the Philistines filled up all of Isaac’s wells with dirt. These were the wells that had been dug by the servants of his father, Abraham.

16 Finally, Abimelech ordered Isaac to leave the country. “Go somewhere else,” he said, “for you have become too powerful for us.”

17 So Isaac moved away to the Gerar Valley, where he set up their tents and settled down.

18 He reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled in after Abraham’s death. Isaac also restored the names Abraham had given them.

19 Isaac’s servants also dug in the Gerar Valley and discovered a well of fresh water.

20 But then the shepherds from Gerar came and claimed the spring. “This is our water,” they said, and they argued over it with Isaac’s herdsmen. So Isaac named the well Esek (which means “argument”).

21 Isaac’s men then dug another well, but again there was a dispute over it. So Isaac named it Sitnah (which means “hostility”).

22 Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and dug another well. This time there was no dispute over it, so Isaac named the place Rehoboth (which means “open space”), for he said, “At last the LORD has created enough space for us to prosper in this land.”

23 From there Isaac moved to Beersheba,

24 where the LORD appeared to him on the night of his arrival. “I am the God of your father, Abraham,” he said. “Do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you. I will multiply your descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will do this because of my promise to Abraham, my servant.”

25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD . He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well.

26 One day King Abimelech came from Gerar with his adviser, Ahuzzath, and also Phicol, his army commander.

27 “Why have you come here?” Isaac asked. “You obviously hate me, since you kicked me off your land.”

28 They replied, “We can plainly see that the LORD is with you. So we want to enter into a sworn treaty with you. Let’s make a covenant.

29 Swear that you will not harm us, just as we have never troubled you. We have always treated you well, and we sent you away from us in peace. And now look how the LORD has blessed you!”

30 So Isaac prepared a covenant feast to celebrate the treaty, and they ate and drank together.

31 Early the next morning, they each took a solemn oath not to interfere with each other. Then Isaac sent them home again, and they left him in peace.

32 That very day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a new well they had dug. “We’ve found water!” they exclaimed.

33 So Isaac named the well Shibah (which means “oath”). And to this day the town that grew up there is called Beersheba (which means “well of the oath”).

34 At the age of forty, Esau married two Hittite wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon.

35 But Esau’s wives made life miserable for Isaac and Rebekah.