Genesis 26
International Children’s Bible
Isaac Lies to Abimelech
26 Once there was a time of hunger in the land. This was besides the time of hunger that happened during Abraham’s life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar. He went to see Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land, and I will be with you. I will bless you. I will give you and your descendants all these lands. I will keep the agreement I made to Abraham your father. 4 I will give you many descendants. They will be as hard to count as the stars in the sky. And I will give them all these lands. Through your descendants all the nations on the earth will be blessed. 5 I will do this because your father Abraham obeyed me. He did what I said. He obeyed my commands, my teachings and my rules.”
6 So Isaac stayed in Gerar. 7 Isaac’s wife Rebekah was very beautiful. The men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her.
8 Isaac lived there a long time. One day as Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out his window, he saw Isaac. Isaac was holding his wife Rebekah tenderly. 9 Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “This woman is your wife. Why did you say she was your sister?”
Isaac said to him, “I was afraid you would kill me so you could have her.”
10 Abimelech said, “What have you done to us? One of our men might have had physical relations with your wife. Then we would have been guilty of a great sin.”
11 So Abimelech warned everyone. He said, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”
Isaac Becomes Rich
12 Isaac planted seed in that land. And that year he gathered a great harvest. The Lord blessed him very much. 13 Isaac became rich. He gathered more wealth until he became a very rich man. 14 He had many slaves and many flocks and herds. The Philistines envied him. 15 So they stopped up all the wells the servants of Isaac’s father Abraham had dug. (They had dug them when Abraham was alive.) The Philistines filled those wells with dirt. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country. You have become much more powerful than we are.”
17 So Isaac left that place. He camped in the Valley of Gerar and lived there. 18 Long before this time Abraham had dug many wells. After Abraham died, the Philistines filled them with dirt. So Isaac dug those wells again. He gave them the same names his father had given them. 19 Isaac’s servants dug a well in the valley. From it a spring of water flowed. 20 But the men who herded sheep in Gerar argued with Isaac’s servants. They said, “This water is ours.” So Isaac named that well Argue because they argued with him. 21 Then Isaac’s servants dug another well. The people also argued about it. So Isaac named that well Fight. 22 Isaac moved from there and dug another well. No one argued about this one. So he named that well Room Enough. Isaac said, “Now the Lord has made room for us. We will be successful in this land.”
23 From there Isaac went to Beersheba. 24 The Lord appeared to Isaac that night. The Lord said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid because I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants. I will do this because of my servant Abraham.” 25 So Isaac built an altar and worshiped the Lord there. He made a camp there, and his servants dug a well.
26 Abimelech came from Gerar to see Isaac. Abimelech brought with him Ahuzzath, who advised him, and Phicol, the commander of his army. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to see me? You were my enemy. You forced me to leave your country.”
28 They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you. We will make a promise to you. And we would like you to make one to us. We would like to make an agreement with you. 29 We did not hurt you. So promise you will not hurt us. And we were good to you, and we sent you away in peace. Now the Lord has blessed you.”
30 So Isaac prepared food for them, and they all ate and drank. 31 Early the next morning the men made a promise to each other. Then Isaac sent them away, and they left in peace.
32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We found water in that well.” 33 So Isaac named it Shibah[a] and that city is still called Beersheba even now.
34 When Esau was 40 years old, he married two Hittite women. One was Judith daughter of Beeri. The other was Basemath daughter of Elon. 35 These women brought much sorrow to Isaac and Rebekah.
Footnotes
- 26:33 Shibah This name sounds like the Hebrew words for “seven” and “promise.”
Genesis 26
Good News Translation
Isaac Lives at Gerar
26 There was another famine in the land besides the earlier one during the time of Abraham. Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, at Gerar. 2 The Lord had appeared to Isaac and had said, “Do not go to Egypt; stay in this land, where I tell you to stay. 3 (A)Live here, and I will be with you and bless you. I am going to give all this territory to you and to your descendants. I will keep the promise I made to your father Abraham. 4 I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, and I will give them all this territory. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants. 5 I will bless you, because Abraham obeyed me and kept all my laws and commands.”
6 So Isaac lived at Gerar. 7 (B)When the men there asked about his wife, he said that she was his sister. He would not admit that she was his wife, because he was afraid that the men there would kill him to get Rebecca, who was very beautiful. 8 When Isaac had been there for some time, King Abimelech looked down from his window and saw Isaac and Rebecca making love. 9 Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! Why did you say she was your sister?”
He answered, “I thought I would be killed if I said she was my wife.”
10 “What have you done to us?” Abimelech said. “One of my men might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have been responsible for our guilt.” 11 Abimelech warned all the people: “Anyone who mistreats this man or his wife will be put to death.”
12 Isaac sowed crops in that land, and that year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had sown, because the Lord blessed him. 13 He continued to prosper and became a very rich man. 14 Because he had many herds of sheep and cattle and many servants, the Philistines were jealous of him. 15 So they filled in all the wells which the servants of his father Abraham had dug while Abraham was alive.
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave our country. You have become more powerful than we are.” 17 So Isaac left and set up his camp in Gerar Valley, where he stayed for some time. 18 He dug once again the wells which had been dug during the time of Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death. Isaac gave the wells the same names that his father had given them.
19 Isaac's servants dug a well in the valley and found water. 20 The shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's shepherds and said, “This water belongs to us.” So Isaac named the well “Quarrel.”
21 Isaac's servants dug another well, and there was a quarrel about that one also, so he named it “Enmity.” 22 He moved away from there and dug another well. There was no dispute about this one, so he named it “Freedom.” He said, “Now the Lord has given us freedom to live in the land, and we will be prosperous here.”
23 Isaac left and went to Beersheba. 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid; I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my promise to my servant Abraham.” 25 Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. Then he set up his camp there, and his servants dug another well.
The Agreement between Isaac and Abimelech
26 (C)Abimelech came from Gerar with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army to see Isaac. 27 So Isaac asked, “Why have you now come to see me, when you were so unfriendly to me before and made me leave your country?”
28 They answered, “Now we know that the Lord is with you, and we think that there should be a solemn agreement between us. We want you to promise 29 that you will not harm us, just as we did not harm you. We were kind to you and let you go peacefully. Now it is clear that the Lord has blessed you.” 30 Isaac prepared a feast for them, and they ate and drank. 31 Early next morning each man made his promise and sealed it with a vow. Isaac said good-bye to them, and they parted as friends.
32 On that day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well which they had dug. They said, “We have found water.” 33 He named the well “Vow.” That is how the city of Beersheba[a] got its name.
Esau's Foreign Wives
34 When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittites, Judith the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath the daughter of Elon. 35 They made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca.
Footnotes
- Genesis 26:33 This name in Hebrew means “Well of the Vow” or “Well of Seven” (see also 21.31).
創世記 26
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
以撒寄居基拉耳
26 亞伯拉罕在世的時候，那地方鬧過一次饑荒，這時又鬧饑荒。以撒就遷到基拉耳的非利士王亞比米勒那裡。 2 耶和華向以撒顯現說：「不要下埃及去，要住在我指示你住的地方。 3 你寄居在這裡，我必與你同在，賜福給你，因為我必把這些土地賜給你和你的後代，堅立我對你父親亞伯拉罕的誓約。 4 我必使你的後代多如繁星，將這些土地都賜給他們，天下萬國必因你的後裔而蒙福。 5 因為亞伯拉罕聽從我的話，遵守我的吩咐、命令、典章和律法。」
亞比米勒斥責以撒
6 於是，以撒就在基拉耳住下來。 7 那裡的人問起他的妻子時，他便說：「她是我妹妹。」他不敢說：「她是我妻子。」他擔心當地的人會因為利百加而害他，因為利百加長得非常美麗。 8 以撒在那裡住了許久。一天，非利士王亞比米勒從窗口看見以撒和利百加親熱的情形， 9 便召見以撒，問他：「她明明是你妻子，為什麼你說她是你妹妹呢？」以撒回答說：「我擔心別人為了她而殺害我！」 10 亞比米勒說：「你怎麼可以這樣對我們呢？萬一百姓中有人想佔有她，你就使我們陷入罪中了。」 11 於是，亞比米勒下令全國：凡傷害他們二人的，必被處死。
12 以撒在那裡耕種，耶和華賜福給他，那一年他得了百倍的收成。 13 他的財富越來越多，成了大富戶。 14 他擁有很多的牛羊和僕婢，非利士人嫉妒他。 15 他父親亞伯拉罕生前派人挖的那些水井，全被非利士人用土塞住了。 16 亞比米勒對以撒說：「請你離開我們吧，因為你太強盛了。」 17 以撒就離開那裡，把帳篷遷往基拉耳谷居住。 18 他的父親亞伯拉罕生前挖的水井都被非利士人塞住了，以撒便重新挖開，並沿用父親生前給那些水井起的名字。 19 以撒的牧人在谷中挖得一口活水井， 20 基拉耳的牧人與以撒的牧人爭吵起來，都說：「這口井是我們的。」於是，以撒便稱那口井為埃色[a]。 21 後來，以撒的僕人又挖了一口井，他們雙方又為那口井發生爭執，以撒便稱那口井為西提拿[b]。 22 以撒離開那裡，又挖了一口水井。這次，他們沒有為那口井爭吵。所以，以撒稱那口井為利河伯[c]。以撒說：「如今耶和華給了我們一個寬闊的地方，我們可以在這裡繁榮興旺。」
23 以撒從那裡上別示巴去。 24 當天晚上，耶和華向他顯現說：「我是你父親亞伯拉罕的上帝。你不用懼怕，因為我與你同在。為了我僕人亞伯拉罕的緣故，我必賜福給你，使你子孫眾多。」 25 以撒在那裡築了一座壇求告耶和華，並且在那裡搭起帳篷住下來。他的僕人又在那裡挖了一口井。
以撒和亞比米勒起誓立約
26 一天，亞比米勒帶著他的參謀亞戶撒、將領非各從基拉耳來見以撒。 27 以撒見到他們就說：「你們既然憎恨我，把我趕走，為什麼又來找我？」 28 他們回答說：「我們清楚知道耶和華與你同在，我們雙方應該訂立誓約。 29 請你起誓保證不會傷害我們，就像我們沒有侵犯你，總是善待你，讓你平安地離開一樣。你是蒙耶和華賜福的人。」 30 於是，以撒為他們擺設宴席，一同吃喝。 31 第二天早晨，以撒和他們互相起誓之後，送他們平安地離去。 32 在同一天，以撒的僕人將挖井的事告訴他，說：「我們找到水了。」 33 以撒便稱那口井為示巴[d]，因此那城叫別示巴，沿用至今。
以掃娶妻
34 以掃四十歲時，娶了赫人比利的女兒猶蒂與赫人以倫的女兒巴實抹。 35 她們二人常使以撒和利百加傷心。
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
