Genesis 26

¹Forsothe for hungur roos on the lond, aftir thilke bareynesse that bifelde in the daies of Abraham, Isaac yede forth to Abymelech, kyng of Palestyns, in Gerara.

²And the Lord apperide to hym, and seide, Go not doun in to Egipt, but reste thou in the lond which Y schal seie to thee,

³and be thou a pilgrym ther ynne; and Y schal be with thee, and Y schal blesse thee; for Y schal yyue alle these cuntrees to thee and to thi seed, and Y schal fille the ooth which Y bihiyte to Abraham, thi fadir.

⁴And Y schal multiplie thi seed as the sterris of heuene, and Y schal yyue alle these thingis to thin eyris, and alle folkis of erthe schulen be blessid in thi seed, for Abraham obeide to my vois,

⁵and kepte `my preceptis and comaundementis, and kepte cerymonyes and lawis.

⁶And so Ysaac dwellide in Geraris.

⁷And whanne he was axid of men of that place of his wijf, he answarde, Sche is my sistir; for he dredde to knowleche that sche was felouschipid to hym in matrymonye, and gesside lest peraduenture thei wolden sle him for the fairnesse of hir.

⁸And whanne ful many daies weren passid, and he dwellide there, Abymelech, kyng of Palestyns, bihelde bi a wyndow, and seiy hym pleiynge with Rebecca, his wijf.

⁹And whanne Isaac was clepid, the kyng seide, It is opyn, that sche is thi wijf; whi liedist thou, that sche was thi sistir? Isaac answerde, Y dredde, lest Y schulde die for hir.

¹⁰And Abymelech seide, Whi hast thou disseyued vs? Sum man of the puple myyte do letcherie with thi wijf, and thou haddist brouyt in greuous synne on vs. And the kyng comaundide to al the puple,

¹¹and seide, He that touchith the wijf of this man schal die bi deeth.

¹²Forsothe Isaac sowide in that lond, and he foond an hundrid fold in that yeer; and the Lord blesside hym.

¹³And the man was maad riche, and he yede profitynge and encreessynge til he was maad ful greet.

¹⁴Also he hadde possessioun of scheep and grete beestis, and ful myche of meyne. For this thing Palestyns hadden enuye to hym,

¹⁵and thei stoppiden in that tyme and filliden with erthe alle the pittis whiche the seruauntis of Abraham his fadir hadden diggid,

¹⁶in so myche that Abymelech him silf seide to Ysaac, Go thou awei fro vs, for thou art maad greetly myytier than we.

¹⁷And he yede awei, that he schulde come to the stronde of Gerare, and dwelle there.

¹⁸And he diggide eft other pittis, whiche the seruauntis of Abraham his fadir hadden diggid, and whiche the Filisteis hadden stoppid sumtyme, whanne Abraham was deed; and he clepide tho pittis bi the same names, bi whiche his fadir hadde clepid bifore.

¹⁹Thei diggiden in the stronde, and thei founden wellynge watir.

²⁰But also strijf of scheepherdis of Gerare was there ayens the scheepherdis of Isaac, and thei seiden, The watir is oure; wherfor of that that bifelde he clepide the name of the pit fals chaleng.

²¹And thei diggiden anothir, and thei stryueden also for that, and Ysaac clepide that pit enemytes.

²²And he yede forth fro thennus, and diggide another pit, for which thei stryueden not, therfor he clepid the name of that pit largenesse; and seide, Now God hath alargid vs, and hath maad to encreesse on erthe.

²³Forsothe he stiede fro that place in to Bersabee,

²⁴where the Lord God apperide to him in that nyyt; and seide, Y am God of Abraham, thi fadir; nyle thou drede, for Y am with thee, and Y schal blesse thee, and Y schal multiplie thi seed for my seruaunt Abraham.

²⁵And so Ysaac bildide ther an auter to the Lord; and whanne the name of the Lord was inwardli clepid, he stretchide forth a tabernacle; and he comaundide hise seruauntis that thei schulden digge pittis.

²⁶And whanne Abymelech, and Ochosat, hise frendis, and Ficol, duk of knyytis, hadden come fro Geraris to that place,

²⁷Isaac spak to hem, What camen ye to me, a man whom ye hatiden, and puttiden awei fro you?

²⁸Whiche answeriden, We seiyen that God is with thee, and therfor we seiden now, An ooth be bitwixe vs, and make we a couenaunt of pees,

²⁹that thou do not ony yuel to vs, as we touchiden `not ony thing of thine, nethir diden that that hirtide thee, but with pees we leften thee encressid bi the blessyng of the Lord.

³⁰Therfor Isaac made a feeste to hem; and after mete and drynk thei risen eerli,

³¹and sworen ech to other; and Isaac lefte hem peisibli in to her place.

³²Lo! forsothe in that dai the seruauntis of Ysaac camen, tellynge to him of the pit which thei hadden diggid, and seiden, We han foundun watir.

³³Wherfor Ysaac clepide that pit abundaunce; and the name of the citee was set Bersabee til in to present dai.

³⁴Esau forsothe fourti yeer eld weddide twei wyues, Judith, the douytir of Beeri Ethei, and Bethsamath, the douyter of Elon, of the same place;

³⁵whiche bothe offendiden the soule of Isaac and of Rebecca.

Genesis 26

¹And 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.

¹⁷And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

¹⁸And 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.

¹⁹And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water.

²⁰And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him.

²¹And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah.

²²And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: 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.

²³And he went up from thence to Beer–sheba.

²⁴And the Lord appeared unto 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.

²⁵And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

²⁶Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army.

²⁷And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you?

²⁸And 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;

²⁹That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of the Lord.

³⁰And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink.

³¹And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

³²And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

³³And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beer–sheba unto this day.

³⁴And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:

³⁵Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.