¹ And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine which had been in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines, to Gerar.

² And Jehovah appeared to him and said, Go not down to Egypt: dwell in the land that I shall tell thee of.

³ Sojourn in this land; and I will be with thee and bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father.

⁴ And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and unto thy seed will I give all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves --

⁵ because that Abraham hearkened to my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

⁶ And Isaac dwelt at Gerar.

⁷ And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister; for he feared to say, my wife, [saying to himself,] Lest the men of the place slay me on account of Rebecca -- because she was fair in countenance.

⁸ And it came to pass when he had been there some time, that Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked out of the window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was dallying with Rebecca his wife.

⁹ Then Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, she is certainly thy wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? and Isaac said to him, Because I said, Lest I die on account of her.

¹⁰ And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done to us? But a little and one of the people might have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought a trespass on us.

¹¹ And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that touches this man or his wife shall certainly be put to death.

¹² And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and Jehovah blessed him.

¹³ And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great.

¹⁴ And he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great number of servants; and the Philistines envied him.

¹⁵ And all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped them and filled them with earth.

¹⁶ And Abimelech said to Isaac, Go from us; for thou art become much mightier than we.

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

¹⁸ And Isaac dug again the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and that the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

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

²⁰ But the shepherds of Gerar strove with Isaac's shepherds, saying, The water is ours. And he called the name of the well Esek, because they had quarrelled with him.

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

²² And he removed thence and dug another well; and they did not strive for that. And he called the name of it Rehoboth, and said, For now Jehovah has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

²³ And he went up thence to Beer-sheba.

²⁴ And Jehovah 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.

²⁵ And he built an altar there, and called upon the name of Jehovah. And he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

²⁶ And Abimelech, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol the captain of his host, went to him from Gerar.

²⁷ And Isaac said to them, Why are ye come to me, seeing ye hate me, and have driven me away from you?

²⁸ And they said, We saw certainly that Jehovah is with thee; and we said, Let there be then an oath between us -- between us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee,

²⁹ that thou wilt do us no wrong, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done to thee nothing but good, and have let thee go in peace; thou art now blessed of Jehovah.

³⁰ And he made them a feast, and they ate and drank.

³¹ And they rose early in the morning, and swore one to another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

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

³³ And he called it Shebah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

³⁴ And Esau was forty years old, when he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basmath the daughter of Elon the Hittite.

³⁵ And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca.

¹ It happened, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, "My son?" He said to him, "Here I am."

² He said, "See now, I am old. I don't know the day of my death.

³ Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison.

⁴ Make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless you before I die."

⁵ Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it.

⁶ Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, "Behold, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying,

⁷ 'Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before Yahweh before my death.'

⁸ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you.

⁹ Go now to the flock, and get me from there two good young goats. I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves.

¹⁰ You shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death."

¹¹ Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

¹² What if my father touches me? I will seem to him as a deceiver, and I would bring a curse on myself, and not a blessing."

¹³ His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son. Only obey my voice, and go get them for me."

¹⁴ He went, and got them, and brought them to his mother. His mother made savory food, such as his father loved.

¹⁵ Rebekah took the good clothes of Esau, her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son.

¹⁶ She put the skins of the young goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck.

¹⁷ She gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

¹⁸ He came to his father, and said, "My father?" He said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"

¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me."

²⁰ Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He said, "Because Yahweh your God gave me success."

²¹ Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not."

²² Jacob went near to Isaac his father. He felt him, and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."

²³ He didn't recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother, Esau's hands. So he blessed him.

²⁴ He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He said, "I am."

²⁵ He said, "Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless you." He brought it near to him, and he ate. He brought him wine, and he drank.

²⁶ His father Isaac said to him, "Come near now, and kiss me, my son."

²⁷ He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said, "Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed.

²⁸ God give you of the dew of the sky, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and new wine.

²⁹ Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers. Let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you. Blessed be everyone who blesses you."

³⁰ It happened, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob had just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

³¹ He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, "Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me."

³² Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" He said, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."

³³ Isaac trembled violently, and said, "Who, then, is he who has taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yes, he will be blessed."

³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, my father."

³⁵ He said, "Your brother came with deceit, and has taken away your blessing."

³⁶ He said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. See, now he has taken away my blessing." He said, "Haven't you reserved a blessing for me?"

³⁷ Isaac answered Esau, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers have I given to him for servants. With grain and new wine have I sustained him. What then will I do for you, my son?"

³⁸ Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father." Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.

³⁹ Isaac his father answered him, "Behold, of the fatness of the earth will be your dwelling, and of the dew of the sky from above.

⁴⁰ By your sword will you live, and you will serve your brother. It will happen, when you will break loose, that you shall shake his yoke from off your neck."

⁴¹ Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I will kill my brother Jacob."

⁴² The words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebekah. She sent and called Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you.

⁴³ Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran.

⁴⁴ Stay with him a few days, until your brother's fury turns away;

⁴⁵ until your brother's anger turn away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send, and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?"

⁴⁶ Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?"