1. There was very little food in the land. The same thing had been true earlier, in Abraham's time. Isaac went to Abimelech in Gerar. Abimelech was the king of the Philistines.
2. The Lord appeared to Isaac. He said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to live.
3. Stay here for a while. I will be with you and give you my blessing. I will give all of these lands to you and your children after you. And I will keep the promise I made with an oath to your father Abraham.
4. I will make your children after you as many as the stars in the sky. And I will give them all these lands. All nations on earth will be blessed because of your children.
5. "I will do all of those things because Abraham obeyed me. He did what I required. He kept my commands, my rules and my laws."
6. So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7. The men of that place asked him about his wife. He said, "She's my sister." He was afraid to say, "She's my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah. She's a beautiful woman."
8. Isaac had been there a long time. One day Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, looked down from a window. He saw Isaac hugging and kissing his wife Rebekah.
9. So Abimelech sent for Isaac. He said, "She's really your wife, isn't she? Why did you say, 'She's my sister'?" Isaac answered him, "I thought I might lose my life because of her."