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.”