Genesis 15
1 After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
Now when these things were done, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: Fear not, Abram, I am thy protector, and thy reward exceeding great.
2 But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
And Abram said: Lord God, what wilt thou give me? I shall go without children: and the son of the steward of my house is this Damascus Eliezer.
3 Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
And Abram added: But to me thou hast not given seed: and lo my servant, born in my house, shall be my heir.
4 Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”
And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: He shall not be thy heir: but he that shall come out of thy bowels, him shalt thou have for thy heir.
5 And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
And he brought him forth abroad, and said to him: Look up to heaven and number the stars, if thou canst. And he said to him: So shall thy seed be.
6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.
7 The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
And he said to him: I am the Lord who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land, and that thou mightest possess it.
8 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
But he said: Lord God, whereby may I know that I shall possess it?
9 And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”
And the Lord answered, and said: Take me a cow of three years old, and a she goat of three years, and a ram of three years, a turtle also, and a pigeon.
10 So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.
And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the two pieces of each one against the other; but the birds he divided not.
11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
And the fowls came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him.
13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
And it was said unto him: Know thou beforehand that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage, and afflict them four hundred years.
14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
But I will judge the nation which they shall serve, and after this they shall come out with great substance.
15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age.
16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
But in the fourth generation they shall return hither: for as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not at the full until this present time.
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.
And when the sun was set, there arose a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions.
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
That day God made a covenant with Abram, saying: To thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt even to the great river Euphrates.
19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
The Cineans and Cenezites, the Cedmonites,
20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
And the Hethites, and the Pherezites, the Raphaim also,
21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
And the Amorrhites, and the Chanaanites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites.
