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.”
After all this had happened, God spoke to Abram in a vision, telling him, “Don't be afraid, Abram! I am your protector, and your truly great reward!”
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?”
But Abram replied, “Lord God, what good is whatever you give me? I don't have any children, and the heir to all that I have is Eliezer of Damascus.”
3 Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
Abram went on to complain, “Look! You haven't given me any children, so a servant from my household has to 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.”
But then the Lord told him, “This man won't be your heir. Your heir will be your very own son.”
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.”
The Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up at the sky. See if you can count the stars! That's how many descendants you will have!”
6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
Abram trusted what the Lord said, and so the Lord counted Abram as being in a right relationship with him.
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.”
The Lord also told him, “I am the Lord, who led you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land for you to own.”
8 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
“But Lord God, how can I be certain that I will own it?” Abram asked.
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.”
The Lord told him, “Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, all of them three years old, together with a dove and a young 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.
So Abram took and killed the three animals. Then he cut them in half, and placed each half opposite the other. However, he didn't cut the birds in half.
11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
When vultures flew down on the carcasses, Abram frightened them off.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
As the sun went down, a deep sleep came over Abram, and at the same time a dense and terrifying darkness fell on 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.
The Lord explained to Abram, “You can be absolutely sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be slaves and mistreated for 400 years.
14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
However, I will punish the nation that makes them slaves, and later on they will leave, taking many valuable possessions with them.
15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
But as for you, you will die in peace and be buried, having lived a good long life.
16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Four generations later your descendants will come back here to live, because right now the sins of the Amorites have not reached their full extent.”
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.
After the sun set and it grew dark, suddenly a smoking furnace and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the animal carcasses.
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—
This is how the Lord made an agreement with Abram that day and promised him, “I'm giving this land to your descendants. It extends from the Wadi of Egypt to the great Euphrates River,
19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
and includes the territory of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
