< 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 these things the word of YHWH has been to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, I [am] a shield to you, your reward [is] exceedingly 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 says, “Lord YHWH, what do You give to me, and I am going childless? And an acquired son in my house is Demmesek Eliezer.”
3 Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
And Abram says, “Behold, to me You have not given seed, and behold, a servant will 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 behold, the word of YHWH [is] to him, saying, “This [one] will not be your heir; but he who comes out from your bowels, he will be your 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 brings him out outside and says, “Now look attentively toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them”; and He says to him, “Thus is your seed.”
6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
And he has believed in YHWH, and He reckons it to him—righteousness.
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 says to him, “I [am] YHWH who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldees, to give to you this land to possess it”;
8 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
and he says, “Lord YHWH, whereby do I know that I 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 He says to him, “Take for Me a heifer of three years, and a female goat of three years, and a ram of three years, and a turtle-dove, and a young bird”;
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 takes all these to Him, and separates them in the midst, and puts each piece opposite its fellow, but the bird he has not divided;
11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
and the ravenous birds come down on the carcasses, and Abram causes them to turn back.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
And the sun is about to go in, and deep sleep has fallen on Abram, and behold, a terror of great darkness is falling 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.
and He says to Abram, “knowing—know that your seed is a sojourner in a land not theirs, and they have served them, and they have afflicted them four hundred years,
14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
and the nation also whom they serve I judge, and after this they go out with great substance;
15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
and you come to your fathers in peace; you are 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.”
and the fourth generation turns back here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
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 it comes to pass—the sun has gone in, and thick darkness has been and behold, a furnace of smoke, and a lamp of fire, which has passed over between those pieces.
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—
In that day has YHWH made with Abram a covenant, saying, “To your seed I have given this land, from the River of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River,
19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
with the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,
20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,
21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”