Genesis 15

1 After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Have no fear, Abram: I will keep you safe, and great will be your 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 And Abram said, What will you give me? for I have no child and this Eliezer of Damascus will have all my wealth after me.

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 And Abram said, You have given me no child, and a servant in my house will get the heritage.

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 said the Lord, This man will not get the heritage, but a son of your body will have your property after you.

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 he took him out into the open air, and said to him, Let your eyes be lifted to heaven, and see if the stars may be numbered; even so will your seed 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 And he had faith in the Lord, and it was put to his account as righteousness.

Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.

7 And he said to him, I am the Lord, who took you from Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land for your heritage.

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 And he said, O Lord God, how may I be certain that it will be mine?

But he said: Lord God, whereby may I know that I shall possess it?

9 And he said, Take a young cow of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a sheep of three years old, and a dove 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 All these he took, cutting them in two and putting one half opposite the other, but not cutting the birds in two.

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 evil birds came down on the bodies, but Abram sent them away.

And the fowls came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep came on Abram, and a dark cloud of fear.

And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him.

13 And he said to Abram, Truly, your seed will be living in a land which is not theirs, as servants to a people who will be cruel to them for 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 be the judge of that nation whose servants they are, and they will come out from among them with great wealth.

But I will judge the nation which they shall serve, and after this they shall come out with great substance.

15 As for you, you will go to your fathers in peace; at the end of a long life you will be put in your last resting-place.

And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age.

16 And in the fourth generation they will come back here; for at present the sin of the Amorite is not full.

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 Then when the sun went down and it was dark, he saw a smoking fire and a flaming light which went between the parts of the bodies.

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 In that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram, and said, To your seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the 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 Kenite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,

The Cineans and Cenezites, the Cedmonites,

20 And the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,

And the Hethites, and the Pherezites, the Raphaim also,

21 And the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.

And the Amorrhites, and the Chanaanites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites.