Genesis 15

1 And so, these things having been transacted, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your protector, and your reward is exceedingly great.”

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.

2 And Abram said: “Lord God, what will you give to me? I may go without children. And the son of the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.”

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.

3 And Abram added: “Yet to me you have not given offspring. And behold, my servant born in my house will be my heir.”

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

4 And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: “This one will not be your heir. But he who will come from your loins, the same will you have for your heir.”

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

5 And he brought him outside, and he said to him, “Take in the heavens, and number the stars, if you can.” And he said to him, “So also will your offspring be.”

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.

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

And he had faith in the Lord, and it was put to his account as righteousness.

7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who led you away from Ur of the Chaldeans, so as to give you this land, and so that you would possess it.”

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.

8 But he said, “Lord God, in what way may I be able to know that I will possess it?”

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

9 And the Lord responded by saying: “Take for me a cow of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, also a turtle-dove and a pigeon.”

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.

10 Taking all these, he divided them through the middle, and placed both parts opposite one another. But the birds he did not divide.

All these he took, cutting them in two and putting one half opposite the other, but not cutting the birds in two.

11 And birds descended upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

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

12 And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a dread, great and dark, invaded him.

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

13 And it was said to him: “Know beforehand that your future offspring will be sojourners in a land not their own, and they will subjugate them in servitude and afflict them for four hundred years.

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;

14 Yet truly, I will judge the nation that they will serve, and after this they will depart with great substance.

But I will be the judge of that nation whose servants they are, and they will come out from among them with great wealth.

15 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.

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.

16 But in the fourth generation, they will return here. For the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet completed, even to this present time.”

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

17 Then, when the sun had set, there came a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions.

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.

18 On that day, God formed a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt, even to the great river Euphrates:

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:

19 the land of the Kenites and the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites

The Kenite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,

20 and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, likewise the Rephaim,

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

21 and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

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