< Genesis 15 >

1 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.
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.
2 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.
And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram added: But to me thou hast not given seed: and lo my servant, born in my house, shall be my heir.
And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and lo, one born in my house is my heir.
4 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.
And behold, the word of the LORD [came] to him, saying, This shall not be thy heir; but he that shall come forth out of thy own bowels shall be thy heir.
5 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.
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now towards heaven, and tell the stars, if thou art able to number them: and he said to him, So shall thy seed be.
6 Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7 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.
And he said to him, I [am] the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 But he said: Lord God, whereby may I know that I shall possess it?
And he said, Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 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.
And he said to him, Take me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.
10 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.
And he took to him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds he did not divide.
11 And the fowls came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him.
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 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.
And he said to Abram, Know certainly that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 But I will judge the nation which they shall serve, and after this they shall come out with great substance.
And also that nation which they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age.
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 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.
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites [is] not yet full.
17 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.
And it came to pass, that when the sun had gone down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18 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.
In that same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, To thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 The Cineans and Cenezites, the Cedmonites,
The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hethites, and the Pherezites, the Raphaim also,
And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 And the Amorrhites, and the Chanaanites, and the Gergesites, and the Jebusites.
And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

< Genesis 15 >