Genesis 15
1 After these things, the worde of the Lord came vnto Abram in a vision, saying, Feare not, Abram, I am thy buckler, and thine exceeding great reward.
Some time later, Abram had a vision in which Yahweh spoke to him and said, “Do not be afraid of (anything/your enemies). I will protect you [MTY], and I will give a great reward.”
2 And Abram said, O Lord God, what wilt thou giue me, seeing I goe childlesse, and the steward of mine house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
But Abram replied, “Yahweh God, how can you give me what I truly want, because I have no children, and the one who will be like a son and inherit all my possessions is my servant Eliezer from Damascus!”
3 Againe Abram saide, Beholde, to me thou hast giuen no seede: wherefore loe, a seruant of mine house shalbe mine heire.
Abram added, “You have not given me any children, so think about this: A servant in my household will inherit all I own!”
4 Then beholde, the worde of the Lord came vnto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heire, but one that shall come out of thine owne bowels, he shalbe thine heire.
Yahweh replied, “No! He will not be the one who will inherit it. Instead, you yourself will be the father of the one who will inherit everything you own.”
5 Moreouer he brought him forth and said, Looke vp nowe vnto heauen, and tell ye starres, if thou be able to number them: and he said vnto him, So shall thy seede be.
Then Yahweh took Abram outside [of his tent] and said, “Look up at the sky! Can you count the stars? No, you cannot count them because there are so many of them, and your descendants will be as numerous as the stars.”
6 And Abram beleeued the Lord, and he counted that to him for righteousnesse.
Abram believed that what Yahweh said would happen. And because of that, Yahweh considered that Abram was righteous.
7 Againe he saide vnto him, I am the Lord, that brought thee out of Vr of the Caldees, to giue thee this land to inherite it.
Yahweh also said to him, “I am Yahweh. I am the one who brought you from Ur in Chaldea land. I brought you here to give you this land to possess.”
8 And he said, O Lord God, whereby shall I knowe that I shall inherite it?
But Abram replied, “Yahweh God, how can I know for sure that this land will belong to me?”
9 Then he said vnto him, Take me an heifer of three yeeres olde, and a shee goate of three yeeres olde, and a ramme of three yeeres olde, a turtle doue also and a pigeon.
God said to him, “Bring a three-year-old heifer and a three-year-old goat to me, and a dove and a pigeon.”
10 So he tooke all these vnto him, and deuided them into the middes, and laid euery piece one against an other: but the birdes deuided he not.
So Abram brought all of them and killed them and cut each of the animals in half. He arranged the halves of each one, side by side. But he did not cut the pigeon and dove in half.
11 Then foules fell on the carkases, and Abram droue them away.
Birds that eat dead flesh came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram shooed them away.
12 And when the sunne went downe, there fell an heauie sleepe vpon Abram: and loe, a very fearefull darkenes fell vpon him.
As the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep, and suddenly everything around him became dark and frightening.
13 Then he saide to Abram, Knowe for a suretie, that thy seede shalbe a stranger in a land, that is not theirs, foure hundreth yeeres, and shall serue them: and they shall intreate them euill.
Then God said to Abram, “I want you to know that your descendants will become foreigners living in a land that does not belong to them. They will become slaves of the owners of that land. The owners of the land will mistreat them for 400 years.
14 Notwithstanding the nation, whom they shall serue, will I iudge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
But then I will punish the people of that country that made them become slaves, and then your descendants will leave that country, taking many possessions with them.
15 But thou shalt goe vnto thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buried in a good age.
But as for you, you will die [EUP] peacefully when you are very old.
16 And in the fourth generation they shall come hither againe: for the wickednes of the Amorites is not yet full.
After your descendants have been slaves for 400 years, they will return here, and take control of this land and defeat the Amor people-group. Those people will, because those people have not yet sinned enough to deserve to be punished now.”
17 Also when the sunne went downe, there was a darkenes: and behold, a smoking fornace, and a firebrand, which went betweene those pieces.
When the sun had set and it had become dark, [unexpectedly] a blazing torch and a clay pot containing burning coals from which smoke was rising appeared and went between the halves of the animals.
18 In that same day the Lord made a couenant with Abram, saying, Vnto thy seede haue I giuen this lande, from the riuer of Egypt vnto the great riuer, the riuer Euphrates.
And on that day Yahweh made an agreement with Abram. Yahweh told him, “I will give to your descendants all the land between the river that is on the eastern border of Egypt to the south, and north to the huge Euphrates River.
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizites, and the Kadmonites,
That is the land where the Ken, the Keniz, the Kidmon,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
the Heth, the Periz, the Repha,
21 The Amorites also, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Iebusites.
the Amor, the Canaan, the Girgash, and the Tebus people-groups live.”
