Genesis 15
1 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.”
After all this had happened, God spoke to Abram in a vision, telling him, “Don't be afraid, Abram! I am your protector, and your truly great reward!”
2 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.”
But Abram replied, “Lord God, what good is whatever you give me? I don't have any children, and the heir to all that I have is Eliezer of Damascus.”
3 And Abram says, “Behold, to me You have not given seed, and behold, a servant will be my heir.”
Abram went on to complain, “Look! You haven't given me any children, so a servant from my household has to be my heir!”
4 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”;
But then the Lord told him, “This man won't be your heir. Your heir will be your very own son.”
5 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.”
The Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up at the sky. See if you can count the stars! That's how many descendants you will have!”
6 And he has believed in YHWH, and He reckons it to him—righteousness.
Abram trusted what the Lord said, and so the Lord counted Abram as being in a right relationship with him.
7 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”;
The Lord also told him, “I am the Lord, who led you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land for you to own.”
8 and he says, “Lord YHWH, whereby do I know that I possess it?”
“But Lord God, how can I be certain that I will own it?” Abram asked.
9 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”;
The Lord told him, “Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, all of them three years old, together with a dove and a young pigeon.”
10 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;
So Abram took and killed the three animals. Then he cut them in half, and placed each half opposite the other. However, he didn't cut the birds in half.
11 and the ravenous birds come down on the carcasses, and Abram causes them to turn back.
When vultures flew down on the carcasses, Abram frightened them off.
12 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;
As the sun went down, a deep sleep came over Abram, and at the same time a dense and terrifying darkness fell on him.
13 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,
The Lord explained to Abram, “You can be absolutely sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be slaves and mistreated for 400 years.
14 and the nation also whom they serve I judge, and after this they go out with great substance;
However, I will punish the nation that makes them slaves, and later on they will leave, taking many valuable possessions with them.
15 and you come to your fathers in peace; you are buried in a good old age;
But as for you, you will die in peace and be buried, having lived a good long life.
16 and the fourth generation turns back here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
Four generations later your descendants will come back here to live, because right now the sins of the Amorites have not reached their full extent.”
17 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.
After the sun set and it grew dark, suddenly a smoking furnace and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the animal carcasses.
18 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,
This is how the Lord made an agreement with Abram that day and promised him, “I'm giving this land to your descendants. It extends from the Wadi of Egypt to the great Euphrates River,
19 with the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,
and includes the territory of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20 and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,
Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
21 and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”
Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
