Genesis 15
1 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.”
After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
2 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!”
But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 Abram added, “You have not given me any children, so think about this: A servant in my household will inherit all I own!”
Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 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.”
Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”
5 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.”
And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Abram believed that what Yahweh said would happen. And because of that, Yahweh considered that Abram was righteous.
Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
7 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.”
The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
8 But Abram replied, “Yahweh God, how can I know for sure that this land will belong to me?”
But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”
9 God said to him, “Bring a three-year-old heifer and a three-year-old goat to me, and a dove and a pigeon.”
And the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”
10 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.
So Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.
11 Birds that eat dead flesh came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram shooed them away.
And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep, and suddenly everything around him became dark and frightening.
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
13 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.
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
14 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.
But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
15 But as for you, you will die [EUP] peacefully when you are very old.
You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.
16 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.”
In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17 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.
When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.
18 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.
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
19 That is the land where the Ken, the Keniz, the Kidmon,
the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
20 the Heth, the Periz, the Repha,
Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
21 the Amor, the Canaan, the Girgash, and the Tebus people-groups live.”
Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
