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 things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, thy exceeding 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!”
And Abram said, Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me? seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this 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!”
And Abram said, Lo, to me thou hast given no seed, and behold, a son of my house will be mine 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.”
And behold, the word of Jehovah [came] to him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that will come forth out of thy body shall be thine 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 he led him out, and said, Look now toward the heavens, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said to him, So shall thy seed be!
6 Abram believed that what Yahweh said would happen. And because of that, Yahweh considered that Abram was righteous.
And he believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it 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.”
And he said to him, I am Jehovah who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give thee this land to possess it.
8 But Abram replied, “Yahweh God, how can I know for sure that this land will belong to me?”
And he said, Lord Jehovah, how shall I know that I shall 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 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 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.
And he took all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid the half of each opposite its fellow; but the birds he did not divide.
11 Birds that eat dead flesh came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram shooed them away.
And the birds of prey came down on the carcases; and Abram scared them away.
12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep, and suddenly everything around him became dark and frightening.
And as the sun was just going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, a horror, a great darkness, fell upon 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.
And he said to Abram, Know assuredly that thy seed will be a sojourner in a land [that is] not theirs, and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them 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 also that nation which they shall serve I will judge; and afterwards they shall come out with great property.
15 But as for you, you will die [EUP] peacefully when you are very old.
And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good 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.”
And [in the] fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
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.
And it came to pass when the sun had gone down, and it was dark, that behold, there was a smoking furnace, and a flame of fire which passed between those pieces.
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 the same day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates;
19 That is the land where the Ken, the Keniz, the Kidmon,
the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 the Heth, the Periz, the Repha,
and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim,
21 the Amor, the Canaan, the Girgash, and the Tebus people-groups live.”
and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
