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 the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying: 'Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, thy reward shall be exceeding great.'

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: 'O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go hence childless, and he that shall be possessor 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!”

And Abram said: 'Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed, and, lo, one born in my house is to 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 the LORD came unto him, saying: 'This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels 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 brought him forth abroad, and said: 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them'; and He said unto 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 in the LORD; and He counted it to him for 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 unto him: 'I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.'

8 But Abram replied, “Yahweh God, how can I know for sure that this land will belong to me?”

And he said: 'O Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit 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 unto 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 him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other; but the birds divided he not.

11 Birds that eat dead flesh came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram shooed them away.

And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep, and suddenly everything around him became dark and frightening.

And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a dread, even 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 unto Abram: 'Know of a surety 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 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.

and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 But as for you, you will die [EUP] peacefully when you are very old.

But 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 back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite 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, that, when the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these 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.

In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;

19 That is the land where the Ken, the Keniz, the Kidmon,

the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,

20 the Heth, the Periz, the Repha,

and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,

21 the Amor, the Canaan, the Girgash, and the Tebus people-groups live.”

and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.'