Genesis 15
1 After these things the LORD’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Have no fear, Abram: I will keep you safe, and great will be your reward.
2 Abram said, “Lord GOD, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
And Abram said, What will you give me? for I have no child and this Eliezer of Damascus will have all my wealth after me.
3 Abram said, “Behold, you have given no children to me: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”
And Abram said, You have given me no child, and a servant in my house will get the heritage.
4 Behold, the LORD’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.”
Then said the Lord, This man will not get the heritage, but a son of your body will have your property after you.
5 The LORD brought him outside, and said, “Look now towards the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”
And he took him out into the open air, and said to him, Let your eyes be lifted to heaven, and see if the stars may be numbered; even so will your seed be.
6 He believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness.
And he had faith in the Lord, and it was put to his account as righteousness.
7 He said to Abram, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur-Kasdim, to give you this land to inherit it.”
And he said to him, I am the Lord, who took you from Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land for your heritage.
8 He said, “Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit it?”
And he said, O Lord God, how may I be certain that it will be mine?
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
And he said, Take a young cow of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a sheep of three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon.
10 He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds.
All these he took, cutting them in two and putting one half opposite the other, but not cutting the birds in two.
11 The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
And evil birds came down on the bodies, but Abram sent them away.
12 When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him.
Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep came on Abram, and a dark cloud of fear.
13 He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.
And he said to Abram, Truly, your seed will be living in a land which is not theirs, as servants to a people who will be cruel to them for four hundred years;
14 I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth;
But I will be the judge of that nation whose servants they are, and they will come out from among them with great wealth.
15 but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age.
As for you, you will go to your fathers in peace; at the end of a long life you will be put in your last resting-place.
16 In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”
And in the fourth generation they will come back here; for at present the sin of the Amorite is not full.
17 It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
Then when the sun went down and it was dark, he saw a smoking fire and a flaming light which went between the parts of the bodies.
18 In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
In that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram, and said, To your seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
The Kenite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
And the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
And the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.
