Genesis 15
1 After these things hath the word of Jehovah been unto Abram in a vision, saying, 'Fear not, Abram, I [am] a shield to thee, thy reward [is] exceeding 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 saith, 'Lord Jehovah, what dost Thou 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 saith, 'Lo, to me Thou hast not given seed, and lo, a domestic doth heir me.'
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 lo, the word of Jehovah [is] unto him, saying, 'This [one] doth not heir thee; but he who cometh out from thy bowels, he doth heir thee;'
But then the Lord told him, “This man won't be your heir. Your heir will be your very own son.”
5 and He bringeth him out without, and saith, 'Look attentively, I pray thee, towards the heavens, and count the stars, if thou art able to count them;' and He saith to him, 'Thus is thy 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 hath believed in Jehovah, and He reckoneth 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 saith unto him, 'I [am] Jehovah who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees, to give to thee 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 saith, 'Lord Jehovah, 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 saith unto him, 'Take for Me a heifer of three years, and a she-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 taketh to him all these, and separateth them in the midst, and putteth each piece over against its fellow, but the bird he hath 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 upon the carcases, and Abram causeth 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 hath fallen upon Abram, and lo, a terror of great darkness is falling upon 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 saith to Abram, 'knowing — know that thy 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 thou — thou comest in unto thy fathers in peace; thou art 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 doth turn back hither, 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 cometh to pass — the sun hath gone in, and thick darkness hath been — and lo, a furnace of smoke, and a lamp of fire, which hath 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 hath Jehovah made with Abram a covenant, saying, 'To thy seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Phrat,
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.”
