Genesis 15

God's Covenant With Abram

1 After this, 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 said, “O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.”

5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

8 But Abram said, “O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

9 So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.

11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.

16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,

21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”

GENESIS 15

The [Lord]'s Promise //to Abram

1 Later the [Lord] spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don't be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.”
2 But Abram answered, “[Lord] All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own.t

3 You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.”
4 The [Lord] replied, “No, he won't! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” 5 t Then the [Lord] took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That's how many descendants you will have.”

6 t Abram believed the [Lord], so the [Lord] was pleased with him and accepted him.

The [Lord] Makes //Another Promise //to Abram

7 The [Lord] said to Abram, “I brought you here from Ur in Chaldea, and I gave you this land.”

8 Abram asked, “[Lord] God, how can I know the land will be mine?”

9 Then the [Lord] told him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.”
10 Abram obeyed the [Lord]. Then he cutt the animals in half and laid the two halves of each animal opposite each other on the ground. But he did not cut the doves and pigeons in half.

11 And when birds came down to eat the animals, Abram chased them away.
12  t As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and everything became dark and frightening.

13-15 t Then the [Lord] said:
Abram, you will live to an old age and die in peace.
But I solemnly promise that your descendants will live as foreigners in a land that doesn't belong to them. They will be forced into slavery and abused for 400 years. But I will terribly punish the nation that enslaves them, and they will leave with many possessions.

16 Four generations later, t your descendants will return here and take this land, because only then will the people who live heret be so sinful that they deserve to be punished.
17 Sometime after sunset, when it was very dark, a smoking cooking pott and a flaming fire passed between the two halves of each animal.

18 t At that time the [Lord] made an agreement with Abram and told him:
I will give your descendants the land east of the Shihor Rivert on the border of Egypt as far as the Euphrates River. 19 They will possess the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.