Genesis 15

1 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.

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 said, Lord Jehovah, what wilt thou give me? seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.

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 said, Lo, to me thou hast given no seed, and behold, a son of my house will be mine heir.

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 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.

But then the Lord told him, “This man won't be your heir. Your heir will be your very own son.”

5 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!

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 believed Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him [as] righteousness.

Abram trusted what the Lord said, and so the Lord counted Abram as being in a right relationship with him.

7 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.

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 said, Lord Jehovah, how shall I know that I shall possess it?

“But Lord God, how can I be certain that I will own it?” Abram asked.

9 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.

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 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.

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 birds of prey came down on the carcases; and Abram scared them away.

When vultures flew down on the carcasses, Abram frightened them off.

12 And as the sun was just going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, a horror, a great darkness, fell 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 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.

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 But also that nation which they shall serve I will judge; and afterwards they shall come out with great property.

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 shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be 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 [in the] fourth generation they shall come hither again; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

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 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.

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 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;

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 the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

and includes the territory of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

20 and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim,

Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,

21 and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”