Genesis 15

1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, [and] 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, O Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Dammesek 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 said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is 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 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.

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

5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to tell them: and he said unto 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 in the LORD; and he counted it to him for 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 unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit 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, O Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

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

9 And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, 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 him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not.

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 upon the carcases, and Abram drove them away.

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

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of 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 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;

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 also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come 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 But 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 Amorite 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, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these 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 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:

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 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.”