Genesis 15

CHAPTER 15

1And so when these things were done, the word of the Lord was made to Abram by a vision, and said, Abram, do not thou dread, I am thy defender, and thy meed is full great.

2And Abram said, Lord God, what shalt thou give to me? I shall go without free children, and this Damascus, son of Eliezer, the procurator of mine house, shall be mine heir.

3And Abram added, Soothly thou hast not given seed to me, and, lo! my born servant shall be mine heir.

4And anon the word of the Lord was made to him, and said, This shall not be thine heir, but thou shalt have him heir, that shall go out of thy womb.

5And the Lord led out Abram, and said to him, Behold thou heaven, and number the stars, if thou mayest. And the Lord said to Abram, So thy seed shall be.

6Abram believed to God, and it was reckoned to him to rightwiseness.

7And God said to him, I am the Lord, that led thee out of Ur of Chaldees, that I should give this land to thee, and thou shouldest have it in possession.

8And Abram said, Lord God, where-by shall I know that I shall wield it?

9And the Lord answered, and said, Take thou to me a cow of three years, and a goat of three years, and a ram of three years, and a turtledove, and a culver.

10Which took all these things, and parted those [or them] by the midst [or the middle], and setted [or put] ever either part each against other; but he parted not the birds.

11And fowls came down on the carrions, and Abram drove them away.

12And when the sun was gone down, dread felled on Abram, and a great hideousness and dark assailed him.

13And it was said to him, Know thou a before-knowing, that thy seed shall be [a] pilgrim four hundred years in a land not his own, and they shall make them subject to servage, and they shall torment them;

14nevertheless I shall deem the folk to whom they shall serve; and after these things they shall go out with great chattel [or substance].

15Forsooth thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buried in good [eld] age.

16Soothly in the fourth generation they shall turn again hither, for the wickedness of [the] Amorites be not yet [full-]filled, till to present time.

17Therefore when the sun was gone down, a dark mist was made, and a furnace smoking appeared, and a lamp of fire, and passed through those partings.

18In that day the Lord made a covenant of peace with Abram, and said, I shall give to thy seed this land, from the river of Egypt till to the great river Euphrates;

19 the lands of the Kenites, and Kenizzites, and Kadmonites,

20and Hittites, and Perizzites, and Rephaims,

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

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Genesis 15

God’s Agreement with Abram

1After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision: “Abram, don’t be afraid. I will defend you, and I will give you a great reward.”

2But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me? I have no son, so my slave Eliezer from Damascus will get everything I own after I die.” 3Abram said, “Look, you have given me no son, so a slave born in my house will inherit everything I have.”

4Then the Lord spoke his word to Abram: “He will not be the one to inherit what you have. You will have a son of your own who will inherit what you have.”

5Then God led Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky. There are so many stars you cannot count them. Your descendants also will be too many to count.”

6Abram believed the Lord. And the Lord accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.

7God said to Abram, “I am the Lord who led you out of Ur of Babylonia so that I could give you this land to own.”

8But Abram said, “Lord God, how can I be sure that I will own this land?”

9The Lord said to Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old male sheep, a dove, and a young pigeon.”

10Abram brought them all to God. Then Abram killed the animals and cut each of them into two pieces, laying each half opposite the other half. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11Later, large birds flew down to eat the animals, but Abram chased them away.

12As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. While he was asleep, a very terrible darkness came. 13Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers and travel in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves and be cruel to them for four hundred years. 14But I will punish the nation where they are slaves. Then your descendants will leave that land, taking great wealth with them. 15And you, Abram, will die in peace and will be buried at an old age. 16After your great-great-grandchildren are born, your people will come to this land again. It will take that long, because I am not yet going to punish the Amorites for their evil behavior.”

17After the sun went down, it was very dark. Suddenly a smoking firepot and a blazing torch passed between the halves of the dead animals. 18So on that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram and said, “I will give to your descendants the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates. 19This is the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

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