Genesis 15
1 And so, these things having been transacted, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your protector, and your reward is exceedingly great.”
After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and your very great reward.”
2 And Abram said: “Lord God, what will you give to me? I may go without children. And the son of the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.”
Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram added: “Yet to me you have not given offspring. And behold, my servant born in my house will be my heir.”
Abram said, “Since you have given me no descendant, see, the steward of my house is my heir.”
4 And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: “This one will not be your heir. But he who will come from your loins, the same will you have for your heir.”
Then, behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but rather the one who will come from your own body will be your heir.”
5 And he brought him outside, and he said to him, “Take in the heavens, and number the stars, if you can.” And he said to him, “So also will your offspring be.”
Then he brought him outside, and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
6 Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.
He believed Yahweh, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who led you away from Ur of the Chaldeans, so as to give you this land, and so that you would possess it.”
He said to him, “I am Yahweh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”
8 But he said, “Lord God, in what way may I be able to know that I will possess it?”
He said, “Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?”
9 And the Lord responded by saying: “Take for me a cow of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, also a turtle-dove and a pigeon.”
Then he said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a dove, and a young pigeon.”
10 Taking all these, he divided them through the middle, and placed both parts opposite one another. But the birds he did not divide.
He brought him all these, and cut them in two, and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not divide the birds.
11 And birds descended upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
When the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a dread, great and dark, invaded him.
Then when the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep and, behold, a deep and terrifying darkness overwhelmed him.
13 And it was said to him: “Know beforehand that your future offspring will be sojourners in a land not their own, and they will subjugate them in servitude and afflict them for four hundred years.
Then Yahweh said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
14 Yet truly, I will judge the nation that they will serve, and after this they will depart with great substance.
I will judge that nation that they will serve, and afterward they will come out with abundant possessions.
15 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.
But you will go to your fathers in peace, and you will be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation, they will return here. For the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet completed, even to this present time.”
In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”
17 Then, when the sun had set, there came a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions.
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between the pieces.
18 On that day, God formed a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt, even to the great river Euphrates:
On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I hereby give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—
19 the land of the Kenites and the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites
the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20 and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, likewise the Rephaim,
the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites,
21 and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
