Genesis 15:8-17

Christian Standard Bible

⁸ But he said, “Lord God, how can I know^(A) that I will possess it?”

⁹ He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds^(B) in half. ¹¹ Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹² As the sun was setting, a deep sleep^(C) came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram,^(D) “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens^(E) for four hundred years^(F) in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.^{[a] 14} However, I will judge the nation they serve,^(G) and afterward they will go out with many possessions.^{(H) 15} But you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.^{(I) 16} In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”^[b](J)

¹⁷ When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals.