Genesis 15
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
God’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ 2 But Abram said, ‘O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’[a] 3 And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’ 5 He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord[b] reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.’ 8 But he said, ‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’ 9 He said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.’ 10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him. 13 Then the Lord[c] said to Abram, ‘Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; 14 but I will bring judgement on the nation that they serve, and afterwards they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.’
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’
Footnotes
- Genesis 15:2 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Genesis 15:6 Heb he
- Genesis 15:13 Heb he
Genesis 15
1599 Geneva Bible
15 1 The Lord is Abram’s defense and reward. 6 He is justified by faith. 13 The servitude and deliverance out of Egypt is declared. 18 The land of Canaan is promised the fourth time.
1 After these things, the [a]word of the Lord came unto Abram in a (A)vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am thy buckler, and thine exceeding (B)great reward.
2 And Abram said, [b]O Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of mine house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 Again Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: wherefore lo, a servant of mine house shall be mine heir.
4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heir, but one that shall come out of thine own bowels, he shall be thine heir.
5 Moreover he brought him forth and said, (C)Look up now unto heaven, and tell the stars if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And Abram (D)believed the Lord, and he counted that to him for righteousness.
7 Again he said unto him, I am the Lord, that brought thee out of (E)Ur, of the Chaldeans, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, O Lord God, [c]Whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 Then 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, a turtle dove also and a pigeon.
10 So he took all these unto him, and [d]divided them in the midst, and laid every piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
11 Then fowls fell on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sun went down, there fell an heavy sleep unto Abram: and lo, [e]a very fearful darkness fell upon him.
13 Then he said to Abram, (F)Know for a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, (G)[f]four hundred years, and shall serve them: and they entreat them evil.
14 Notwithstanding, the nation whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 But thou shalt go unto thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buried in a good age.
16 And in the [g]fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the [h]wickedness of the Amorites is not yet full.
17 Also when the sun went down, there was a darkness: and behold, a smoking furnace, and a firebrand, which went between those pieces.
18 (H)In that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land: (I)from the river of Egypt unto the great river [i]Euphrates.
19 Then Kenites, and the Kenezzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 The Amorites also, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
Footnotes
- Genesis 15:1 Or, the Lord spake to Abram.
- Genesis 15:2 His fear was not only lest he should not have children, but lest the promise of the blessed seed should not be accomplished in him.
- Genesis 15:8 This is a particular motion of God’s Spirit, which is not lawful for all to follow, in asking signs: but was permitted to some by a peculiar motion, as to Gideon and Hezekiah.
- Genesis 15:10 This was the old custom in making covenants, Jer. 34:18, to the which God added these conditions, that Abram’s posterity should be as torn in pieces, but after they should be coupled together: also that it should be assaulted, but yet delivered.
- Genesis 15:12 Hebrew, a fear of great darkness.
- Genesis 15:13 Counting from the birth of Isaac to their departure out of Egypt: Which declareth that God will suffer his to be afflicted in this world.
- Genesis 15:16 Or, after four hundred years.
- Genesis 15:16 Though God suffer the wicked for a time, yet his vengeance falleth upon them, when the measure of their wickedness is full.
- Genesis 15:18 Hebrew, Perath.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
