God’s Covenant with Abram(A)

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram (B)in a vision, saying, (C)“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your (D)shield, [a]your exceedingly (E)great reward.”

(F)But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, (G)seeing I [b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed (H)one[c] born in my house is my heir!”

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who (I)will come from your own body shall be your heir.” Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and (J)count the (K)stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, (L)“So shall your (M)descendants be.”

And he (N)believed in the Lord, and He (O)accounted it to him for righteousness.

Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who (P)brought you out of (Q)Ur of the Chaldeans, (R)to give you this land to inherit it.”

And he said, “Lord God, (S)how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and (T)cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut (U)the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 Now when the sun was going down, (V)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly (W)that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and (X)they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve (Y)I will judge; afterward (Z)they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, (AA)you shall [d]go (AB)to your fathers in peace; (AC)you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But (AD)in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity (AE)of the Amorites (AF)is not yet complete.”

17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that (AG)passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord (AH)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

(AI)“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, (AJ)had borne him no children. And she had (AK)an Egyptian maidservant whose name was (AL)Hagar. (AM)So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord (AN)has restrained me from bearing children. Please, (AO)go in to my maid; perhaps I shall [e]obtain children by her.” And Abram (AP)heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram (AQ)had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became (AR)despised in her [f]eyes.

Then Sarai said to Abram, [g]“My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. (AS)The Lord judge between you and me.”

(AT)So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, (AU)she fled from her presence.

Now the (AV)Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, (AW)by the spring on the way to (AX)Shur. And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and (AY)submit yourself under her hand.” 10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, (AZ)“I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:

“Behold, you are with child,
(BA)And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name [h]Ishmael,
Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
12 (BB)He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
(BC)And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”

13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-[i]the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here [j]seen Him (BD)who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called (BE)Beer Lahai Roi;[k] observe, it is (BF)between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So (BG)Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 15:1 Or your reward shall be very great
  2. Genesis 15:2 am childless
  3. Genesis 15:3 a servant
  4. Genesis 15:15 Die and join your ancestors
  5. Genesis 16:2 Lit. be built up from
  6. Genesis 16:4 sight
  7. Genesis 16:5 The wrong done to me be
  8. Genesis 16:11 Lit. God Hears
  9. Genesis 16:13 Heb. El Roi
  10. Genesis 16:13 Seen the back of
  11. Genesis 16:14 Lit. Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me

The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

15 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram(A) in a vision:(B)

“Do not be afraid,(C) Abram.
    I am your shield,[a](D)
    your very great reward.[b](E)

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,(F) what can you give me since I remain childless(G) and the one who will inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?(H) And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant(I) in my household(J) will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.(K) He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars(L)—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[d] be.”(M)

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.(N)

He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out(O) of Ur of the Chaldeans(P) to give you this land to take possession of it.”(Q)

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,(R) how can I know(S) that I will gain possession of it?”(T)

So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,(U) a goat and a ram, each three years old,(V) along with a dove and a young pigeon.(W)

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;(X) the birds, however, he did not cut in half.(Y) 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,(Z) but Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,(AA) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years(AB) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved(AC) and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out(AD) with great possessions.(AE) 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors(AF) in peace and be buried at a good old age.(AG) 16 In the fourth generation(AH) your descendants will come back here,(AI) for the sin of the Amorites(AJ) has not yet reached its full measure.”

17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch(AK) appeared and passed between the pieces.(AL) 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram(AM) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,(AN) from the Wadi[e] of Egypt(AO) to the great river, the Euphrates(AP) 19 the land of the Kenites,(AQ) Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites,(AR) Perizzites,(AS) Rephaites,(AT) 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”(AU)

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai,(AV) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.(AW) But she had an Egyptian slave(AX) named Hagar;(AY) so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.(AZ) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”(BA)

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan(BB) ten years,(BC) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar,(BD) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.(BE) Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.”(BF)

“Your slave is in your hands,(BG)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated(BH) Hagar; so she fled from her.

The angel of the Lord(BI) found Hagar near a spring(BJ) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.(BK) And he said, “Hagar,(BL) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”(BM)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”(BN)

11 The angel of the Lord(BO) also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.(BP)
You shall name him(BQ) Ishmael,[f](BR)
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.(BS)
12 He will be a wild donkey(BT) of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward[g] all his brothers.(BU)

13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,(BV)” for she said, “I have now seen[h] the One who sees me.”(BW) 14 That is why the well(BX) was called Beer Lahai Roi[i];(BY) it is still there, between Kadesh(BZ) and Bered.

15 So Hagar(CA) bore Abram a son,(CB) and Abram gave the name Ishmael(CC) to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old(CD) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 15:1 Or sovereign
  2. Genesis 15:1 Or shield; / your reward will be very great
  3. Genesis 15:2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  4. Genesis 15:5 Or seed
  5. Genesis 15:18 Or river
  6. Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
  7. Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
  8. Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
  9. Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.