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Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.”(A) But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”(B) He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, 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.(C) 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.(D) 13 Then the Lord[a] 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,(E) 14 but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.(F) 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.(G) 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”(H)

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Footnotes

  1. 15.13 Heb he

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

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,(D) how can I know(E) that I will gain possession of it?”(F)

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

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

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

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