Genesis 15
New American Standard Bible
Abram Promised a Son
15 After these things (A)the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
2 But Abram said, “Lord [b]God, what will You give me, since I [c]am childless, and the [d]heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Abram also said, “[e]Since You have given me no [f]son, [g]one who has been (E)born in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; (F)but one who will come from your own [h]body shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and (G)count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “(H)So shall your [i]descendants be.” 6 (I)Then he believed in the Lord; and He [j]credited it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of (J)Ur of the Chaldeans, to (K)give you this land to [k]possess it.” 8 But he said, “Lord [l]God, (L)how may I know that I will [m]possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “[n]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 [o]brought all these to Him and (M)cut them [p]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he (N)did not cut the birds. 11 And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 Now when the sun was going down, (O)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, [q]terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that (P)your [r]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, [s]where (Q)they will be enslaved and oppressed for (R)four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out (S)with [t]many possessions. 15 As for you, (T)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in (U)the fourth generation they will return here, for (V)the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
17 Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which (W)passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,
“(X)To your [u]descendants I have given this land,
From (Y)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 (Z)the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, 20 the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”
Footnotes
- Genesis 15:1 Or Your very great reward
- Genesis 15:2 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Genesis 15:2 Lit go
- Genesis 15:2 Lit son of acquisition
- Genesis 15:3 Lit Behold
- Genesis 15:3 Lit seed
- Genesis 15:3 Lit then behold, a son of my
- Genesis 15:4 Lit inward parts
- Genesis 15:5 Lit seed
- Genesis 15:6 Or imputed
- Genesis 15:7 Or inherit
- Genesis 15:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Genesis 15:8 Or inherit
- Genesis 15:9 Lit Take
- Genesis 15:10 Lit took
- Genesis 15:10 Lit in the midst
- Genesis 15:12 Or a terror of great darkness
- Genesis 15:13 Lit seed
- Genesis 15:13 Lit and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them
- Genesis 15:14 Lit great
- Genesis 15:18 Lit seed
Genesis 15
The Message
15 After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I’m your shield. Your reward will be grand!”
2-3 Abram said, “God, Master, what use are your gifts as long as I’m childless and Eliezer of Damascus is going to inherit everything?” Abram continued, “See, you’ve given me no children, and now a mere house servant is going to get it all.”
4 Then God’s Message came: “Don’t worry, he won’t be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir.”
5 Then he took him outside and said, “Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You’re going to have a big family, Abram!”
6 And he believed! Believed God! God declared him “Set-Right-with-God.”
7 God continued, “I’m the same God who brought you from Ur of the Chaldees and gave you this land to own.”
8 Abram said, “Master God, how am I to know this, that it will all be mine?”
9 God said, “Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon.”
10-12 He brought all these animals to him, split them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. But he didn’t split the birds. Vultures swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram scared them off. As the sun went down a deep sleep overcame Abram and then a sense of dread, dark and heavy.
13-16 God said to Abram, “Know this: your descendants will live as outsiders in a land not theirs; they’ll be enslaved and beaten down for 400 years. Then I’ll punish their slave masters; your offspring will march out of there loaded with plunder. But not you; you’ll have a long and full life and die a good and peaceful death. Not until the fourth generation will your descendants return here; sin is still a thriving business among the Amorites.”
17-21 When the sun was down and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch moved between the split carcasses. That’s when God made a covenant with Abram: “I’m giving this land to your children, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Assyria—the country of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
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Genesis 15
King James Version
15 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7 And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
8 And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9 And 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, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.
11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson