The Lord’s Covenant With Abram

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

² 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)” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant^(I) in my household^(J) will be my heir.”

⁴ 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)” ⁵ 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)

⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.^(N)

⁷ 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)

⁸ But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(D) how can I know^(E) that I will gain possession of it?”^(F)

⁹ 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.”

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch^(W) appeared and passed between the pieces.^{(X) 18} On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram^(Y) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,^(Z) from the Wadi^[a] of Egypt^(AA) to the great river, the Euphrates^(AB)— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites,^(AC) Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites,^(AD) Perizzites,^(AE) Rephaites,^{(AF) 21} Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”^(AG)

⁷ Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.^{(A) 8} Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age,^(B) an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.^(C)

¹¹ “Go, tell^(A) Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go out of his country.”^(B)

The Exodus

³¹ During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship^(A) the Lord as you have requested. ³² Take your flocks and herds,^(B) as you have said, and go. And also bless^(C) me.”

³³ The Egyptians urged the people to hurry^(D) and leave^(E) the country. “For otherwise,” they said, “we will all die!”^{(F) 34} So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs^(G) wrapped in clothing. ³⁵ The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold^(H) and for clothing.^{(I) 36} The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed^(J) toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered^(K) the Egyptians.

³⁷ The Israelites journeyed from Rameses^(L) to Sukkoth.^(M) There were about six hundred thousand men^(N) on foot, besides women and children. ³⁸ Many other people^(O) went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. ³⁹ With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out^(P) of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

⁴⁰ Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt^[a] was 430 years.^(Q)

²² set his seal^(A) of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.^(B)

⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.^(A)

¹³ And you also were included in Christ^(A) when you heard the message of truth,^(B) the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,^(C) the promised Holy Spirit,^{(D) 14} who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance^(E) until the redemption^(F) of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.^(G)

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai,^(A) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.^(B) But she had an Egyptian slave^(C) named Hagar;^{(D) 2} so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.^(E) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”^(F)

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. ³ So after Abram had been living in Canaan^(G) ten years,^(H) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. ⁴ He slept with Hagar,^(I) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.^{(J) 5} 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.”^(K)

⁶ “Your slave is in your hands,^(L)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated^(M) Hagar; so she fled from her.