Genesis 15:5-17

English Standard Version

⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and ^(A)number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, ^(B)“So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And ^(C)he believed the Lord, and ^(D)he counted it to him as righteousness.

⁷ And he said to him, “I am the Lord who ^(E)brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ^(F)to give you this land to possess.” ⁸ But he said, “O Lord God, ^(G)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 turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ And he brought him all these, ^(H)cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But ^(I)he did not cut the birds in half. ¹¹ And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was going down, a ^(J)deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ^(K)that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and ^(L)they will be afflicted for ^(M)four hundred years. ¹⁴ But ^(N)I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward ^(O)they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; ^(P)you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶ And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for ^(Q)the iniquity of the Amorites ^(R)is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.