Genesis 15

New International Version

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)”

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

⁴Then 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)” ⁵He 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)

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

⁷He 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)

⁸But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(R) how can I know^(S) that I will gain possession of it?”^(T)

⁹So 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)”

¹⁰Abram 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) ¹¹Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,^(Z) but Abram drove them away.

¹²As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,^(AA) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³Then 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. ¹⁴But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out^(AD) with great possessions.^(AE) ¹⁵You, however, will go to your ancestors^(AF) in peace and be buried at a good old age.^(AG) ¹⁶In 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.”

¹⁷When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch^(AK) appeared and passed between the pieces.^(AL) ¹⁸On 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)— ¹⁹the land of the Kenites,^(AQ) Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰Hittites,^(AR) Perizzites,^(AS) Rephaites,^(AT) ²¹Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”^(AU)

Footnotes

Genesis 15:1 Or sovereign
Genesis 15:1 Or shield; / your reward will be very great
Genesis 15:2 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Genesis 15:5 Or seed
Genesis 15:18 Or river

Genesis 1

New International Version

The Beginning

1 In the beginning^(A) God created^(B) the heavens^(C) and the earth.^(D) ²Now the earth was formless^(E) and empty,^(F) darkness was over the surface of the deep,^(G) and the Spirit of God^(H) was hovering^(I) over the waters.

³And God said,^(J) “Let there be light,” and there was light.^(K) ⁴God saw that the light was good,^(L) and he separated the light from the darkness.^(M) ⁵God called^(N) the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”^(O) And there was evening, and there was morning^(P)—the first day.

⁶And God said,^(Q) “Let there be a vault^(R) between the waters^(S) to separate water from water.” ⁷So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it.^(T) And it was so.^(U) ⁸God called^(V) the vault “sky.”^(W) And there was evening, and there was morning^(X)—the second day.

⁹And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place,^(Y) and let dry ground^(Z) appear.” And it was so.^(AA) ¹⁰God called^(AB) the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters^(AC) he called “seas.”^(AD) And God saw that it was good.^(AE)

¹¹Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation:^(AF) seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.^(AG)” And it was so.^(AH) ¹²The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds^(AI) and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.^(AJ) ¹³And there was evening, and there was morning^(AK)—the third day.

¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights^(AL) in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night,^(AM) and let them serve as signs^(AN) to mark sacred times,^(AO) and days and years,^(AP) ¹⁵and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so.^(AQ) ¹⁶God made two great lights—the greater light^(AR) to govern^(AS) the day and the lesser light to govern^(AT) the night.^(AU) He also made the stars.^(AV) ¹⁷God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸to govern the day and the night,^(AW) and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.^(AX) ¹⁹And there was evening, and there was morning^(AY)—the fourth day.

²⁰And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures,^(AZ) and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”^(BA) ²¹So God created^(BB) the great creatures of the sea^(BC) and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it,^(BD) according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.^(BE) And God saw that it was good.^(BF) ²²God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”^(BG) ²³And there was evening, and there was morning^(BH)—the fifth day.

²⁴And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures^(BI) according to their kinds:^(BJ) the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.^(BK) ²⁵God made the wild animals^(BL) according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.^(BM) And God saw that it was good.^(BN)

²⁶Then God said, “Let us^(BO) make mankind^(BP) in our image,^(BQ) in our likeness,^(BR) so that they may rule^(BS) over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky,^(BT) over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷So God created^(BU) mankind^(BV) in his own image,^(BW)
in the image of God^(BX) he created them;
male and female^(BY) he created them.^(BZ)

²⁸God blessed them and said to them,^(CA) “Be fruitful and increase in number;^(CB) fill the earth^(CC) and subdue it. Rule over^(CD) the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.^(CE)”

²⁹Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.^(CF) ³⁰And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life^(CG) in it—I give every green plant for food.^(CH)” And it was so.

³¹God saw all that he had made,^(CI) and it was very good.^(CJ) And there was evening, and there was morning^(CK)—the sixth day.