Genesis 15
Christian Standard Bible
The Abrahamic Covenant
15 After these events, the word of the Lord came(A) to Abram in a vision:
your reward will be very great.
2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” [a] 3 Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in[b] my house will be my heir.”
4 Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body[c] will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”(D)
6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.(E)
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”(F)
8 But he said, “Lord God, how can I know(G) that I will possess it?”
9 He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds(H) in half. 11 Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep(I) came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram,(J) “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens(K) for four hundred years(L) in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.[d] 14 However, I will judge the nation they serve,(M) and afterward they will go out with many possessions.(N) 15 But you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.(O) 16 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”[e](P)
17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring,(Q) from the Brook of Egypt(R) to the great river, the Euphrates River: 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hethites, Perizzites, Rephaim, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
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Genesis 15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
God’s Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”(A) 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”[a](B) 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.”(C) 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.”(D) 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”(E) 6 And he believed the Lord, and the Lord[b] reckoned it to him as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.”(F) 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”(G) 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 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.(H) 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.(I) 13 Then the Lord[c] 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,(J) 14 but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.(K) 15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.(L) 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”(M)
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.(N) 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates,(O) 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
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