Genesis, 15

1. 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.

1. After this the word of Yahweh was spoken to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great!"

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?

2. Abram said, "My Lord Yahweh, where are your promises? I am still childless and all I have will go to 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.

3. You have given me no children, so a slave of mine will be my 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.

4. Then the word of Yahweh was spoken to him again, "Eliezer will not be your heir, but a child born of you (your own flesh and blood) will be your 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.

5. Then Yahweh brought him outside and said to him, "Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Your descendants will be like that."

6. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

6. Abram believed Yahweh who, because of this, held him to be an upright man.

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.

7. And he said, "I am Yahweh who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession."

8. And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

8. Then Abram asked, "My Lord, how am I to know that it shall be mine?"

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.

9. Yahweh replied, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove 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.

10. Abram brought all these animals, cut them in two, and laid each half facing its other half, but he did not cut the birds in half.

11. And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

11. The birds of prey came down upon them, but 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.

12. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep came over Abram, and a dreadful darkness took hold of 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;

13. Then Yahweh said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be exiles in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves there, oppressed for four hundred years.

14. And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

14. But I will judge the nation that oppresses them, and after that, they will not leave empty-handed.

15. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

15. As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace, and be buried at a ripe old age.

16. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites [is] not yet full.

16. Your descendants of the fourth generation will come back here, for the wickedness of the Amorites has not yet deserved that I take the land from them."

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.

17. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between the halves of the victims.

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:

18. On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this country from the river of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.

19. The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

19. The land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

20. And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,

20. the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephraim,

21. And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

21. the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."