Genesis, 15

1. Some time later, the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision: Do not be afraid, Abram! I am your shield and shall give you a very great reward.

1. After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."

2. 'Lord Yahweh,' Abram replied, 'what use are your gifts, as I am going on my way childless? . . .

2. But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Elie'zer of Damascus?"

3. Since you have given me no offspring,' Abram continued, 'a member of my household will be my heir.'

3. And Abram said, "Behold, thou hast given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be my heir."

4. Then Yahweh's word came to him in reply, 'Such a one will not be your heir; no, your heir will be the issue of your own body.'

4. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; your own son shall be your heir."

5. Then taking him outside, he said, 'Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Just so will your descendants be,' he told him.

5. And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."

6. Abram put his faith in Yahweh and this was reckoned to him as uprightness.

6. And he believed the LORD; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness.

7. He then said to him, 'I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to give you this country as your possession.'

7. And he said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chalde'ans, to give you this land to possess."

8. 'Lord Yahweh,' Abram replied, 'how can I know that I shall possess it?'

8. But he said, "O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

9. He said to him, 'Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.'

9. He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."

10. He brought him all these, split the animals down the middle and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide.

10. And he brought him all these, cut them in two, and laid each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.

11. And whenever birds of prey swooped down on the carcases, Abram drove them off.

11. And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12. Now, as the sun was on the point of setting, a trance fell on Abram, and a deep dark dread descended on him.

12. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram; and lo, a dread and great darkness fell upon him.

13. Then Yahweh said to Abram, 'Know this for certain, that your descendants will be exiles in a land not their own, and be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

13. Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there, and they will be oppressed for four hundred years;

14. But I shall bring judgement on the nation that enslaves them and after this they will leave, with many possessions.

14. but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

15. For your part, you will join your ancestors in peace; you will be buried at a happy old age.

15. As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

16. In the fourth generation they will come back here, for until then the iniquity of the Amorites will not have reached its full extent.'

16. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

17. When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passing between the animals' pieces.

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

18. That day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram in these terms: 'To your descendants I give this country, from the River of Egypt to the Great River, the River Euphrates,

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 Euphra'tes,

19. the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

19. the land of the Ken'ites, the Ken'izzites, the Kad'monites,

20. the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

20. the Hittites, the Per'izzites, the Reph'aim,

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

21. the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Gir'gashites and the Jeb'usites."