Genesis 15:7-21

New American Standard Bible

⁷And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of ^(A)Ur of the Chaldeans, to ^(B)give you this land to ^[a]possess it.” ⁸But he said, “Lord ^[b]God, ^(C)how may I know that I will ^[c]possess it?” ⁹So He said to him, “^[d]Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰Then he ^[e]brought all these to Him and ^(D)cut them ^[f]in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^(E)did not cut the birds. ¹¹And birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

¹²Now when the sun was going down, ^(F)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, ^[g]terror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that ^(G)your ^[h]descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, ^[i]where ^(H)they will be enslaved and oppressed for ^(I)four hundred years. ¹⁴But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^(J)with ^[j]many possessions. ¹⁵As for you, ^(K)you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶Then in ^(L)the fourth generation they will return here, for ^(M)the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

¹⁷Now it came about, when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch appeared which ^(N)passed between these pieces. ¹⁸On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying,

“^(O)To your ^[k]descendants I have given this land,
From ^(P)the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:

¹⁹^(Q)the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, ²⁰the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, ²¹the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”

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Footnotes

Genesis 15:7 Or inherit
Genesis 15:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Genesis 15:8 Or inherit
Genesis 15:9 Lit Take
Genesis 15:10 Lit took
Genesis 15:10 Lit in the midst
Genesis 15:12 Or a terror of great darkness
Genesis 15:13 Lit seed
Genesis 15:13 Lit and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them
Genesis 15:14 Lit great
Genesis 15:18 Lit seed

Genesis 15:7-21

New International Version

⁷He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out^(A) of Ur of the Chaldeans^(B) to give you this land to take possession of it.”^(C)

⁸But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(D) how can I know^(E) that I will gain possession of it?”^(F)

⁹So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,^(G) a goat and a ram, each three years old,^(H) along with a dove and a young pigeon.^(I)”

¹⁰Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;^(J) the birds, however, he did not cut in half.^(K) ¹¹Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,^(L) but Abram drove them away.

¹²As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,^(M) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years^(N) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved^(O) and mistreated there. ¹⁴But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out^(P) with great possessions.^(Q) ¹⁵You, however, will go to your ancestors^(R) in peace and be buried at a good old age.^(S) ¹⁶In the fourth generation^(T) your descendants will come back here,^(U) for the sin of the Amorites^(V) has not yet reached its full measure.”

¹⁷When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch^(W) appeared and passed between the pieces.^(X) ¹⁸On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram^(Y) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,^(Z) from the Wadi^[a] of Egypt^(AA) to the great river, the Euphrates^(AB)— ¹⁹the land of the Kenites,^(AC) Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰Hittites,^(AD) Perizzites,^(AE) Rephaites,^(AF) ²¹Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”^(AG)