Genesis 15

Abram Promised a Son

1After these things 1the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “2Do not fear, Abram, I am 3a shield to you; 4Your 5reward shall be very great.” 2But Abram said, “Lord 6God, what will You give me, since I 7am childless, and the 8heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3Abram also said, “9Since You have given me no 10son, 11one who has been 12born in my house is my heir.” 4Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; 13but one who will come from your own 14body shall be your heir.” 5And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens and 15count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “16So shall your 17descendants be.” 618Then he believed in the Lord; and He 19credited it to him as righteousness. 7And He said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of 20Ur of the Chaldeans, to 21give you this land to 22possess it.” 8But he said, “Lord 23God, 24how may I know that I will 25possess it?” 9So He said to him, “26Bring 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 27brought all these to Him and 28cut them 29in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he 30did 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, 31a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, 32terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13Then God said to Abram, “Know for certain that 33your 34descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, 35where 36they will be enslaved and oppressed for 37four hundred years. 14But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out 38with 39many possessions. 15As for you, 40you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16Then in 41the fourth generation they will return here, for 42the 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 43passed between these pieces. 18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “44To your 45descendants I have given this land, From 46the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: 1947the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, 20the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, 21the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.”