2Abram asked, “Almighty Lord, what will you give me? Since I’m going to die without children, Eliezer of Damascus will inherit my household. 3You have given me no children, so this member of my household will be my heir.”

4Suddenly, the Lord spoke his word to Abram again. He said, “This man will not be your heir. Your own son will be your heir.” 5He took Abram outside and said, “Now look up at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He also said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” 6Then Abram believed the Lord, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abram’s approval by the Lord. 7Then the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land so that you will take possession of it.”

8Abram asked, “Almighty Lord, how can I be certain that I will take possession of it?”

9He answered Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a mourning dove, and a pigeon.” 10So Abram brought all these animals to him. He cut each of them in half and laid each half opposite the other. However, he did not cut the birds in half.

11When birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12As the sun was just about to set, a deep sleep—a dreadful, deep darkness—came over Abram.

13God said to Abram, “You can know for sure that your descendants will live in a land that is not their own, where they will be slaves, and they will be oppressed for 400 years. 14But I will punish the nation they serve, and after that they will come out with many possessions. 15But you will die in peace and be buried at a very old age. 16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, because the sin of the Amorites will not have run its course until then.”

17The sun had gone down, and it was dark. Suddenly a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between the animal pieces. 18At that time the Lord made a promise #15:18 Or “covenant.” to Abram. He said, “I will give this land to your descendants. This is the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. 19It is the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Learn More

Genesis 15

1 And so, these things having been transacted, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your protector, and your reward is exceedingly great."

2 And Abram said: "Lord God, what will you give to me? I may go without children. And the son of the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus."

3 And Abram added: "Yet to me you have not given offspring. And behold, my servant born in my house will be my heir."

4 And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: "This one will not be your heir. But he who will come from your loins, the same will you have for your heir."

5 And he brought him outside, and he said to him, "Take in the heavens, and number the stars, if you can." And he said to him, "So also will your offspring be."

6 Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.

7 And he said to him, "I am the Lord who led you away from Ur of the Chaldeans, so as to give you this land, and so that you would possess it."

8 But he said, "Lord God, in what way may I be able to know that I will possess it?"

9 And the Lord responded by saying: "Take for me a cow of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, also a turtle-dove and a pigeon."

10 Taking all these, he divided them through the middle, and placed both parts opposite one another. But the birds he did not divide.

11 And birds descended upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a dread, great and dark, invaded him.

13 And it was said to him: "Know beforehand that your future offspring will be sojourners in a land not their own, and they will subjugate them in servitude and afflict them for four hundred years.

14 Yet truly, I will judge the nation that they will serve, and after this they will depart with great substance.

15 But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation, they will return here. For the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet completed, even to this present time."

17 Then, when the sun had set, there came a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions.

18 On that day, God formed a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt, even to the great river Euphrates:

19 the land of the Kenites and the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites

20 and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, likewise the Rephaim,

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

null

Learn More

Choose your language

Genesis 15

Genesis 15