Genesis 15:4-16
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 15
4Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 'This man will not be your heir; but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.' 5And He took him outside and said, 'Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' 6Then he believed in the Lord; and He credited it to him as righteousness. 7And He said to him, 'I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.' 8But he said, 'Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?' 9So He said to him, '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 brought all these to Him and cut them in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he 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, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.
13Then God said to Abram, 'Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
14But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.
15As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.
16Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.'
King James Version
Chapter 15
4And, 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. 5And 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.
7And 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.
8And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9And 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.
10And 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.
11And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.
12And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
13And 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;
14And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
16But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 15
4Now the word of the Lord came to him: "This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir." 5He took him outside and said, "Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "Your offspring will be that numerous."
10So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds in half.
11Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was setting, a deep sleep came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.
13Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed.
14However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions.
15But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.
16In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
New Living Translation
Chapter 15
4Then the Lord said to him, 'No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.' 5Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, 'Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!'
9The Lord told him, 'Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.'
10So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half.
11Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away.
12As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a terrifying darkness came down over him.
13Then the Lord said to Abram, 'You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
14But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.
15(As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.)
16After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.'
English Standard Version
Chapter 15
4And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir." 5And 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 offspring be." 6And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
7And he said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess."
8But he said, "O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
9He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
10And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.
11And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.
13Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
14But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
16And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
New International Version
Chapter 15
4Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir." 5He took him outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
10Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half.
11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
13Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
14But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
15You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.
16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
New King James Version
Chapter 15
4And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
9So He said to him, “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 brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
11And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
13Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.
14And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.
16But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
