Genesis 15:7-21

7 Then God said to him: ‘I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land as an inheritance.’ 8 He replied, ‘My Sovereign Lord, how may I know that I am to possess it?’ 9 He said to him, ‘bring me a three year old calf, a three year old goat, and a three year old ram, a dove and a pigeon.’ 10 He brought Him all these and cut them in two, placing each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds. 11 Then birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses and Abram drove them away.

12 While the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and a great fearsome darkness overcame him. 13 The Lord then said to Abram, ‘Know this for a fact, that your descendants will be temporary residents in a land which is not theirs; they will be slaves there and be oppressed for four hundred years. 14 But I will judge the nation they serve, and they will eventually come away with great wealth. 15 However, you will join your ancestors in peace and will be buried at a good old age. 16 But they will return here after the fourth generation, when the sins of the Amorites have reached completion.

17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a torch of fire appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 The Lord made a Covenant with Abram on that very day: ‘I give this land to your descendants, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’

translation by Paul H Ashby © 2008 all rights reserved