OET-RV GEN Chapter 15

15 After those events, Yahweh spoke to Avram in a vision, telling him, “Don’t be afraid, Avram, because I’ll protect you and I’ll generously and richly reward you.”

2 “My master Yahweh,” replied Avram, “what will you give me, since we have no children and it’s Eliezer (my chief slave from Damesek (Damascus)) who’ll inherit all my possessions?” 3 Then he continued, “Yes, you haven’t given me a child so wow, my heir is a slave from my household!”

4 Then listen, Yahweh’s word came to Avram saying, “That man won’t be your heir, but on the contrary, it’ll be your biological son.” 5 Then Yahweh took Avram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and see if you can count the stars.” Then he said to him, “Your descendants will be like that.”[ref]

6 Avram believed in Yahweh, and Yahweh considered that faith of Avram’s as an act of obedience.[ref]

7 Then Yahweh told Avram, “I’m Yahweh who brought you out of Ur (where the Kasdim (Chaldeans) lived) so I could give you this land to possess it.”

8 “My master Yahweh,” Avram asked, “how will I know that I will possess it?”

9 “Bring me a three-year-old heifer,” Yahweh replied, “and a three-year-old she-goat and a three-year-old ram and a turtledove and a young pigeon.” 10 So Avram brought all those to Yahweh, and then he cut the animals (but not the birds) in half down the middle and laid the halves opposite to each other. 11 Then some birds of prey flew down to the carcasses, but Avram shooed them away.

12 Later as the sun was going down, Avram fell into a deep sleep, and it suddenly became completely dark and he became terrified,[ref] 13 and Yahweh said to Avram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that doesn’t belong to them, and they’ll serve the rulers of that land and those rulers will persecute them for 400 years.[ref] 14 But just as certain, I’ll punish the nation that they serve and after that they’ll come out with many possessions.[ref] 15 And as for you, you’ll go to your ancestors in peace—you’ll be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, because the Amorim’ sins won’t be complete until then.”

17 Then the sun went down and darkness came, and wow, there was a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch that passed between those animal halves. 18 On that day Yahweh made an agreement with Avram, saying, “I’ve given this land to your descendants, from Mitsrayim’s (Egypt) river to the famous Perat (Euphrates) River.[ref] 19 That includes the land of the Keynim, the Kenizim, the Kadmoni, 20 the Hitim, the Perizim, the Refaim, 21 the Amorim, the Kena’anim (Canaanites), the Girgashim, and the Yevusim.”