GEN 15:13 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) and Yahweh said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that doesn’t belong to them, and they will serve the rulers of that land and those rulers will persecute them for 400 years.

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ ἐῤῥέθη πρὸς Ἅβραμ· γινώσκων γνώσῃ ὅτι πάροικον ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα σου ἐν γῇ οὐκ ἰδίᾳ, καὶ δουλώσουσιν αὐτοὺς, καὶ κακώσουσιν αὐτοὺς, καὶ ταπεινώσουσιν αὐτοὺς, τετρακόσια ἔτη.
(Kai eɽɽethaʸ pros Habram; ginōskōn gnōsaʸ hoti paroikon estai to sperma sou en gaʸ ouk idia, kai doulōsousin autous, kai kakōsousin autous, kai tapeinōsousin autous, tetrakosia etaʸ. )

BrTr And it was said to Abram, Thou shalt surely know that thy seed shall be a sojourner in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them, and afflict them, and humble them four hundred years.

ULT Then he said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be strangers in a land that does not belong to them, and they will serve them, and they will afflict them 400 years.

UST Then Yahweh said to him, “I want you to know that your descendants will live as foreigners in a country that is not their own. They will serve the people of that country as slaves, and those people will treat them cruelly for 400 years.

BSB § Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

OEB The Lord said to Abram, ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will be slaves there; and they will be held there for four hundred years.

WEBBE He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.

LSV and He says to Abram, “knowing—know that your seed is a sojourner in a land not theirs, and they have served them, and they have afflicted them four hundred years,

FBV The Lord explained to Abram, “You can be absolutely sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be slaves and mistreated for 400 years.

T4T Then God said to Abram, “I want you to know that your descendants will become foreigners living in a land that does not belong to them. They will become slaves of the owners of that land. The owners of the land will mistreat them for 400 years.

LEB And he said to Abram, “You must surely know[fn] that your descendants shall be as aliens in a land not their own.[fn] And they shall serve them[fn] and they[fn] shall oppress them four hundred years.

15:13 Literally “knowing you must know”

15:13 Literally “not to them”

15:13 Some nation hostile to Abram’s descendants (Egypt in later history)

BBE And he said to Abram, Truly, your seed will be living in a land which is not theirs, as servants to a people who will be cruel to them for four hundred years;

Moff No Moff GEN book available

JPS And 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;

ASV And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

DRA And it was said unto him: Know thou beforehand that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage, and afflict them four hundred years.

YLT and He saith to Abram, 'knowing — know that thy seed is a sojourner in a land not theirs, and they have served them, and they have afflicted them four hundred years,

Drby And he said to Abram, Know assuredly that thy seed will be a sojourner in a land [that is] not theirs, and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.

RV And 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;

Wbstr And he said to Abram, Know certainly 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;

KJB-1769 And 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;
(And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy/your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; )

KJB-1611 [fn]And he said vnto Abram, Know of a surety, that thy seed shalbe a stranger, in a land that is not theirs, and shal serue them, and they shall afflict them foure hundred yeeres.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

15:13 Acts 7.6.

Bshps And he sayde vnto Abram: Knowe this of a suertie, that thy seede shalbe a straunger in a lande that is not theirs, and shall serue them, and they shall entreate them euyll foure hundreth yeres.
(And he said unto Abram: Know this of a suertie, that thy/your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall entreate them evil four hundreth years.)

Gnva Then he saide to Abram, Knowe for a suretie, that thy seede shalbe a stranger in a land, that is not theirs, foure hundreth yeeres, and shall serue them: and they shall intreate them euill.
(Then he said to Abram, Know for a suretie, that thy/your seed shall be a stranger in a land, that is not theirs, four hundreth years, and shall serve them: and they shall intreate them evil. )

Cvdl And he sayde vnto Abram: knowe this of a suertye, that thy sede shalbe a strauger, in a londe that is not theirs. And they shall make bonde men of them, and intreate them euell foure hundreth yeares.
(And he said unto Abram: know this of a suertye, that thy/your seed shall be a strauger, in a land that is not theirs. And they shall make bonde men of them, and intreate them evil four hundreth years.)

Wycl And it was seid to hym, Wite thou bifore knowinge, that thi seed schal be pilgrim foure hundrid yeer in a lond not his owne, and thei schulen make hem suget to seruage, and thei schulen turment hem;
(And it was said to him, Wite thou/you before knowinge, that thy/your seed shall be pilgrim four hundred year in a land not his own, and they should make them subject to seruage, and they should torment hem;)

Luth Da sprach er zu Abram: Das sollst du wissen, daß dein Same wird fremd sein in einem Lande, das nicht sein ist; und da wird man sie zu dienen zwingen und plagen vierhundert Jahre.
(So spoke he to Abram: The should you wissen, that your Same becomes fremd his in one land, the not his is; and there becomes man they/she/them to dienen zwingen and plagen vierhundert years.)

ClVg Dictumque est ad eum: Scito prænoscens quod peregrinum futurum sit semen tuum in terra non sua, et subjicient eos servituti, et affligent quadringentis annis.[fn]
(Dictumque it_is to him: Scito prænoscens that peregrinum futurum let_it_be seed your in earth/land not/no sua, and subyicient them servituti, and affligent quadringentis annis. )

15.13 Scito prænoscens, etc. ISID. Populus Isræl in Ægypto serviturus prophetatur: non quod Ægyptiis annis quadringentis servierit, sed quia hic numerus in illa afflictione completus est, quia ab illo tempore computatur quod ista Abrahæ promittuntur. Scito prænoscens, etc. AUG. de Civ. lib. 16, c. 24 Non sic accipiendum est, tanquam in illa durissima servitute quadringentos annos populus Dei fuerit, etc., usque ad populus Dei in Ægypto dura servitute afflictus est.

15.13 Scito prænoscens, etc. ISID. Populus Isræl in Ægypto serviturus prophetatur: not/no that Ægyptiis annis quadringentis servierit, but because this numerus in that afflictione completus it_is, because away illo tempore computatur that ista Abrahæ promittuntur. Scito prænoscens, etc. AUG. about Civ. lib. 16, c. 24 Non so accipiendum it_is, tanquam in that durissima servitute quadringentos years populus of_God has_been, etc., until to populus of_God in Ægypto dura servitute afflictus it_is.

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

God’s Covenant with Abraham

The Lord had already established a relationship with Abraham (Gen 12:1-9) before he made a formal covenant with him (ch Gen 15). God took all the initiative: He approached Abraham and spoke to him in a vision. God presented the impossible promise that the old man would have a son through whom his descendants would eventually be as numerous as the stars of heaven. Abraham believed God (15:6), and his faith proved to be an act of righteousness (see Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; 4:3, 17; Gal 3:6, 11; Heb 10:37-38).

In the ancient Near East, kings sometimes granted land or other gifts to loyal subjects. The covenant of Genesis 15 includes a royal grant (15:18-21) in which God, the king, gave land to Abraham, his subject, as a possession and an inheritance. At the end of that day, Abraham knew that his future—and that of his descendants—was firmly in the hands of the covenant God. Later, the grant would be transferred to his descendants.

God later ratified his covenant with Abraham (17:1-22), giving him circumcision as its sign (17:10) and condition (17:9). The almighty God once again took the initiative (17:1-2) in granting Abraham an extraordinary privilege. The covenant was not a relationship between equals, yet both partners in the covenant assumed responsibilities. God committed himself voluntarily to Abraham and his descendants, while requiring faithfulness from Abraham (17:1, 9-14). The blessing Abraham received as God’s covenant partner was embodied in the new name that God gave him (17:5-6).

God’s covenant with Abraham also applied to his descendants (13:15-16; 15:3-5; 17:6-10). It pointed to blessing in the relatively near future when his descendants would possess the land (15:12-16). Much later, Abraham’s faith became a blessing to all through his descendant, Jesus Christ, through whom all the families of the earth can share in God’s blessing on Abraham (12:3; see Rom 4:11-25; Gal 3:8-9, 16).

Passages for Further Study

Gen 12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-14; 21:1-2; 22:15-18; Exod 2:24; Deut 1:8; Neh 9:7-8; Ps 105:7-45; Luke 3:7-9; Acts 3:24-26; 7:2-8; Rom 4:11-25; 9:7-8; 11:16-17; Gal 3:6-9, 29; Heb 6:13-15

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-quotations

וַ⁠יֹּ֣אמֶר לְ⁠אַבְרָ֗ם

and=he/it_said to,Abram

Alternate translation: “Then Yahweh said to Abram”

יָדֹ֨עַ תֵּדַ֜ע כִּי

to_know you_know that/for/because/then/when

Alternate translation: “You can be sure that”

זַרְעֲ⁠ךָ֗

your(ms)=seed/fruit

See how you translated this phrase in verse 5.

גֵ֣ר יִהְיֶ֣ה

aliens will_belong

The word strangers refers to people who live temporarily in a city, country, or region, but they do not settle there permanently. Alternate translation: “will live as sojourners”

לֹ֣א לָ⁠הֶ֔ם

not to/for=them

Alternate translation: “that is not their home”

Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns

וַ⁠עֲבָד֖וּ⁠ם

and,be_enslaved,them

Consider whether or not it is better in your language to begin a new sentence here. Also, make sure that your translation of these pronouns clearly communicates who is being referred to. Alternate translation: “They will serve the people in that land as slaves,” or “They will be slaves for the people who live in that land”

Note 3 topic: writing-pronouns

וְ⁠עִנּ֣וּ אֹתָ֑⁠ם

and,oppressed DOM=them

Notice that here the pronoun they refers to the people who were living in the country where Abram’s descendants will be sojourning and them refers to Abram’s descendants. Make sure that is clear in your translation. Alternate translation: “and those people will oppress them” or “and those people will treat them badly”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

אַרְבַּ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָֽה

four hundreds year

This phrase refers to how long Abram’s descendants would live in a land that is not theirs, not how long they would be oppressed, which was less than half of those 400 years. To make that clear in your translation, you could move this phrase earlier and say: “I want you to know that for 400 years your offspring/descendants will live in a land/country that is not their own, and the people of that country will oppress them.” Alternate translation: “for a period of 400 years.”

Parallel GEN 15:13