| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance." | 1Some time later, the LORD spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” |
| 2But Abram said, "O sovereign LORD, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?" | 2But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. |
| 3Abram added, "Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!" | 3You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” |
| 4But look, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir." | 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.” |
| 5The LORD took him outside and said, "Gaze into the sky and count the stars--if you are able to count them!" Then he said to him, "So will your descendants be." | 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!” |
| 6Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty. | 6And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith. |
| 7The LORD said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." | 7Then the LORD told him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession.” |
| 8But Abram said, "O sovereign LORD, by what can I know that I am to possess it?" | 8But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” |
| 9The LORD said to him, "Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." | 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 took all these for him and then cut them in two and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half. | 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. |
| 11When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. | 11Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. |
| 12When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him. | 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, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. | 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 execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions. | 14But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. |
| 15But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. | 15(As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) |
| 16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit." | 16After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” |
| 17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts. | 17After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. |
| 18That day the LORD made a covenant with Abram: "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River-- | 18So the LORD made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River— |
| 19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, | 19the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, |
| 20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, | 20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, |
| 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites." | 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.” |
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