New International Version | New Living Translation |
1After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." | 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, "Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate 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. |
3And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." | 3You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.” |
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." | 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.” |
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." | 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 he credited it to him as righteousness. | 6And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith. |
7He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." | 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, "Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" | 8But Abram replied, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?” |
9So the LORD said to him, "Bring 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.” |
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. | 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. |
11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. | 11Some vultures swooped down to eat the carcasses, but Abram chased them away. |
12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over 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 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. | 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 they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. | 14But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. |
15You, however, 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 come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." | 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 set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. | 17After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. |
18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- | 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.” |
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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