| NIV |
The Message |
Amplified |
| God's Covenant With Abram |
Chapter 15 |
Chapter 15 |
| 1 After 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." |
1 After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I'm your shield. Your reward will be grand!" |
1 AFTER THESE things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great. |
| 2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" |
2 Abram said, "God, Master, what use are your gifts as long as I'm childless and Eliezer of Damascus is going to inherit everything?" |
2 And Abram said, Lord God, what can You give me, since I am going on [from this world] childless and he who shall be the owner and heir of my house is this [steward] Eliezer of Damascus? |
| 3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." |
3 Abram continued, "See, you've given me no children, and now a mere house servant is going to get it all." |
3 And Abram continued, Look, You have given me no child; and [a servant] born in my house is my heir. |
| 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." |
4 Then God's Message came: "Don't worry, he won't be your heir; a son from your body will be your heir." |
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir, but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir. |
| 5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." |
5 Then he took him outside and said, "Look at the sky. Count the stars. Can you do it? Count your descendants! You're going to have a big family, Abram!" |
5 And He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to number them. Then He said to him, So shall your descendants be. |
| 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. |
6 And he believed! Believed God! God declared him "Set-Right-with-God." |
6 And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God). |
| 7 He 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." |
7 God continued, "I'm the same God who brought you from Ur of the Chaldees and gave you this land to own." |
7 And He said to him, I am the [same] Lord, Who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land as an inheritance. |
| 8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" |
8 Abram said, "Master God, how am I to know this, that it will all be mine?" |
8 But he [Abram] said, Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it? |
| 9 So 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." |
9 God said, "Bring me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon." |
9 And He said to him, Bring to Me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. |
| 10 Abram 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. |
10 He brought all these animals to him, split them down the middle, and laid the halves opposite each other. But he didn't split the birds. |
10 And he brought Him all these and cut them down the middle [into halves] and laid each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide. |
| 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. |
11 Vultures swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram scared them off. |
11 And when the birds of prey swooped down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. |
| 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. |
12 As the sun went down a deep sleep overcame Abram and then a sense of dread, dark and heavy. |
12 When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram, and a horror (a terror, a shuddering fear) of great darkness assailed and oppressed him. |
| 13 Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. |
13 God said to Abram, "Know this: your descendants will live as outsiders in a land not theirs; they'll be enslaved and beaten down for 400 years. |
13 And [God] said to Abram, Know positively that your descendants will be strangers dwelling as temporary residents in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], and they will be slaves there and will be afflicted and oppressed for 400 years. |
| 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. |
14 Then I'll punish their slave masters; your offspring will march out of there loaded with plunder. |
14 But I will bring judgment on that nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. |
| 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. |
15 But not you; you'll have a long and full life and die a good and peaceful death. |
15 And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old (hoary) age. |
| 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." |
16 Not until the fourth generation will your descendants return here; sin is still a thriving business among the Amorites." |
16 And in the fourth generation they [your descendants] shall come back here [to Canaan] again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full and complete. |
| 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. |
17 When the sun was down and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch moved between the split carcasses. |
17 When the sun had gone down and a [thick] darkness had come on, behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between those pieces. |
| 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- |
18 That's when God made a covenant with Abram: "I'm giving this land to your children, from the Nile River in Egypt to the River Euphrates in Assyria— |
18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—the land of |
| 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, |
19 the country of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, |
19 The Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, |
| 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, |
20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, |
20 The Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, |
| 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." |
21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites." |
21 The Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. |